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'Tireless' Lib Dem stalwart dies

Wed May 07 11:50:21 UTC 2008

'Tireless' Lib Dem stalwart dies

Wed May 07 12:10:42 UTC 2008

The former MP for Argyll and Bute, Ray Michie, has died at the age of 74.

The former MP for Argyll and Bute, Ray Michie, has died at the age of 74.

She was the daughter of Lord and Lady Bannerman of Kildonan and chaired the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1991 until 1993. The daughter of Lord and Lady Bannerman of Kildonan, she chaired the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1991 until 1993.
She was elected to the Argyll seat in 1987 and remained MP until she stood down from parliament in 2001. She was elected to the Argyll seat in 1987 and remained MP until she stood down from parliament in 2001, becoming a member of the House of Lords.
A champion of the Gaelic language, she became the first peer to take the oath of allegiance in Gaelic, as Baroness Michie of Gallanach. A champion of the Gaelic language, she became the first peer to take the oath of allegiance in Gaelic as Baroness Michie of Gallanach.
The present MP Alan Reid said she worked tirelessly for her constituents in the Commons and continued this work in the Lords. The area's current MP, Alan Reid, said she worked tirelessly for her constituents in the Commons and continued this work in the Lords.
"The people of Argyll and Bute will always have a special place in their hearts for Ray Michie," he said."The people of Argyll and Bute will always have a special place in their hearts for Ray Michie," he said.
Home rule
She was educated at Aberdeen High School for Girls, Landsdowne House in Edinburgh and the Edinburgh College of Speech Therapy, before becoming a speech therapist.
Baroness Michie served as the Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on Scottish affairs and was a member of the House of Commons select committee on Scottish affairs from 1992 to 1997.
A strong advocate of home rule, she was a participant in the early days of the Constitutional Convention.
She was a member of a number of other bodies, including Gaelic organisation An Comunn Gàidhealach, the National Farmers' Union of Scotland and the Scottish Crofters Union, and was also vice-president of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
Married to a consultant physician, the mother-of-three lived in Oban.