1 Janey Buchan was a fierce cultural and political activist. The Labour MEP, was born in 1926 and died, aged 85, in 2012. She was a passionate anti-apartheid campaigner, backed the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and was an early supporter of gay rights.
2 Growing up in a one-bedroom Glasgow tenement with her parents, two siblings and grandmother, Janey left school at 14 to help the family income. Her father was a shipyard worker and tram driver, her mother Chrissie was a maid for a tobacco baron. Both were members of the Communist Party.
3 As a member of the Young Communist League in 1940 Janey met Norman Buchan, and they married in 1946. She was a huge supporter of the arts, championing the revival of traditional Scottish music and inspiring the People’s festival, which would become the Edinburgh Fringe.
4 Janey represented Glasgow in the European Parliament from 1979 to 1994, where she was critical of much of the bureaucracy and waste of money. She retired in 1994, four years after her husband died. She was a staunch opponent of apartheid and remained a lifelong supporter of South African causes, while her support for gay rights led her to be named life president of the Scottish Minorities Group, now part of gay rights organisation Stonewall.
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5 According to her obituary in our sister newspaper, The Herald: “As a Glasgow city councillor she was head of arts and culture and gave unflinching support for many cultural activities in the city, as well as initiating a charity Christmas card sale in the City Chambers. Many Scottish institutions have benefited from her support, generosity and ability to raise money. She was fearless in attracting high-profile names to help with fundraising, including Billy Connolly, for example, for the People’s Palace.”
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