In 1997 I was sharing an office in Leith with Brian Monteith.
I was a freelance journalist, Brian was a PR consultant. He was also spokesman for Forest in Scotland.
Two years later I was back in London working for Forest and Brian was a member of the devolved Scottish Parliament.
In summer 2000 I interviewed him for the Forest magazine Free Choice:
GREAT SCOT
Evidence that the Scottish Parliament was beginning to buckle under the self-imposed pressure of political correctness caught even the most cynical observers by surprise.
Months after being warned that Presiding Officer Sir David Steel intended to crack down on smoking ("There should be no smoking within the entire Parliamentary complex and we intend to vigorously enforce this"), smokers were instructed to walk down the street, well away from the building and – wait for it – remove their accreditation badges so no-one would recognise them!
Perfect timing, or so it seemed, to launch a campaign that would stand up for Scottish smokers and poke fun at those pathetic little Hitlers in the puritanical health lobby. One of the MSPs who has agreed to support the campaign is Brian Monteith. OK, so he's a former Forest spokesman but, take my word for it, Monteith is no poodle. He's not even a traditional Scottish Tory.
Born and bred in Edinburgh, he and his family are all state educated (something of a novelty in a city where private schools are ten a penny) and he genuinely loves his football (hunting, shooting and fishing being strangers to him). In 16 years as a PR consultant clients included Budweiser, Fosters, Caldeonian Brewery and at least four Indian restaurants, a fact which may explain his slowly expanding waistline.
All things considered, Brian Monteith is as 'normal' a politician as you could wish to meet. He is also incredibly laid back. Even relegation for his beloved Hibernian in 1998 was met with a shrug of the shoulders and a sense of perspective rare among red-blooded season ticket holders.
Get him on the subject of smoking however and Monteith is as close as he ever gets to fuming. An occasional smoker who enjoys the odd cigar, he has watched with dismay as politically correct politicians of all parties have lined up to lecture his countrymen about the evils of tobacco while threatening to ban smoking in public places.
Quite simply, Monteith believes that the Scottish Parliament's attitude to smoking is all wrong. "There's a danger," he reports, "that the Scottish Parliament will be seen as puritanical and in that sense quite out of touch with ordinary people. Unfortunately politicians are ambivalent and once a bandwagon has been started by a small minority, it's difficult to stop.
"I don't advocate smoking in the chamber where we're debating but if one believes in individual liberties there should be places, including bars and restaurants, which are tailored for smokers as well as non-smokers.
"Smoking," he adds, "may offer a slight health risk to me but getting into my car or playing five-a-side football also offer a slight risk and it's a choice I decide to make. So long as people are tolerant of each other's choices we should be free to make them."
He's unimpressed by organisations like ASH Scotland, a group he dismisses as "humourless and the mouthpiece of government". ASH, says Monteith, represents an outdated presbyterianism that continues to haunt Scottish life. "There is still a sense of guilt, in some quarters, about having any fun."
He agrees the state should regulate the sale of tobacco and educate people, children especially, about the health risks, but is adamant that it should not interfere in an adult's choice of lifestyle, whether it be smoking or drinking. "The warnings on cigarette packets," says Monteith, "are completely meaningless. People ignore them. A ban on tobacco advertising will also make little difference. It's the worst form of gesture politics."
Tobacco taxation? Far too high, says Monteith. "It doesn't discourage people from smoking. It encourages smuggling which creates a thriving black market and makes cheap tobacco readily available to young smokers."
Smoking in public places? Live and let live, he argues. "I see nothing wrong with smokers and non-smokers sharing the same space, so long as it's well ventilated. There is a time and a place for smoking but the idea that it should be confined to your own home, under cover of darkness, is absurd. Yet that is the logic of the anti-smoking argument."
Smokers' rights is not the only 'unpopular' cause Monteith has supported. Indeed, the fact that he finds himself in the Scottish Parliament at all is one life's little mysteries. A former chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students, Monteith was a fierce opponent of a devolved parliament and did everything he could to convince his countrymen that here was an expensive experiment they could well do without.
"Having been involved in the previous referendum in 1979 I felt it was important that the electorate should hear the arguments for and against devolution."
According to Monteith, who devised and led the vociferous 'No No' campaign almost single-handedly, it did relatively well. "We had very little money and the momentum was completely against us from the beginning, but many of the issues we raised have never gone away and have in some ways plagued the Parliament ever since."
One issue was the price of constructing a new building. "We thought it would cost as much as £50 million but it looks like it will cost four times that. We also asked why we should have so many government ministers and were told we wouldn't. We now have 22 ministers costing us over one million pounds a year."
A close ally of Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie, Monteith says, "David is now accepted as being one of the most effective parliamentarians in Scotland. Given that he also has a sense of humour, an interest in things such as football and golf, and likes a cigar, I think he has the common touch and will be a considerable asset for us."
Having the "common touch", he adds, is vital. His greatest fear is that "129 politicians will seek to find things to do and this will mean more regulation, more political correctness and more interference in people's everyday lives."
Today, shadowing ministers on education, culture and sport, Monteith has a chance to promote two of the principles closest to his heart – choice and opportunity. "What we need in education is more choice. The way to provide it is to remove schools from local authorities and create school education boards which can provide different types of education to suit parents or children's needs. Let the parents decide.
"In football I am concerned that the league structure in Scotland is effectively a restriction of practise in that the top 12 clubs can restrict who enters into the Scottish Premier League."
On culture he believes that questions must be asked about the relationship between the arts and the state. "We should ask, for example, if state funding actually undermines artistic credibility. I wouldn't expect these questions to be asked by socialists. They look for the smothering arms of the state to support the arts because it means they can control it."
More importantly, he believes the country needs to sell itself as a high quality destination for people from outside Scotland. "We need fewer tourists who spend more money. The concept of us trying to cater for large numbers is a false one because I just don't think our roads, for example, can handle them.
"You can't sell the tranquility of the glens to coachloads of people. Increasing access to the hills might be great for the health of the nation but it makes it less of an experience than it's meant to be."
Quality hospitality also means smoking and non-smoking facilities. "If we restrict choice we will drive people away." Political correctness, he argues, could damage the nation's economic health.
Realistically Monteith accepts that the Scottish Conservative party faces at least twelve, probably more, years in opposition. Undeterred he draws on his cigar, exhales lustily and declares, "This gives us time to develop policies that will be popular, have a bit of fun, and show our Scottish credentials. We've started with a blank sheet of paper so we've everything to build on. It's a great time to be in Scottish politics."
Let's hope he's right.
Postscript: Brian stood down from the Scottish Parliament in 2006 after seven years as an MSP. He currently writes a weekly column for the Scotsman and is regular contributor to Conservative Home. He also writes for and edits Forest's Free Society website.
In 2014 the Scottish Conservative party has one MP and 16 (out of 129) MSPs. It is no closer to power in Scotland than it was 14 years ago.