ABSTRACT
In 1978 Rotherham was such a division, its Secretary, Dr. Hamid Hussein, being a go-ahead general practitioner and an active member of the Representative Body. The Annual Representative Meeting was held in Liverpool and was certainly the most unpleasant British Medical Association (BMA) meeting. The General Medical Council elections had taken place during the summer, using the single transferable vote system. When the results were declared in the autumn there were a lot of surprises. A joint meeting had been arranged with the Hong Kong branch, to be held in October 1979. Civil servants and politicians appreciated medico-political history and knew that doctors were unwilling to take any action that would jeopardise their patients, and that under pressure they would blame the BMA for their troubles and form splinter groups. One of the characteristics of the BMA is that its members often ignore its activities at the local divisional level.
