AGM - 26th January 2012

We held our Annual General meeting in Motherwell, on 26th January, 2012.

We compiled detailed minutes of the meeting (to keep everything in order); but the following abridged version will hopefully suffice to keep members up to date with our discussions and the main decisions we made.

Apologies were acknowledged from several of our long standing members; and of course, this is understandable considering the huge distances some people have to travel. However, it was gratifying to note their continuing support for our Party.

We should also record our genuine sympathy to relatives for the loss of some of our long-standing (indeed founding) members. There's no point in causing further grief by mentioning names on our website; but we all know them; and we acknowledge their contribution in setting up our Party in 2003.

John Swinburne proposed that Mike Parker should take on the dual role of Secretary/ Treasurer. Mike will also keep our website going; and we agreed that - even with his somewhat quirky methods - this has been an invaluable boost to publicising our activities.

We focussed our discussion on  May's council elections. We agreed to have as many candidates standing as possible throughout Scotland. We also speculated on the possibility of a Westminster parliamentary bi-election, wherever it may crop up in Scotland. If we could make a good showing in such an event, this would provide the widest possible coverage and publicity for our Party (and promote/assist with our core issues).

However, a parliametary bi-election costs money; and thus we agreed on the urgent need to reinforce our drive for more funds. Perhaps members can suggest ways in which we can improve our financial situation.

We agreed that the £10 membership contribution was proportionate. Although the start of each year is a convenient date, that should not deter anyone from sending additional donations if they decide our Party merits additional support. We also agreed to offer members a system whereby they could utilise a bank standing order as a means of making regular payments.

We agreed to affiliate with the Pensioners' CampaignUK but (as John has already suggested to them) we hope they will consider the possibility of becoming a political organisation; and will offer English voters the chance to support their candidates. In a free country, political action is the way to get things done.  

With the current independence debate in progress, we confirmed our stance as a UNIONIST Party. We started in 2003 as The Scottish Senior citizens' UNITY Party; and that remains our position.                                                                 Of course, as a grouping of mature and reasonably intelligent people, we have distinct and varying views on how to best govern Scotland. However, all our opinions are within solid parameters of Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom.

Finally, John Swinburne stressed the importance of our Party doing well in May's council elections. When we have representatives in elected positions, then we will have a meaningful opportunity to take solid steps towards our main objectives, i.e. to remedy the scandal of Britain's state pension system; and to make radical improvements in the way our country cares for our old and vulnerable citizens (those who built the country) .