Lady Emma Pidding was introduced and thanked by John Lamont MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire and in her talk she reviewed our recent electoral achievements, the tasks that lie before us and explained the role of the National Convention; the body that she recently chaired but which she suspected many of her listeners would not be familiar with.
Amidst all the satisfaction with the overall result of last May's general election and the many notable individual victories, Lady Emma commiserated with us and with John on how narrowly we had failed in our goal of having twice as many MPs in Scotland as the Labour party. She had no doubt that next time round we would succeed. However, before the next general election, we have the small matter of the Holyrood elections in May 2016, which will require a tremendous effort by all of us to secure the re-election of John Lamont MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, the election of Cllr Michelle Ballantyne as MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale and a strong Conservative vote for the regional list in order to secure additional list MSPs.
Turning to the National Convention, it is, in essence, the voluntary party's 'parliament', with every association chairman being a member and, as such, it is the vehicle through which ordinary members and activists can make their views known to their professional counterparts. Lady Emma commented that although all association chairmen have voting rights, the proportion who actually exercise such rights is usually disappointingly low for an organization whose raison d'être is to encourage voters to vote; and she urged greater engagement.
After her talk, Lady Emma Pidding embarked on the Herculean task of drawing the raffle. At the start of proceedings the table was covered with prizes, all of which had been donated by guests and members. The association would like to thank all these donors for their generosity and it would also like to thank the staff and owners of the Buccleuch Arms for their work in organizing a very successful lunch that was enjoyed by all. Finally it would like to wish all its members a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.