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Posted on June 09, 2013 by

Ruth Davidson triumphantly exits the hall to a standing ovation after her keynote speech to the Scottish Conservatives conference yesterday.

ruthdavidsonspeech

The Sunday Herald today gives the total number of delegates attending the conference at just 200 or so (although more on that later). We can count almost 40 empty seats in the picture above, taken from the BBC coverage, which shows one half of the hall, and we presume the other side must have looked pretty similar.

We estimate the the leader’s speech – which is the centrepiece of any political party’s conference – was therefore attended by between 120 and 140 people. Readers might wish to keep that figure in mind the next time Scottish Tories mock an unofficial independence rally for “only” attracting between 6000 and 7000.

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John Hannah

Those figures being correct means there were more marchers at the Anti Austerity Demonstration in Stirling yesterday that were at the Scot Tory Conf.
 
Also Kat Boyd lead the Radical Independence marchers on a chant of “Two Scottish pandas, one Scottish Tory”.
 
Kind of puts the support for the Tory party in perspective.

sneddon

That is just embarrasing.  I wonder what was going through her head as she marched up that aisle?  “turned out nice again”, “why me god, why me?”, ” back stabbibg barsturds the load of ye”.

HoraceSaysYes

Do we think its related to the last-minute upsurge in ticket sales for Rockness? 🙂

The Man in the Jar

It was such a nice day yesterday as well. I wonder what proportion of the 120 / 140 delegates were thinking. “I wish that I had stayed at home and enjoyed the sunshine instead of this”

GP Walrus

Is that tumbleweed I can see blowing through the hall?

The Man in the Jar

@GP Walrus
@11;57am
No its balls of human hair torn out by delegates in utter frustration!

TYRAN

If you held a car booty or local town hall wrestling and drew 140 people, would you expect it to be mentioned in the media and shown live on BBC player? 

Hetty

O/T a bit, BBC news today, devolution for England could save UK…
is it April 1 st? 

Macart

Haloooooo, is there anybody there? Good acoustics in an empty hall. 🙂

bunter

She was savaged on sunday politics by the probing and forensic mind of the BBCs Mr Kerr. NOT!
She also repeated that Holyrood was ”broken” by the SNP gaining a majority and seems to suggest that the Unionists first task if there is a NO vote is to ”fix” it, so that the seperatists cant keep coming back again and again threatening her UK as she sees it.
Democracy UK style and quite worrying.
 

Roddy Macdonald

Some honesty creeping into their reporting? See twitter exchange in my piece The Unst Christmas Panto Drew a Bigger Crowd.

joe kane

Empty deck-chairs on the long abandoned tory titanic SS Britannia.
The only hope of rescue from the unexpected looming separatist iceberg is Captain Darling, famous for his exploits aboard the SS British Economy, whose last known whereabouts he modestly never mentions but was last seen sinking ignominiously in a sea debt just off the tax haven archipelago of the City of London.
Experts say that plans to locate the wreck of the SS British Economy could take 7 or even 10 years, but wonder if its worth the effort given the state it’ll be in after all those years defenceless and exposed to the elements in that notorious stretch of uncharted and dangerous waters.

Jeannie

Desperately trying to figure out why so many of our female politicians are dressing up in cerise-pink coloured jackets.  I see Annabel Goldie and Ruth Davidson wearing them in the pictures and I’ve seen both Johann Lamont and Nicola Sturgeon wearing them recently as well.  What’s that all about?  Is somebody advising them to dress like Barbie or what?  I once bought a cerise top and skirt to wear to a night out.  My mother’s comment was, “I’ve seen you in nicer”.  I would offer the same comment the above-named politicians and advise them to wear something a bit more business-like.

Lorna Macnair

Sorry but lol you reap what you sow they should pack up thier bags and go home

Luigi

Those empty seats were reserved for the postal voters (just in case)!


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