THE death on October 24 of East Lothian Council leader Willie Innes brought to a close a remarkable life of extraordinary public service.

Willie was born in Zambia, where his father, a joiner, had found work and had met Willie’s mother, a nurse from South Africa.

The family returned to his father’s native Leith and Willie grew up there, attending Broughton High School, leaving at 15. He enlisted, serving in the Royal Scots, including two tours of Northern Ireland.

Leaving the army, Willie became a spray painter in London, Barcelona, Danderhall and finally in Prestonpans. Here he met and married Janis and laid the foundations of a loving family that would come to include Gillian, Craig and Nathan.

One day around 1980, Willie arrived at a Prestonpans Labour Party branch meeting in the Labour Club, simply saying, “I’d like to join the Party”, and thus completed the trinity of family, community and cause to which he would devote every day of the rest of his life.

Like many in East Lothian, Willie cut his political teeth in the miners’ strike, in local support groups, on the picket line and even in Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where he gave evidence for the defence of miners who had been victimised and arrested.

In 1988, Willie was elected to East Lothian District Council as councillor for the ‘bottom Pans’ and began an unbroken run of 33 years in local government, ended only by his passing.

Willie was an outstanding councillor and his secret was simple: he loved the communities and people he represented, and would do anything for them.

On one occasion, a constituent got themselves into problems with the authorities in Spain. Knowing the country and the language, Willie simply got on a plane, went there, extricated him and brought him home.

His constituents loved him back, and no matter how tight the election, Labour never had to fear for Willie’s seat. Personal votes are largely a myth in our politics, but Willie’s was real, substantial and well-earned.

For his community, too, Willie was a ferocious advocate who would take on anyone. When the county was inexplicably excluded from a European fund for coalfield communities, he and his colleague Pat O’Brien set off to Brussels, where they bearded the commissioner Bruce Millan and refused to leave until the decision was reversed, bringing significant investment to East Lothian.

Willie believed profoundly in the power of local government to improve people’s lives, and woe betide any ‘national’ politicians – especially Labour ones – who thought they knew better in what was good for local communities. Moreover, he demonstrated how it could and should be done, playing a key role in the refurbishment of every high school and many primary schools in East Lothian, affordable housing, and even the best public toilets in Scotland.

Willie loved sport, played amateur football, was a founder member of (and played for) Preston Village Cricket Club. He was an avid supporter of Hibs FC, Preston Lodge Rugby Club, Preston Lodge Ladies Hockey Club and also Preston Athletic, where he had the added pride of his son Craig captaining the team.

Determined that everyone should have access to sporting opportunity, Willie played a leading role in delivering sports facilities in every town in the county, helped found the Pennypit Trust and delivered the sports strategy developed by Professor Thomson, which brought world-class programmes and coaches to East Lothian in a variety of sports. Willie was always proud of the county’s sporting champions, not least boxer Josh Taylor in recent years.

In 2007, when Labour lost control of the council, it was Willie who stepped up as Labour Group leader and, under his leadership, Labour returned to power in 2012, when he became leader of the council.

These were difficult years for local government, facing cuts to funding, centralisation of services and culminating in a frontline role in the pandemic. East Lothian could not have had a better leader than Willie Innes.

In particular, his mastery of local government finance was unparalleled, with the ability to find an acceptable budget in apparently impossible spreadsheets; the protection of services on the ground always his touchstone.

He was as devoted to council staff who delivered those services as to his constituents, and with senior officials created effective and respectful partnerships, though he was always the leader.

Even through his long illness he continued to lead, participating remotely in council business as recently as a fortnight ago.

It is a cliché to say “he was one of a kind” but Willie was just that: a politician who sought no reward or recognition, his personal ambition non-existent, but his aspiration for his community boundless; a socialist whose loyalty to Labour was ferocious, but ready to respect and work happily with anyone of any party for the good of his constituents; a man of great humility who deferred to no one, irrespective of position or rank; someone who was never heard to boast of his achievements, yet whose positive legacy is to be seen everywhere around the county.

Janis, Gillian, Craig and Nathan have lost a devoted husband and father. Prestonpans has lost its ablest advocate. As for East Lothian Labour Party, we have lost our leader, our comrade, our friend: the best of us. Our heart is broken.

Iain Gray