Jimmy Reid was born in Glasgow’s Govan in 1932.

An engineer by trade, Reid became a union official and shot to prominence in the 1970s when he led the famous Upper Glasgow Shipbuilders Work-in.

The firm was formed from the amalgamation of five major firms on the Clyde in 1968. However, by 1971, only one of the original companies remained profitable and the company went into administration. The Government, headed by Conservative Edward Heath, refused to save the firm with a £6m loan.

Reid, along with his shop steward colleagues Jimmy Airlie and Sammy Barr, set about organising an action against the closure. However, instead of staging a strike, they decided to demonstrate the viability of the yard by staging a “work-in” and completing their existing contracts.

In a bid to tackle any “work-shy” image of the threatened staff, Reid imposed strict standards during the action and famously telling the workers: "no hooliganism, no vandalism and no bevvying.”

The action attracted wide-spread support from across the globe.

The yard workers were addressed by Tony Benn, entertained by Billy Connolly, and even given a £5000 contribution from John Lennon.

The movement ended when, in 1972, the government relented and saved two of the five yards, selling off another.

Meanwhile, in 1971 on the back of his trade union activities, Reid was elected rector of Glasgow University, giving a speech which was printed in full in the New York Times.

At the same time, Mr Reid was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, serving as a councillor in Clydebank and standing for Westminster election in 1974.

His communist party membership also allowed him the unprecedented access which later led him to create his STV documentary series, ‘Reid About the USSR’. The programmes won him two Baftas in 1984, but by that time, his political beliefs had moderated.

Mr Reid joined the Labour Party and stood for Dundee East in 1979, losing to the then SNP leader Gordon Wilson. His failure to reach Westminster for a second time led to him being described as "the best MP Scotland never had".

He also became a renowned print journalist, writing for newspapers including the Sun, the Herald and the Scotsman, and presented a number of popular TV chat show and documentary series.

Reid continued to support Labour until the 1997 election, when he became disillusioned and urged people to vote SNP or Scottish Socialist instead.

In 2004, he urged SNP members to support Alex Salmond’s leadership bid, with Nicola Sturgeon to be deputy leader. The following year, it was revealed he had joined the SNP.

Background

• Ex-trade unionist Jimmy Reid dies