Blogger’s Note: For those of us who lived through the Thatcher-Major Years (1970-1997) – it was a time of great highs (as we still possessed Socialism for a time) – and terrible lows (as our freedoms were slowly taken from us). We all resisted in our own way against Tory oppression – even my Irish grandmother refused to pay the Tory Poll Tax – with the young and the fit taking to the streets to protest (John Major was born up the road from me at St Helier Hospital). Mr Andy Anderson fought his own battle in Scotland. Thatcher hated the Scots as they almost always voted left-wing. To punish the Scots – Thatcher would introduce horrible anti-worker reforms into Scotland first and sit-back and laugh at the pain and suffering these policies would cause. As for us Southern workers – we would wait in literal fear for these debilitating reforms to hit us. Of course, I was young and full of fire during the 1980s and 1990s – spending some of that time in the wonderful City of Hereford. I do have vague memories of Mr Anderson – the Tories tried to use his defiance as a “warning” to what would happen to the rest of us if we supported or emulated his actions. Ironically, Labour would win a landslide in 1997 and for a time – we thought heaven had arrived on earth – but looks can be deceptive. However, between 1997-1999 the far-left of the Labour Party managed to establish a “Soviet War Memorial” situated within the grounds of the Imperial War Museum – where it still stands today (the Americans have continuously demanded its removal). Mr Anderson pursued his own politics (perhaps a leftist-anarchism of some sort) – but pursue them he did – and we must respect him for that. ACW (2.6.2026)

Tributes Andy Anderson who fought against Skye Bridge tolls

1st July – Isle of Skye – People – Ardrossan

TRIBUTES have been paid following the death of a Three Towns campaigner, author and activist who made national headlines during the fight against Skye Bridge tolls.

George Anderson – better known as Andy – died on June 20 at the age of 87 in his home at the Cemetery House in Ardrossan, surrounded by wife Doreen and his family and friends.

A passionate supporter of Scottish independence and human rights, he became the first person to be sent to prison for refusing to pay to cross the Skye Bridge in 1996. He would go on to win his battle against the tolls.

His book The Skye Bridge Story followed, with later well-received work covering the fight for independence and the need for a new Scottish currency.

Andy had four children, 14 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild – with another one due in December.

The campaigner had a remarkable life. Born in Glasgow in 1938, he moved with his family to Dunfermline, where he became a miner at the age of 15.

During National Service, he became a piper in the Cameron Highlanders. After a spell as a miner’s union official in Kent, he won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he earned a PPE degree.

He later became a full-time trade union official for the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) in England, and in 1979 was promoted to a senior post in Scotland.

On his retirement in the 90s, he and his wife Doreen moved to Skye, where they ran a bed and breakfast.

In 1995, he was one of the leaders of the nine-year campaign of protest over the UK Government’s imposition of tolls on the new Skye Bridge.

It was the UK’s first PFI (Private Finance Initiative) – a public project funded by private investors, who then charged the public to use the facility. Refusing to pay was made a criminal offence.

Most paid their fines. Andy refused and ended up in prison for his political stance. The tolls were finally abolished in 2004.

In his book about the battle, he wrote: “We were not, as we first thought, just opposing a government. We were in fact opposing the whole mindset, which was itself a captive of international companies who were determined to use the Skye Bridge project as an experiment.”

Andy would become a key independence campaigner in the years that followed. After the referendum loss, he helped found the Scottish Currency Group, which continues to this day.

Three years ago, he founded the grassroots campaign Respect Scottish Sovereignty, which calls for decentralised direct democracy, allowing ordinary people to stand up for their rights against government authority.

Andy and Doreen moved to Saltcoats around a decade ago, before moving to their home next to Ardrossan Cemetery three years ago.

His daughter, Theresa Derbyshire, said: “He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year ago and he survived a lot longer than anyone expected. My brother and his wife stay with them in house and the whole family looked after him.

“We are expecting a lot of people to come from all over to pay their respects at his funeral later this month. “

Andy’s funeral service will be held at 2.30pm on July 27 at the Holmsford Bridge Crematorium in Dreghorn.