Ruth Davidson praises "true blue Tory" Alex Johnstone at Funeral
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has paid tribute to “proper true blue Tory” Alex Johnstone at his funeral.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has paid tribute to “proper true blue Tory” Alex Johnstone at his funeral.
She hailed the North East Scotland MSP, who died last week at the age of 55, as being “such a big figure” in the party, the Scottish Parliament and public life.
Ms Davidson spoke during a service to remember Mr Johnstone, who had been a member of the Scottish Parliament since it was first set up in 1999.
She explained to mourners at Glenbervie Parish Church in Aberdeenshire that Mr Johnstone had specifically instructed “his funeral be held on a Friday when the parliament wasn't sitting, so the SNP wouldn't win any votes while Tories were here”.
Ms Davidson added: “That was Alex all over. A team player. Political and partisan, but practical and thoughtful with it.”
Before coming to Holyrood, the grandfather-of-six had been a farmer and he was appointed as convener of the Parliament's first rural development committee.
He was made Scottish Conservative chief whip in 2001 and in the last session of the Scottish Parliament he represented the party on the welfare reform committee.
Mr Johnstone had also been the Scottish Tory spokesman for infrastructure, housing and transport, a role he continued after the May 2016 Holyrood election.
Ms Davidson said: “He was a proper true blue Tory who would go into bat for the team but never fell out with anyone while doing so.
“A Labour blogger said you could disagree with him without ever finding him disagreeable.
“The First Minister said he was never afraid to stand up robustly for the causes he believed in - but always did so with good humour and respect for his political opponents.”
She went on to recall Mr Johnstone's “humanity, his decency and his sense of fun”, saying this meant “he never met a person without gaining a friend”.
Ms Davidson told mourners that Mr Johnstone had not backed her when she took over the post of Tory leader, instead supporting his “decades-long friend” Murdo Fraser for the role.
She added: “As soon as I was in place, he put his shoulder to the wheel.
“Alex wasn't just reliable - he was good. He wasn't just solid, he was able. He'd walk into that Holyrood chamber with little more than a couple of headlines scribbled down and give a full speech without pausing for breath.”
She recalled him “tackling a knife-wielding maniac in a pub”, an incident which he spoke about as part of his efforts to tackle knife crime, as well as “anchoring the multi-award-winning and undefeated Conservative Holyrood tug-of-war team”.
She also paid tribute to Mr Johnstone's wife of 36 years, Linda, saying: “He couldn't have been the politician he was, he couldn't have been the man he was, without Linda being there.
“I know many, many happy, supportive couples. But I don't know any that are the indivisible unit they were.”