We will never see the likes of the formidable and eviscerating Madame Ecosse Winnie Ewing again - Angus Robertson

The words by Winnie Ewing, “Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on”, will forever remain associated with Scottish political history and its journey to self-government.

Winnie Ewing (right), the newly-elected Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament for Hamilton is welcomed by supporters, including two highland bagpipers, as she arrives in London to take up her seat in the House of Commons in November 1967 (Picture: Terry Fincher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Winnie Ewing, who just passed away at the age of 93, is an icon of Scotland’s independence movement. Her win in the Hamilton by-election is seen by many as a pivotal moment for the SNP as it became a major political force – including her second spell in Westminster as MP for Moray – and then, eventually, moving into government. In fact the SNP has been constantly represented in the House of Commons since her 1967 victory.

Winnie served 20 years in the European Parliament (EP), becoming mother of the house – or the longest-serving sitting UK MEP – while she was there. In Brussels and Strasbourg, she became known for her vivacious and often eviscerating style of argument, and MEPs who rose to speak in opposition to her knew it could end with their sitting back down with red faces. The Erasmus education programme owes much to her work on the EP’s Education Committee.

Her advocacy and passion for Scotland earned her the title “Madame Ecosse”, by the French global newspaper Le Monde, and the name stuck. Madame Ecosse was a staunch egalitarian internationalist, leading delegations to developing nations with a view to providing “Euro-aid” for projects to improve lives the world over. One of Ewing’s greatest gifts to our party is instilling these internationalist and European values for which the movement has come to exemplify.

Having returned to Scotland to run for the first modern Scottish Parliament elections – and upon winning becoming the only person to have served as MP, MEP and MSP – she was given the task of officially reconvening the Parliament which had adjourned last on March 25, 1707.

When reconvening the Scottish Parliament, she outlined four hopes for the new parliament. The first was to “follow the more consensual style of the European parliament” in our debates and avoid the Westminster confrontational approach. Second, was for the Presiding Officer to be kind to the minorities, those from smaller parties or with individual campaigns in the parliament. “We’re all minorities now” she said with a smile, as no overall majority had been won by any party in the 1999 elections.

Third was for the Scottish Parliament to create better relations between Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Finally, she hoped that the parliament would aid all Scots, whether they were born here or not, to live in harmony and celebrate the diversity of cultures.

I had the good fortune to become a successor SNP MP for the Moray constituency she represented from 1974-1979. Campaigning with me in 2001 along Forres High Street and in her beloved Lossiemouth where she lived as local MP, attending the Elgin Highland Games or hosting twin-town delegations from Germany, Winnie Ewing was still formidable on the stump.

She taught me many great lessons about how to campaign, how to work hard for constituents and in parliament. I was fortunate enough to see her in action in Brussels, Holyrood and internationally, including her memorable participation in Tartan Day activities promoting Scotland in the United States.

We will not see her likes again. My sincere condolences to her children Fergus, Annabelle and Terry, as well as her wider family and friends.

Angus Robertson is the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary