Jim Sillars, born in 1937, started his political career when he joined the Fire Brigade. He became the Labour MP for South Ayrshire in 1970 and worked tirelessly for the establishment of a Scottish Assembly. He split from the Labour Party in 1976 to help form the Scottish Labour Party (SLP). Having lost his seat in 1979, he worked in South-East Asia before returning to Westminster in the Govan by-election as an SNP MP. The Govan seat was lost in 1992, and he worked as Assistant General Secretary at the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce in London. Sillars continues to write a column for Holyrood magazine and occasional articles for various newspapers. He is married to the independent MSP Margo MacDonald and is an articulate spokesman for the cause of socialism and independence.