Tributes: Lord Wallace of Tankerness

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Manchester]

My Lords, from these Benches, I associate my comments and condolences with those who have previously spoken. Lord Wallace was kind, welcoming and generous to new Bishops joining this House. Both he and his wife Rosie are extraordinary people. He in particular made a significant impact on shaping the very culture and society in Scotland we see today across the whole trinity—if I may use a word dear to him—of law, politics and church. His two main belief systems were indeed the Church and politics. They supported each other, and although, as we have heard, he never served as a minister in the religious sense, he was ordained: he was an elder, and many across Orkney and beyond have reported how pertinent and encouraging his sermons and hominies were.

Lord Wallace took his spiritual duties especially seriously, never compromising his faith to his other priorities, but notably fulfilling the Sunday elder’s duty at St Magnus Cathedral even during parliamentary election campaigns. I am not sure what his party machine thought of that, but as has been mentioned already, he once remarked that he found the Church of Scotland General Assembly more awe-inspiring to address than the House of Commons. I trust he is now debating in an even more inspiring chamber than any earthly one. While I am unconvinced that any of us on these Benches would be of quite the same view when comparing Parliament to the Church of England General Synod, it is perhaps that generosity which underlines why one political reporter notably described Jim as Scotland’s favourite uncle.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

My Lords, I am very grateful for the opportunity to follow these eloquent tributes on all sides to my friend, Lord Jim Wallace, and to extend my sympathy to Rosie, Helen, Clare and the family following his tragic death last week. I am also very grateful to have spent four years of my life with him as my Deputy First Minister and for all that we were able to do together.

The then Jim Wallace co-led the Scottish Constitutional Convention with my noble friend Lord Robertson. I am sure he would agree that without the input, determination, pragmatism and principle of Lord Wallace, the Scottish Constitutional Convention would not have produced the scheme that became the Scottish Parliament and united Scotland behind the biggest constitutional change this country had seen since universal suffrage. He co-led the yes campaign in a referendum to secure that Parliament, and, in 1999, following the first elections to the Parliament, became its first Deputy First Minister.

In many ways, he co-led the cabinet that so many of us who are now here served in. He was partnered during that time to two shadow Secretaries of State for Scotland and a Secretary of State for Scotland. He was deputy to three First Ministers, a Minister for Justice and a Minister for Enterprise. He was acting First Minister on two occasions, and he was dependable, trustworthy and very, very good in the Chamber.

He passed the first legislation—I often claim to have passed the first legislation as Finance Minister in the Parliament back in 1999, and mine was the first planned legislation, but he was actually first, if we tell the truth. Following the walking free from Carstairs of a very dangerous man called Noel Ruddle in August 1999, a month into his job as Justice Minister, Jim Wallace had to prepare emergency legislation to close a loophole linked to the ECHR and deliver the Mental Health (Public Safety and Appeals) (Scotland) Act 1999. He did so with a calmness and a clarity that we all saw and recognised in this Chamber over recent years.

But that was only the start, because no other Minister carried as much change improving lives in Scotland in that first four-year Parliament. In his role as Justice Minister, he revelled in the opportunity to use the powers of the new Parliament to modernise Scottish law in a way that had been impossible for the absence of time here at Westminster in the decades previously.

He delivered more Bills than any other Minister in that Cabinet by a long way—from family law to court reform, judicial reform, land reform, freedom of information, adults with incapacity, investigatory powers, police and fire service reform, sexual offences and marriage reform. As Deputy First Minister, he was not afraid to lead and was willing to do things together, whether that was setting targets for renewables ahead of the rest of the United Kingdom or banning smoking in public places, as we did towards the end of his time as Deputy First Minister.

He had a great sense of duty, but he was also great fun. His colleagues tell a great story about him. There was a charity event at his local school in Orkney. Someone challenged him to have his legs waxed as a contribution to their fundraising. He agreed and, despite his screams, completed the task. The school received a big donation. The school pupil who had conducted the ceremony and tipped the wax across his legs was Neil Gray, who many years later became Health Secretary for Scotland. He has certainly had a few close shaves in recent years.