The Scottish Liberal Democrats have decisively ruled out forming a full coalition with the Scottish National Party (SNP), yet they have left the door open to providing support for John Swinney's minority government on a case-by-case basis.
Leader's Stance on Cooperation
Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton stated that he would engage with the Nationalists on an 'issue-by-issue' basis to advance Liberal Democrat priorities. This approach comes after his party improved its number of MSPs from four to a higher count, notably claiming the scalp of children's minister Maree Todd in the constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Ross.
Electoral Performance
The final tally marked the Lib Dems' best result since 2007, when the party won 16 MSPs. However, the celebration was tempered by the loss of their Shetland stronghold to the SNP. Mr Cole-Hamilton described this as a 'bitter pill' but vowed to reclaim the constituency at the next Holyrood election.
During the campaign, John Swinney openly courted the Lib Dems, thanking them 'warmly' for backing the last two SNP budgets and suggesting future collaboration. With the First Minister again leading a minority government requiring support from other parties, Mr Cole-Hamilton reiterated his position: 'I've been clear from the start, and I stand by that, that there will be no coalition with the SNP. I think for all the questions that Scotland currently faces, the answer to none of them is a third decade of SNP administration, and so we're happy to rule that out. If [Swinney] gets to Bute House, then we will be prepared to be grown-up and work on an issue-by-issue, budget-by-budget basis.'
Key Victories and Losses
In addition to defeating Ms Todd, the Lib Dems secured the new seat of Edinburgh Northern, where city councillor Sanne Dijkstra-Downie won by almost 2,500 votes over the SNP. Mr Cole-Hamilton comfortably held his neighbouring Edinburgh North Western seat with a thumping majority of 13,016 over the SNP. Newcomer Adam Harley took Strathkelvin and Bearsden from the SNP by 2,574 votes.
In the penultimate constituency declaration, the Lib Dems won Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, an area once represented at Westminster by former UK leader Charlie Kennedy. The seat had been held in the last parliament by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, who stepped down to spend more time with her infant daughter. Andrew Baxter defeated Nationalist Eilidh Munro by 1,150 votes.
Shetland Loss
The Shetlands have been represented at Westminster and Holyrood by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats since 1950, when future Liberal leader Jo Grimond was elected MP. However, former oil company geologist Hannah Mary Goodlad took the seat with 47% of the vote, turning a Lib Dem majority of 806 into a SNP one of 1,517. Mr Cole-Hamilton insisted his party would retake its traditional stronghold at the next Holyrood election and told the new MSP to make the most of the next five years. He said: 'Obviously, it is a bitter pill to have lost Shetland so narrowly. The Nats threw everything at it. I'm heartbroken for the team there. But we'll dust ourselves down. I congratulate Hannah Mary Goodlad and I hope she savours the next five years, because they'll be her only five years in the parliament. But it's been a great night for the Lib Dems. I think we've clearly seen a Liberal revival. We're going to be a strong Liberal voice in the parliament to come. We'll be constructive where we can, but we will oppose where we need to.'
Outlook on Holyrood Dynamics
Mr Cole-Hamilton predicted the next five years at Holyrood could be 'messy' because of the upsurge in Green and Reform MSPs. He said: 'People obviously have been failed by the old established parties of government. They're casting around for something different. They've picked candidates at this election that they will come to regret, I think. I just don't think that either Reform or the Greens represent serious politics. In fact, in some cases, represent very dangerous politics, and it will be up to me and my group to ensure that we resist that and we bring measure and decency and credibility back to our parliament, where they would tear it up.'
