In his address to the meeting and in answers to questions from members, John spoke about the opportunity the election would provide for the Scottish Conservatives to become the main opposition to the SNP government and to take it to task for its failings in administering so many of the services that really matter to Scots such as health, policing and educational attainment. That said, and lamentable though the SNP record in government has been, John left the meeting in no doubt about the effort that would be required to retain Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire for the Conservatives against the challenge from the SNP. However, as a mark of his confidence, he pledged that he would not seek a place on the regional list and that if he failed to win the support of the voters of Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire as their first choice he would not serve as a regional list MSP - a pledge that his actual or rival candidates from other parties have so far signally failed to make.
At the same meeting, Scott Rutherford, our new campaign manager who has just taken up his post, was introduced to members of the party. Scott is from Jedburgh and worked as a volunteer in the Better Together office during the referendum and in our St Boswells office for two months before the general election. Scott will be responsible not just for managing our campaign in Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire but also for the portion of Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale that falls within the territory of the Scottish Borders C&U A. He succeeds Ross Oxburgh, who was our campaign manager for the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk seat in the general election. Ross has moved on and we would like to thank him for all his hard work during his time with us and wish him well for the future.