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| Constituency mourns Charles Kennedy, 'a very Highland gentleman' | Constituency mourns Charles Kennedy, 'a very Highland gentleman' |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| There were clouds on Tuesday hanging over Ben Nevis, which overlooks Charles Kennedy’s croft house near Fort William. But there was a bigger cloud hanging over the Highlands: widespread mourning over the loss of the man who had represented them at Westminster for more than three decades. | There were clouds on Tuesday hanging over Ben Nevis, which overlooks Charles Kennedy’s croft house near Fort William. But there was a bigger cloud hanging over the Highlands: widespread mourning over the loss of the man who had represented them at Westminster for more than three decades. |
| It was not just that Kennedy was a much-admired MP but that he was one of their own, a west Highlander whose family had lived in the same croft on the shores of Loch Linne for more than 200 years, who lived most of his life in that family home and who as a schoolboy went to the local Lochaber High. | It was not just that Kennedy was a much-admired MP but that he was one of their own, a west Highlander whose family had lived in the same croft on the shores of Loch Linne for more than 200 years, who lived most of his life in that family home and who as a schoolboy went to the local Lochaber High. |
| The modest white-washed house, next to Soldier’s Bridge, was silent on Tuesday evening. A rain-drenched saltire hung limply on a flagpost in the backcourt. Television crews door-stepping earlier in the day had left, as had a police car that had been stationed there. | |
| Neighbours in Lochyside village said they were “devastated” and “stunned”, adding he had he had been friendly and polite, always stopping to say hello. | |
| Mick Tighe, a mountain guide who lives near Roy Bridge, outside Fort William, and who knew Kennedy, said: “I wonder how many MPs are born and bred in their constituencies, whose families go back generations in that constituency and still continued living in it.” | Mick Tighe, a mountain guide who lives near Roy Bridge, outside Fort William, and who knew Kennedy, said: “I wonder how many MPs are born and bred in their constituencies, whose families go back generations in that constituency and still continued living in it.” |
| Related: Charles Kennedy: he was left of Labour, maybe, but always a true liberal | Vince Cable | Related: Charles Kennedy: he was left of Labour, maybe, but always a true liberal | Vince Cable |
| Tighe, who voted for Kennedy in last month’s election, said: “He was a good local MP, very approachable. People say these things all the time when people die but in this case it is true.” | Tighe, who voted for Kennedy in last month’s election, said: “He was a good local MP, very approachable. People say these things all the time when people die but in this case it is true.” |
| Tighe’s lament was echoed by others in Ross, Skye and Lochaber, a sadness reminiscent of that which followed the surprise death of the Labour leader John Smith in 1994. | Tighe’s lament was echoed by others in Ross, Skye and Lochaber, a sadness reminiscent of that which followed the surprise death of the Labour leader John Smith in 1994. |
| Michael Foxley, a former Highland council leader who lives on the outskirts of Fort William, said his friend Kennedy had gone to ground after his election defeat and they had not spoken since. “He must have felt that sense of loss,” Foxley said. | Michael Foxley, a former Highland council leader who lives on the outskirts of Fort William, said his friend Kennedy had gone to ground after his election defeat and they had not spoken since. “He must have felt that sense of loss,” Foxley said. |
| Lochaber, where Kennedy lived, is the historic name for the area that includes Fort William. The geography and history matter. The Lochaber Kennedys have long been known in the area: his grandfather was a Highland Games athlete and his father, Ian, a fiddler. According to the family, the Kennedys were among those due to be cleared from the land in the early part of the 19th century, bound for Canada, but were spared and moved into what would become their long-term home in 1801. | Lochaber, where Kennedy lived, is the historic name for the area that includes Fort William. The geography and history matter. The Lochaber Kennedys have long been known in the area: his grandfather was a Highland Games athlete and his father, Ian, a fiddler. According to the family, the Kennedys were among those due to be cleared from the land in the early part of the 19th century, bound for Canada, but were spared and moved into what would become their long-term home in 1801. |
| Foxley, who led the Liberal Democrat group on Highland council, described Kennedy as “very west Highland”, by which he meant “he was very measured, listened carefully to people”. | Foxley, who led the Liberal Democrat group on Highland council, described Kennedy as “very west Highland”, by which he meant “he was very measured, listened carefully to people”. |
| He said the area’s history, such as its 19th-century battles for crofting rights, had had an influence on Kennedy politically. “He came from the radical Highland tradition: those crofting groups morphed into the Liberals and was anti-Tory, left of centre.” This background partly explains why Kennedy so strongly opposed the coalition with the Conservatives in 2010. | He said the area’s history, such as its 19th-century battles for crofting rights, had had an influence on Kennedy politically. “He came from the radical Highland tradition: those crofting groups morphed into the Liberals and was anti-Tory, left of centre.” This background partly explains why Kennedy so strongly opposed the coalition with the Conservatives in 2010. |
| Related: Charles Kennedy, former leader of Liberal Democrats, dies aged 55 | Related: Charles Kennedy, former leader of Liberal Democrats, dies aged 55 |
| Hugh Dan MacLennan, a BBC Gaelic broadcaster, also spoke of the importance of Kennedy’s background and lineage. “He was a Lochaber man rather than a Fort William man. (Fort William was set up as a garrison town to quell the Highlanders). Lochaber was bandit country.” | Hugh Dan MacLennan, a BBC Gaelic broadcaster, also spoke of the importance of Kennedy’s background and lineage. “He was a Lochaber man rather than a Fort William man. (Fort William was set up as a garrison town to quell the Highlanders). Lochaber was bandit country.” |
| MacLennan, who went to Lochaber High when Kennedy was there, said his contemporary was introduced to debating by a teacher and became a star, and the basis of his political career was established. | MacLennan, who went to Lochaber High when Kennedy was there, said his contemporary was introduced to debating by a teacher and became a star, and the basis of his political career was established. |
| MacLennan said Kennedy did not lose the election because of his alcoholism – “people were understanding up to a point” – or anything he had done, it was just the SNP tide. | MacLennan said Kennedy did not lose the election because of his alcoholism – “people were understanding up to a point” – or anything he had done, it was just the SNP tide. |
| “He lost his mother, father and then lost his whole existence,” he said. His mother died last year and his father in April. | “He lost his mother, father and then lost his whole existence,” he said. His mother died last year and his father in April. |
| Crofter Angus Munro met Kennedy several times on constituency business and found him helpful. “He was a very Highland gentleman,” he said. | Crofter Angus Munro met Kennedy several times on constituency business and found him helpful. “He was a very Highland gentleman,” he said. |
| Munro, from Skye, voted for him at the last election. “He was well-respected as an MP. Latterly his drinking cast a bit of doubt over his ability but I don’t think it had any serious effect on his work as an MP.” | Munro, from Skye, voted for him at the last election. “He was well-respected as an MP. Latterly his drinking cast a bit of doubt over his ability but I don’t think it had any serious effect on his work as an MP.” |
| John Ross, a former journalist who covered the Highlands for the Scotsman and knew Kennedy well, said that until recently people in the Highlands tended to vote for the person rather than party. “He was a big personality and people kept voting for him. People liked him. He spoke the language of everyday people.” | John Ross, a former journalist who covered the Highlands for the Scotsman and knew Kennedy well, said that until recently people in the Highlands tended to vote for the person rather than party. “He was a big personality and people kept voting for him. People liked him. He spoke the language of everyday people.” |