Rosemary "Rosie" Kane (née McGarvey) (born on 5 June 1961 in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
) is a
Scottish Socialist Party politician. She was a
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The add ...
(MSP) for the
Glasgow Region from
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
to
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
.
Political history
Introduction to politics
Kane entered politics after becoming involved in a campaign against the extension of the
M77 motorway. In 1996 she was the first ever candidate of the newly formed
Scottish Socialist Alliance
In Scotland, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is a left-wing political party. The party was formed in 1998 from an alliance of left-wing organisations in Scotland. In 1999, it saw its first MSP returned to Holyrood, with five more MSPs electe ...
when she contested a
Glasgow City Council
Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of th ...
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...
in the
Toryglen
Toryglen is a district in southern Glasgow, Scotland, falling within the Langside ward under Glasgow City Council. It is approximately two miles south of the city centre, bounded to the west by Mount Florida, the north-west by Polmadie, to the ...
ward, an area threatened by the
M74 extension plan, and came third with 18% of the vote. After this she was an election candidate a number of times for the Scottish Socialist Alliance and its successor the
Scottish Socialist Party. She served on the National Executive committee of the party for a number of years and as the party's environmental spokesperson, writing a column "One World" for the ''
Scottish Socialist Voice
The ''Scottish Socialist Voice'' is a fortnightly political newspaper in Scotland, published by the Scottish Socialist Party.
History
Established in November 1996, the ''Voice'' started life as the newspaper of Scottish Militant Labour, befor ...
''.
Parliamentary work (2003–2007)
Kane stood for election to the Scottish Parliament in 2003, and was placed second on the party's list in Glasgow region. She was elected alongside
Tommy Sheridan, who was first on the list. In her victory speech, she stated how she planned to shake up the Parliament, stating "They're going to be amazed at all the madness and craziness that's going to happen in there".
MSPs are required to swear an
oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. Fo ...
to the
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
before they can take their seat in Parliament. As the Scottish Socialist Party is a
republican party, their MSPs held various protests during the oath ceremony, during which Kane took her oath with her hand raised which had the words "My oath is to the people" written on it.
On 6 November 2003, Kane appeared on ''
Question Time'' alongside the SNP's
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
, Labour MSP
Cathy Jamieson
Catherine Mary Jamieson (born 3 November 1956) is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She p ...
, Tory MP
Francis Maude
Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party politician and life peer who served as Minister of State for Trade and Investment from 2015 to 2016, having previously served as Minis ...
and Peter Oborne of ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
''. Host
David Dimbleby referred to her contribution as "eloquent and intriguing". According to the ''Scottish Socialist Voice'', Kane faced accusations from the audience that the SSP were slow to condemn Palestinian suicide bombers she responded by saying she "condemned all attacks on innocent people, emphasising Israel's fault regarding non-negotiations in the on-going conflict".
In late 2003, she announced that she was taking a short break from politics to deal with
clinical depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
. She returned to work early in 2004.
In 2005, Kane accepted an invitation to meet
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...
at a conference in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
. Later in 2005, she took part in an anti-nuclear protest, locking herself to a model of a
nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...
outside the Scottish Parliament building. She was fined £150 for the demonstration, and was imprisoned in
Cornton Vale
Cornton Vale is a women's prison in Stirling, operated by the Scottish Prison Service. Built in 1975, Cornton Vale comprises a total of 217 cells in its 5 houses. It accepted solely convicted women and girls from 1975 until 1978. In 1978 Parliam ...
for 14 days in October 2006 after refusing to pay. In January 2007, she was arrested but not charged for taking part in a peaceful
anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...
demonstration at
Faslane
His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). ...
, as part of the
Faslane 365
Faslane Peace Camp is a permanent peace camp sited alongside Faslane Naval base in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has been occupied continuously, in a few different locations, since 12 June 1982. In 1984, the book ''Faslane:Diary of a Peace Camp ...
campaign.
In June 2005, along with fellow socialist MSPs
Carolyn Leckie
Carolyn Leckie (born 5 March 1965) is a Scottish politician. She was a member of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), and held a number of senior positions in the party, but has since left the SSP. From 2003 to 2007 she was a Member of the Scot ...
,
Frances Curran
Frances Curran (born 21 May 1961) is a former co-chair of the Scottish Socialist Party. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 2003 to 2007.
Political career
A former member of the Labour Part ...
, and
Colin Fox, she was suspended from the Scottish Parliament for the month of September for disrupting parliamentary proceedings in a peaceful protest in the chamber. They were highlighting the issue of the right to protest outside the
Gleneagles Hotel
Gleneagles Hotel is a hotel near Auchterarder, Scotland. It was commissioned by the Caledonian Railway and opened in 1924. The bandleader, Henry Hall, performed at the hotel before the Second World War during which it served as a military h ...
, the site of the
31st G8 summit
The 31st G8 summit was held on 6–8 July 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland and hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The locations of previous G8 summits to have been hosted by the UK include: London (1977, 1984, 1991); an ...
.
During her time in parliament, she also campaigned against the treatment of
toxic waste in South East Glasgow, against
water fluoridation and against
GM crops. She remains active in the fight to end the detention of children at
Dungavel asylum detention centre, as well as campaigns for migrants rights and against
dawn raids. She personally paid the bail for a
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...
ian woman called Mercy Ikolo and her Ireland-born 18-month-old baby to allow them to leave the centre, inviting them to stay with her and her daughters in their tenement flat until their visa issues were resolved.
After leaving parliament
Kane stood as the no. 1 candidate for her party on the Glasgow regional list for the
2007 Scottish Parliament election
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fe ...
. The SSP polled 2,579 votes in the Glasgow region and failed to re-elect any candidates. Since September 2012, Kane has been involved in the
Women for Independence campaign for
Scottish independence
Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about.
...
. In April 2015, she organised a vigil in
George Square
George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange ...
in Glasgow in relation to the killing of Karen Buckley.
Other information
Kane is a member of the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
(Wobblies) and became a grandmother in February 2011.
In 2011, Kane played the role of a mother in a play written by future SSP co-spokesperson
Sandra Webster as part of the
National Theatre of Scotland
The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...
's Five Minute Theatre project. The play was inspired by Sandra's experience of bringing up her two autistic sons. She also appeared in ''An Evening with Rosie Kane'' in May 2012 and played herself in ''I, Tommy'' in September 2013.
References
External links
*
Record in the Scottish Parliamentat
TheyWorkForYou
TheyWorkForYou is a parliamentary monitoring website operated by mySociety which aims to make it easier for UK citizens to understand what is going on in Westminster, as well as the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembl ...
articlein the ''Daily Record'' December 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Rosie
1961 births
Scottish people of Irish descent
Living people
Scottish Socialist Party MSPs
Female members of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish republicans
Industrial Workers of the World members
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007
People from Govanhill and Crosshill