Bob McTaggart

Robert McTaggart (2 November 1945 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish shipbuilder and politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central, representing the Labour Party. McTaggart was on the left of his party, and took up issues of unemployment and poor housing which affected his constituency. He also took a particular interest in international affairs, being a supporter of the Palestine Liberation Organization and visiting Libya, North Korea and the Soviet Union. McTaggart died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 43.

Early life

McTaggart was born in Glasgow, his father also being called Robert. He attended St Constantine and St Bartholomew primary schools, followed by Holyrood Secondary School.

At the age of 16 he left school and was apprenticed to be marine plumber at Govan Shipbuilders, and worked for five years in this job. From 1968 to 1972 he was a trigonometrical calculator for the shipbuilders, then becoming a Pipework planner. McTaggart joined the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union and was the EETPU shop steward at Govan from 1971 to 1977.