Jamie Stone MP remembers his friend and colleague
Jamie Stone is the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and the chair of the House of Commons Petitions Committee.
Long ago, when I was a Highland Councillor, I saw somebody who I really didn’t like going into Charles Kennedy’s advice clinic – let’s just say somewhere in Ross-shire. I knew this person was struggling with their business and admittedly took a little pleasure from it. Later that same day, I asked Charles about the meeting.
“Och, pretty severe financial problems. You don’t like to see any local business in trouble.”
Those few words on paper read rather matter-of-fact, but when Charles said them you could feel the empathy. Immediately, they placed ‘coals of conscience’ on my head. Suddenly, I felt very guilty for having wished this person ill.
That is the way I shall always remember Charles – unlike too many politicians he absolutely did not go around ‘bad-mouthing’ any of his fellow citizens. He was not a game-player or a ladder-climber. He did the job because he cared. That was very much the stamp of the man: he was fundamentally decent and it showed. His electorate knew that. We all knew that.
What I found fascinating about the last General Election in 2024 was that in the new bits of the extended constituency I now have the honour to represent – including parts of Inverness-shire and Wester Ross – a large number of people on the doorstep would turn to remembering Charles Kennedy. Yes, he had lost his seat in 2015, and yes his death only a few days later on 1st June was tragic. But these were not the things people wanted to talk about. At the forefront of their mind was the memory that he was a good man above all else, a very good man indeed. It was evident that the past nine years – which had seen his opponent assume his seat – were not enough to erase that.
I will never forget when he was first elected to represent Ross, Cromarty and Skye, in 1983. Readers may or may not know, but my family has for many years had an interest in the cheese business. And back in 1983, Charles came to canvas the business in Tain – and very cleverly he took his father Ian with him who wowed everybody in the business – including my own mother (who was not of a particularly liberal disposition), by taking out his fiddle and giving us a few Highland airs. This was a totally different form of electioneering compared to what had gone before (candidates rolling around in posh cars, blaring out imperatives through loud speakers). Charles and his father Ian wove a homespun political magic to everyone with Highland blood in their veins. And by God, it worked. A couple of days later, at the tender age of 23, Charles was on his way to Westminster…
Today, 42 years on, it is fair to say that his Highland charm lives on in the Far North. Last year, we saw liberal traditions restored to the Highlands when we won Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire back. Those who took part in the campaigning would all agree that the work Charles did – and the subsequent impression that he left – had a great part to play in our success. I know he would be proud.
Today, as I go about my own business in the House of Commons, I find it heartwarming that members of staff in Parliament – even ten years on – still sigh and say, “my goodness, he was a nice man!”. Just the other day, I spoke with Catherine who manages the dining services in the Palace. Our talk fell to Charles.
“You know, I have a lovely letter from Charles Kennedy thanking me for all I was doing whilst he was still here. I treasure it and I’ll never part with it.”
It was the little acts of kindness, such as that, which made Charles an unforgettable person. Just as Maya Angelou once observed: ‘people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel’.
Charles made everyone feel inspired and appreciated. I, for one, owe him consideration for where I am today. It was, for so many of us, our great good fortune to have known a truly special person.
Image credit: Catch21 Productions – Creative Commons
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