Personal Statement: 

Serving as your Scottish President for the last eight years has been a pleasure and privilege. As I pass on that torch, I remain keen to help grow our team of MSPs and elect over 150 Councillors across Scotland.
Our Convener will be key to this success. Growing our team in the Scottish Parliament and Council Chambers across Scotland requires strong leadership, a wide knowledge of the party and lots of campaigning experience.
My term as President has been defined by getting around Scotland as a loyal foot solider. I have enjoyed meeting with, listening to and encouraging members and supporters from Lerwick to Kelso, Islay to Inverness and Aberdeen to Bearsden - while leafleting, canvassing and supporting our excellent candidates. I have ample experience at the sharp end which will be vital to shaping the role of Convener, as well as working with our dedicated staff, industrious Parliamentarians and hard-working Councillors. I will keep my feet firmly in the ground as Convener; keeping in regular touch with key individuals and groups will be a high priority.
 All my life has been dedicated to public service - in the Health Service, Local Government, University and voluntary sector. Skills and experience gained across decades will be enormously useful in delivering as your Convener and electing more Scottish Liberal Democrats.
 I want to devote time, energy and commitment to the cause, and I ask for your support and vote for Convener.
 - W

What skills/experience will you bring to the role? 

I will bring skills and experience developed through nearly 60 years of professional, community and party service, including:
 42 years as a Perth and Kinross Councillor - including Group Leader, Depute Provost, Convener of Planning and Vice-Convener of Education.
 Fought for, and successfully delivered in full, replacement primary and secondary schools in Perth as a hard-working local councillor.
 Civic experience from serving as Depute Provost of Perth and Kinross on three separate occasions.
 Party member since 1966, serving in roles at the Constituency, Local, Regional and Scottish levels.
 Seasoned campaign champion since 1970, having taken part in every Westminster, Scottish Parliament and local election since 1974.
 Skillsets include Election Agent, Returning Officer, Fundraising Officer, and Constituency Chair and Vice-Chair.
 Successful Fundraising Officer at Constituency and Regional Levels
 35 years as a Senior Manager in the National Health Service - including roles in Human Resources, Project Management, Procurement, Business Management, Site Management, Clinical Services Management and Trust Board governance.
 A wide experience in governance and audit work for the NHS, University of Dundee, ALDC and COSLA.
 Experience as an internal Organisational Development Consultant and Change Agent.

What do you hope to achieve if elected?

I will have four main areas of focus as Convener - gaining our target seats in next year’s Scottish Parliament elections, concentrating focus on the 2027 local government elections, growing our membership and increasing fundraising, and assessing how effective our internal systems and structures are.
 There is now only a short time until next May’s Scottish Parliament elections. We have set our targets and selected a strong team of candidates, but we need to spend the next five months putting our foot to the floor - campaigning, canvassing and leafleting even harder to make gains.
All levels of the party will have an important role in winning our target seats. We need to have excellent communication between our local parties, our staff and our leadership. The Convener has a crucial role in working to ensure communication is excellent, and my experience in both local government and the health service provides the right skills and experience to do that.
 We also must keep the momentum to the council elections in May 2027, using the current campaign to get wins in our roadmap and build towards electing over 150 councillors. Campaigning in both held and development wards will be important, and coordinating our efforts and ensuring resources are allocated wisely will need detailed planning.
Office Bearers, led by the Convener and Leadership team, will need to monitor this carefully. My extensive experience in project management linked with training management skills will help a great deal to support this process.
We have a committed team of campaigners, but our membership is stagnant or in decline. We need a comprehensive effort across national, regional and local levels to increase membership, recruit more supporters and grow fundraising.
My experience working at the local level to recruit and retain members and my efforts to regularly raise funds will help to support and encourage others in growing our grassroots base.
Finally, we need to examine how Office Bearers, the Scottish Party Executive and Party Leaders coordinate and integrate. We need to self-appraise how effective our systems and structures are, and identify what needs to change to make our party more effective in breaking out of our heartlands over the next five years.
Good training and support is essential, and my experience as a training manager and organisational development internal consultant will be a valuable asset in both helping to identify issues and mapping out our future plans for growth and development.
In short, I want to help deliver short-term success while putting the foundations in place for long-term growth.