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The Roxburgh Branch was formed in 2004 following restructuring
of branches in the Borders to reflect the constituency boundaries
for Westminster which are on different boundaries from seats for the
Scottish Parliament.
An important consideration has been the size of
the constituency and the need to ensure that attending meetings is
as cost effective for members as is possible. This branch
covers four council ward areas, including the whole of Hawick and Denholm,
Hawick and Hermitage, Jedburgh & District, and Kelso and District wards,
while a small percentage of voters in "Selkirkshire" ward (from the
Newton St Boswells area) are in the County.
Meetings are held on a monthly basis with venues rotating between
Hawick, Kelso and Jedburgh to ensure access to as many members as
possible throughout the year.
Roxburgh branch works with Berwickshire and Selkirkshire
branches to
campaign at Scottish Parliament elections (Roxburgh &
Berwickshire) and Westminster elections (Berwickshire, Roxburgh
& Selkirk).
The recent local elections held under proportional representation for
the first time saw a contingent of 6 SNP councillors elected across
the Borders and the SNP now forms the main opposition to the ruling
Lib Dem/Tory/Independent Council. In Roxburgh, Councillor
Jim Brown was
elected, with just less than 23% of first preference votes, to serve in
Jedburgh and District, while just 6 more second preference votes
would have secured a further Roxburgh SNP councillor in Hawick and
Hermitage. The party gained the support of some 2,351 voters
in Roxburgh in total, or 15% of all votes cast in the County. Councillor
Kenneth Gunn represents 1,890 voters from the Newtown St
Boswells area of Roxburgh who have now been drawn within the new
"Selkirkshire" ward.
We are
actively looking for new members in the Roxburgh area in order to
build upon the growing support among the people of Roxburghshire.
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