A former MSP and leading campaigner for the town of Ayr has passed away following a short illness.
Chic Brodie, who fought for many high profile issues including the Station Hotel, was 78.
His political career spanned almost 50 years and included roles as a councillor and elected member both north and south of the border.
Born in Dundee, Brodie first sought election to Parliament at the 1974 UK General Election for the city's East ward as a Liberal candidate.
He would go on to fight a number of elections in both Scotland and England before being elected to serve Surrey Heath's Parkside ward in their 1995 local vote.
He then joined the Scottish National Party in 2010, first standing for them at the 2010 General Election for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock.
A year later, he stood as a candidate in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election in the Ayr constituency and was returned on the regional list as an MSP for South Scotland.
At Parliament, he was a deputy convener of the Public Petitions committee and a member of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee and the Subordinate Legislation Committee.
It led to an infamous clash in parliament with Donald Trump in 2013 when the future President was giving evidence to the panel, of which Brodie was a member, on potential windfarms near his Menie golf course in Aberdeen.
Brodie would later recall: “I challenged him head on and it became known as the Battle of the Barnets.
“To be fair, there was a mutual respect after that and we built up something of a relationship when he bought Turnberry. His investment in this area and its young people has been nothing short of superb.”
Brodie was also Convener of the Cross-Party Group on Social Enterprise, and a member of the groups on China, Golf and Nuclear Disarmament.
He failed to win selection as the SNP candidate for the Ayr constituency in 2015, losing out to Glasgow councillor Jennifer Dunn.
It would lead to Brodie later resigning from the party and standing as an independent in both the 2017 and 2022 South Ayrshire Council local elections.
In the interim period, he also established his own political party, Scotia Future, and stood in the Ayr constituency in 2021.
Down the years, he fought long and vociferous campaigns to promote the economic regeneration of Ayr and played a key role in trying to save the Station Hotel from demolition - something which remained a passion in his final days.
He was also a leading proponent of revitalising Belleisle Hotel and argued for the drilling of oil off Ayrshire's coast, among other high profile causes.
He is survived by his life partner of almost 30 years, Mary. They shared five children and 11 grandchildren.
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