Lynn Adams

Died: October 21, 2015

LYNN Adams, who has died aged 57, was a publican and licensed trade campaigner, who for two decades fought to achieve the level playing field she passionately felt pub tenants deserved.

Described by her long-term campaigning colleague Paul Waterson as a socialist publican, she was born in Paisley and spent the first 12 years of her life in Bridgeton, Glasgow.

The family then moved to East Kilbride where she developed a love of sport that would never leave her. She won caps for Scotland at handball in her youth and was a keen follower of rugby and tennis.

Her early career saw her employed by Glasgow City Council in the pay office, before a desire to work nearer her home in East Kilbride saw her become a technical author with Motorola, the electronics company.

It was while living in the Lanarkshire town that she met her future husband Colin, who lived nearby. In a signs of things to come, their first encounter came in their local pub.

Colin, who worked at the NEL (National Engineering Laboratory) in East Kilbride, grew up in the trade. His father ran a pub in the town and he worked as a cellar boy from the age of 12, before going on to work in other bars part-time.

The couple, who married in 1991, hatched a plan to run a pub of their own, and when Lynn was offered a redundancy package from Motorola, they had their chance. Colin later left the NEL to join the pub business full-time.

Their first venture came when they took on the lease of the Bay Horse in Hamilton from Bass Taverns. It proved to be a transformational experience.

As Colin recalls, it gave the couple first hand experiencing of the difficulties which can be involved in leasing an outlet from a major pub company. A crucial challenge facing so-called tied pubs is the fact they have to buy beer from their landlord, which can mean having to pay considerably more than its price on the open market.

Lynn, along with Dundee publican Lorna Hand, argued the case for fairer treatment for pub tenants during a European Commission enquiry into the market in the 1990s. Their ultimate goal, for pub tenants to buy beer outside the "tie", was not achieved.

However, it was an objective that Lynn, who took on the lease of The George Bar in Hamilton with Colin in 1991, never relinquished.

Indeed, far from disheartened by defeat in Europe, she embarked on a campaign to achieve a level playing field for pub tenants.

She who would go on to hold senior office positions with the Strathclyde Licensed Trade Association and its parent body the SLTA and lobbied Westminster and Holyrood extensively on the issue over more than 20 years. She won admirers throughout the industry with her passion and grasp of the issues facing small businesses in the licensed trade.

They included Greg Mulholland, the Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West, chair of the All-Party Save the Pub Group at Westminster, who described her as the Scottish co-ordinator of the campaign.

The campaign would ultimately be victorious, in England and Wales at least. In November last year, MPs at Westminster effectively voted to end the beer tie under an amendment to the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill. That came as a result of MPs support for a late amendment to the bill tabled by Mr Mulholland.

The development has paved the way for a concerted effort by brewers and pub groups, such as Tennent Caledonian, Williams Bros and the SLTA, to bring similar change for tenanted pubs in Scotland.

A debate was held on the issue in the Scottish Parliament earlier this year and it is now the subject of a Scottish Government consultation.

Lynn Adams may not have lived long enough to see the change in Scotland, but colleagues insist her tireless campaigning had been crucial to MPs voting for change south of the Border.

Colin observed that her diligence had helped secure the support of the SNP's then six MPs in the last Westminster parliament. Lynn convinced them that although the legislation was primarily aimed at the industry in England and Wales, it would have ramifications for the market in Scotland.

Mr Waterson is no doubt that the achievement was Lynn's finest moment as a campaigner, describing her work on the issue as second to none.

"She was what I'd call a socialist publican – she treated everyone equally, which is a great thing," Mr Waterson said. "No matter how big or small an operator you were, Lynn would help."

Yet for all she was known as a champion of the licensed trade, she was also a successful business operator in partnership with Colin.

The husband and wife team (Lynn would describe herself as the horses and Colin the reins in their partnership) won multiple awards for The George.

Once described as an oasis in a cask ale desert, it has won numerous prizes over the years from CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) for the quality of its beer, as well as numerous accolades for the contribution it makes to the industry and its local community.

So successfully did Lynn and Colin embed The George at the heart of community life that Lynn was persuaded by the SNP's Christina McKelvie to enter politics. Lynn, who was treasurer of the SLTA and tipped to be its president in the future, was duly elected as an SNP councillor for Hamilton North and East in the local elections of 2012, a role she held until her death.

She is survived by Colin and their two sons, Andrew, 21 and Gary, 22.

SCOTT WRIGHT