The speaker of the House of Lords has opened up on his journey, from being a teenager cutting the grass at Levengrove Park, to holding one of the most prestigious positions in British politics.
John McFall, now Baron McFall of Alcluith, served as Dumbarton’s MP between 1987 and 2010, before moving into the House of Lords.
He was elected as Lord Speaker in 2021, but revealed that his first role in adult life was one that was far less high-profile.
Speaking during a visit to Levengrove Park, Baron McFall said: “Levengrove has been a feature of my whole life, coming here as a boy to play football, putting, playing tennis and having lazy summer nights with my friends.
“My parents had a paper shop nearby and the superintendent of the parks department was a regular customer. After I left school at 15 he offered me a job and lo and behold the first job was digging the flower beds and trimming the grass.”
Reflecting on his achievements during his 23 years in office, the former St Patrick’s pupil highlighted the introduction of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs as Scotland’s first National Park – and the redevelopment of Lomondgate as industry moved away from the town.
He continued: “I was very much aware of the deindustrialisation that has taken place in our community since the 1960s, so we had to strive to keep employment here to assist the welfare of the area and to ensure continued economic prosperity for the citizens.
“I was very conscious of the need to regenerate the area. There was devastation in the area.
“We had the whisky industry, but we had to do more to engage and regenerate the place.
“Lomondgate is a very successful economic redevelopment model, from the ashes of the closure of the J&B bottling plant to one where there’s now the BBC.
“The BBC has a real presence in Dumbarton. We also have Aggreko, the generating company which stayed in Dumbarton and developed there.
“We now have hotels, we have housing and it’s located on the road to Loch Lomond. So it’s making Dumbarton a very attractive place and encouraging both inward investment but also people coming to Dumbarton.
“The location is very handy whether you’re talking about Glasgow on the one side or if you’re talking about Loch Lomond on the other.”
He added: “Until the first national park was established in Loch Lomond, Scotland didn’t have any national parks – despite there having been national parks in England and Wales since 1947.
“I held conferences every year for over 10 years and the late owner Bobby Cawley was very helpful to me in arranging these. We had people nationally and internationally associated with national parks across the world.
“With a bit of struggle it was accepted by the government that they would undertake that but legislative time ran out and as a result we had to hand it over to the Scottish Parliament.”
And, despite spending much of his time in Westminster over the past three decades, Dumbarton will always be home for John.
He added: “From my earliest days what was instilled in me was neighbourhood mutual obligation and common betterment and these values still drive me today.
“My title in the Lords is McFall of Alcluith. I wanted the simplest title but I couldn’t have it and I thought well let’s go back to the fourth century when Dumbarton was the ancient capital of Strathclyde under the kingship of King Ceretic and Alcluith meant Rock on the Clyde.
“I think I’m most proud of the fact that I have no sense of entitlement and I strive to keep that, but also that I know who I am, I know where I come from and I’m kept on the road on that by my wife and my family.
“That is something that will always be really important to me.
“Dumbarton is very much my home and it always will be.”
