Wessex Regionalists met for our Annual General Assembly this year on March 15th.
The conference this year was held in Weston-super-Mare and attracted members from near and a far – as close as the town itself and from as far as Berkshire.
Last year’s Council was re-elected en bloc and, in the Council meeting immediately succeeding, I was officially re-co-opted as a member of the Council with a communications mandate.
Members received annual reports from the Secretary, President, and Treasurer, with discussions centring on how to improve the Party’s presence and attract more members.
Re-elected President, Jim Gunter, stressed the importance of speaking to voters’ needs in upcoming policy papers, and it was resolved that the Party would consult polling data when prioritising the development of one policy paper over another.
Membership has dwindled since its uptake during the pandemic, but as much as the picture may be bleak there are positives to focus on, and the exciting possibility of progression in the future. This website, for example, has proved more popular than the last. The Council also resolved to make its meetings more open to the membership, who can attend as observers. Discussion on our relationship with Europe since Brexit and WR’s reaction to Labour’s devolution plans show WR’s ability to react to ongoing developments and remain relevant to political discourse. We also agreed that the Chagossian people have a right to return to their islands, and that WR will protest for their right to self-determination, whether the islands remain British territory or are indeed transferred to Mauritius. In so doing, WR demonstrates solidarity with other devolutionist movements, including Mebyon Kernow, who backed a similar motion at their own annual conference.
Wessex Regionalists 