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SUMMARY:The Importance of Being Awkward - Tam Dalyell
DTSTART:20121002T230000Z
DTEND:20121002T230000Z
UID:TALK39019@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Olivia Smart
DESCRIPTION:On his first visit to London since 2005 when he retired as Fat
 her of the House of Commons\, the heir to the House of the Binns\, benefac
 tor of the National Trust for Scotland\, Labour MP for 43 years under eigh
 t Prime Minsters\, originator of the West Lothian question\, talks about f
 amily\, Scotland and being a dissenter. \n\nIn 1944\, as an eleven year ol
 d schoolboy\, Tam Dalyell signed the deed of transfer of his historic fami
 ly seat\, the House of the Binns\, to the National Trust for Scotland\, ma
 king it the first country house to be handed over to the Trust. Thus began
  a relationship with the Trust which has stretched nearly seventy years. T
 am and his wife\, Kathleen\, who manages the house on behalf of the Trust\
 , continue to live at the Binns today. \n\nYoung Tam Dalyell showed a high
 -mindedness which marked him out in his ensuing political career. After Et
 on\, National Service with the Royal Scot Greys\, founded by his ancestor 
 General Tam Dalyell\,  and Cambridge\, he became a teacher before being el
 ected to Parliament in 1962 as the Labour candidate for West Lothian. His 
 next 43 years (including 11 general elections) ensured   - given  his vehe
 mently independent views -  that his name was rarely out of the headlines.
  \n\nA critic of both Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair\, he famously harri
 ed the former  during the Falklands War and argued fiercely with  the latt
 er over  the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq. He  was also the originato
 r of “The West Lothian Question’\, which still informs the debate on S
 cottish devolution and independence today.\n\nDon’t miss hearing Tam in 
 person on his first visit to London since 2005. In an age of powerful gove
 rnment\, Dalyell is a magnificent antidote\, warts and all.\n\nReviews for
  his memoir The Importance of Being Awkward\n'utterly engrossing...Tam Dal
 yell is a titan of thrawnness\, and I hope he makes a nuisance of himself 
 for many years more.' The Herald\n\n‘...a magnificent pain in the neck.
 ’ (Guardian)\n
LOCATION:Royal Geographical Society
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