Moray Labour recognised by the Scottish Labour Party with Conference Award for Constituency Party Development

THE Moray Labour Party has been recognised for its growth and development with an award from Scottish Labour.

The Moray Constituency Labour Party (CLP) was honoured on Saturday (February 18) at the Scottish Labour Party conference in Edinburgh. During the event Moray CLP received the coveted Keir Hardie Award for Membership Engagement and Development, one of only two constituency parties to receive awards at this year’s conference.

The award was presented by Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar, and accepted by Moray Labour by Councillor Ben Williams, who gained the Fochabers Lhanbryde ward for Labour in last May’s local elections.

The award comes off the back of a highly successful twelve months for Moray Labour. In 2022, Moray Labour ran its largest slate of candidates in almost 20 years, more than doubling its vote share and tripling its representation on the Moray Council.

Elgin City North, in particular, saw the largest swing to Labour in the whole of Scotland.

Moray Constituency Labour Party Secretary Dr Stuart MacLennan said: “A few years ago, we risked being squeezed out of politics in Moray if we didn’t act, so we put in place a plan to develop our constituency party. We prioritised building skills and capacity within our local members, and identified target areas where we thought we might be able to mount a comeback.

“Today, we have a diverse and energetic membership that works within the party nationally, as well as in our communities in Moray to develop the labour movement. People can again see the benefit that Labour representation makes to our communities here in Moray.

“When you look at the polls, it’s clear that Labour’s on the march in Scotland. This award recognises that we’re on the march in Moray too.”