Isobel Lindsay (born 1943) is a former sociology lecturer, known as a

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and Scottish national identity, national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish ...

and peace activist. Born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Lindsay studied at

Hamilton Academy Hamilton Academy was a school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The school was described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, and was featured in a 1950 Scottish Seconda ...

and at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, then was based at

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...

, initially as a research fellow, then later as a lecturer in sociology.''The Times House of Commons 1970'', p.166Henrik Halkier, ''Institutions, Discourse, and Regional Development'', p.597Stuart Christie, ''My Granny Made Me an Anarchist'' In 1960, she was a signatory to the Committee of 100 anti-war group, and through the group, she met and married

Tom McAlpine Thomas McAlpine (23 September 1929 – 21 February 2006) was a Scottish nationalist politician. Born in Wishaw, McAlpine studied at Dalziel High School, then graduated in engineering from the Royal College of Science and Technology in Glasgow ...

. Their son is Robin McAlpine. Lindsay joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) at an early age and first stood for the Westminster parliament (unsuccessfully) in Motherwell at the 1970 general election, and became a member of the party's National Executive the same year. She was first elected as a Vice Chair of the party in 1972, initially with responsibility for publicity, then later served as Vice Chair for policy. She stood again at the

1978 Berwick and East Lothian by-election The 1978 Berwick and East Lothian by-election was a by-election held for the House of Commons constituency of Berwick and East Lothian in Scotland on 26 October 1978. It was one of two UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day, and was won b ...

. This was controversial, as the Berwick and East Lothian branch of the SNP had already selected a candidate for the next general election. Although party rules stated that prospective parliamentary candidates were suspended at by-elections, he initially refused to stand aside, and Lindsay only agreed reluctantly to stand, amid several resignations from the local branch. Lindsay took only 8.8 per cent of the vote and lost her deposit. Although strongly associated with the left wing of the SNP, Lindsay did not join the

79 Group The 79 Group was a faction within the Scottish National Party (SNP), named after its year of formation, 1979. The group sought to persuade the SNP to take an active left-wing stance, arguing that it would win more support, and were highly critic ...

. She remained on the SNP's executive until 1989, when she resigned from the party, as the sole executive member to support the party participating in the

Scottish Constitutional Convention The Scottish Constitutional Convention (SCC) was an association of Scottish political parties, churches and other civic groups, that developed a framework for Scottish devolution. It is credited as having paved the way for the establishment of t ...

. She became the final convenor of the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly before this ambition was achieved.Jonathan Hearn, ''Claiming Scotland: National Identity and Liberal Culture'', p.59 In 1994, she joined the Labour Party, and attempted to stand for the party at the

1999 Scottish Parliament election The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliam ...

, but she was not approved by the party leadership. Active in the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

(CND) from her youth, Lindsay served as its vice-chair in the 2000s, also on the board of ''

Scottish Left Review The ''Scottish Left Review'' is a bi-monthly magazine publication of the Scottish left. It was established in 2000 by several prominent left-wing figures, including Bob Thomson, Henry McCubbin, Jimmy Reid, Roseanna Cunningham, and John McAllion. ...

'', while being prominent in the National Collective.Isobel Lindsay
, National Collective, 18 August 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, Isobel 1943 births Living people Academics of the University of Strathclyde Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish anti-war activists People educated at Hamilton Academy Scottish National Party politicians Scottish sociologists Scottish women activists Scottish women sociologists Scottish National Party parliamentary candidates