A message from the Chairman

Since taking over as Chairman of the Orkney Branch of the party very recently efforts have been concentrated on the elections to the Scottish Parliament and we were extremely fortunate in having Helen Gardiner as our candidate.

For the first time, thanks to a most generous benefactor, we were able to secure a campaign headquarters in the centre of Kirkwall, which provided us with a high profile and also acted as a focal point for the campaign, initiated by Helen, to seek to obtain a better deal for Orkney through the distribution of the Local Government Block Grant when compared with the other island areas of Shetland and the Western Isles.

This campaign certainly caught the public imagination and it was noticeable that this issue was at the forefront of many of those seeking election to the local council. Helen can take great credit from this and whilst the result of the election was a disappointment to us all this in no way detracts from the excellent work done by Helen.

I am looking forward to an exciting future as the campaign attracted a good number of new activists along with the faithful few and therefore I feel we now have a platform on which we can build for the future.

My aim for the foreseeable future is to build on this goodwill, unite the party and attempt to put in place a structure which will be relevant to the Highlands and Islands region in general, and Orkney in particular.

Ronnie Johnson
Chairman

Contact details: Tel: 01856 870616
e-mail: rdsdj@yahoo.com