May Executive Meeting

We had our Executive meeting for Perth & North Perthshire Liberal Democrats last night, which included a debrief on the election campaign, a good discussion on the national outcome and planning things for going forwards over the next year or so through to the Scottish Elections in 2011.

Although we came fourth in this seat, we did not get squeezed as much as the Lib Dems did in some other areas. Our general strategy was judged to be the right one. The emphasis going forwards will be to increase our capacity and do more of all the things we are doing at the moment. It was a very exciting campaign, a number of people got experience for the first time and we recruited new members. We are therefore certainly looking at the positive.

On the national level, although a few of us are cautious about the arrangement with the Conservatives, the mood is very positive, with no-one disapproving of the outcome. The coalition arrangement with Labour in the Scottish parliamnent in 1999 was, for example, very much more controversial at the time.

So, for those who might have thought that this colation in 2010 would split the Liberal Democrats down the middle......sorry to disappoint you. We are very much behind the new set-up and will make the very best of it going forwards.