Annabel Goldie: The handbag-wielding 'matron' of Scottish politics

She vacated the stage for Ruth Davidson, who took the party into opposition for the first time at Holyrood.  

But Ms Goldie wasn’t done with politics – joining the House of Lords and serving in the UK Government for four years.  

Last night she shared her wisdom with her political colleagues, journalists and guests who attended The Herald’s awards, given in association with Scottish Power, in Prestonfield House, Edinburgh.  

In her maiden speech as leader of the Tories in Scotland, Ms Goldie had warned against disloyalty in her party, taking a leaf out of Margaret That’s book to say that “matron’s handbag would be in hyper-action' against miscreants.  

Baroness Annabel Goldie (Image: NQ) Last night she spared no prisoners taking a swipe at those who joined politics with a view to catching a ride on the gravy train or advance their own careers.  

Although she named no names, it’s likely the recent freebie furore surrounding Labour may have been foremost in her thoughts, or perhaps SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray’s chauffeured trips to the football.  

But there were also members of her own party who may have been cringing in their seats as matron’s bag swept over them, given former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s predilection for gratis home renovation.  

Urging politicians to “keep their feet on the ground”, she said: “If there's anyone in politics who's in it for themselves, to promote themselves in their own advancement, and most distastefully of all, to through some grotesque sense of entitlement, to seek to grab every passing trimming and frill going past, then get them out.  

“Boot them out your party. They're no use to your party. They are no use to the public, and there's certainly no use to the reputation of what should be an admired and respected vocation, and that is a privilege of political service.” 

A well-respected figure at Holyrood and across wider Scotland during her time in the Scottish Parliament, Goldie served as the regional MSP for the West of Scotland.  

Born in Glasgow and educated in Kilmacolm and Greenock, it is an area she knows well.  

READ MORE:

• The best pictures from the Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year Awards
• Anas Sarwar named Herald Scottish Politician of The Year
•  Herald's Politician of the Year is about real people

After stepping down as leader in 2004, Goldie later served as the party's culture and communities spokesperson and during the 2014 Scottish referendum served as the party's constitutional spokesperson.  

She stood down from Holyrood at the 2016 election, but entered the House of Lords having been made a Life Peer in 2013, taking the title Baroness Goldie of Bishopton. 

In June 2016, she was appointed a Baroness-in-Waiting in the Royal Household, acting as a whip in the UK Government.  

She was promoted in July 2019 to Minister of State for Defence – a mid-level position within the Ministry of Defence – a position she held under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak before leaving with the advent of Keir Starmer’s Labour Government.  

Reflecting on her long years in politics, the 74-year-old joked that lifetime achievement awards are usually given “when you’re on the way to the crematorium”. 

She urged politicians of all parties should keep their commitment to public service at the forefront of their minds.  

She said: “When I entered the Scottish Parliament in 1999 I had an overwhelming sense of privilege and obligation.  

“The public had put me there, the taxpayer was keeping me there, and the deal was that I had to serve but I think that's something else in politics we always need to remember, and I have to say that we've seen tonight some marvellous examples of really stellar political service in many of the undoubtedly discerning winners of awards this evening. 

“And I think I just want to say to them and to the parties they represent, thank you. Thank you for being the real representation of what the public wants from its politicians.”