Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has hailed “incredible” results for his party, as it picked up seats around the country. With 68 out of 73 constituencies declared, the Lib Dems are on five seats, up from their previous tally of four MSPs after the previous election.
New constituencies won
The Lib Dems have picked up new constituencies, winning in Edinburgh Northern and Strathkelvin and Bearsden where they took the seats from the SNP. However Mr Cole-Hamilton’s party lost its longtime stronghold in Shetland to the SNP, a seat the Lib Dems have held for decades.
Record vote share in Orkney
Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur became the first MSP to be returned to Holyrood when he held his seat in Orkney, winning a record share of the vote in the process. His 70% of the vote represented the biggest share in the Scottish Parliament’s history.
After he won the Edinburgh North Western constituency seat, Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “We’re getting incredible results in places in our wonderful country that have never really thought about the Lib Dems. We’re getting double the share of the vote we got last time, almost everywhere, which I think spells really good news for the regional lists.”
He added: “I am really excited about the new parliamentary group that I will be welcoming to Parliament next week.”
Earlier, Mr Cole-Hamilton was cheered by supporters as he arrived at the Edinburgh count at the Royal Highland Centre on Friday, accompanied by his wife Gill and daughter Darcy.
Mixed bag across the country
The Scottish Lib Dem leader acknowledged there was disappointment for the party in Shetland. But he said the Lib Dems were still set for a good election result overall in Scotland. He said: “It’s a very mixed bag across the country. Obviously, some really odd results happening, but for the Lib Dems, no question, it’s a good day.”
He added: “We’re encouraged by a lot of the data we’re seeing. I mean it’s going to be a big step forward for the Lib Dems.”
No coalition with SNP
Mr Cole-Hamilton also reiterated that he would not countenance being involved in any coalition arrangement with the SNP. He said if John Swinney was returned as Scotland’s First Minister, his party would engage with the SNP government from the opposition benches on an “issue-by-issue” basis to seek concessions on Lib Dem priority areas.
“I’ve been clear from the start, and I stand by that, that there will be no coalition with the SNP,” he told reporters. On the prospect of Mr Swinney returning as first minister, Mr Cole-Hamilton added: “If he gets to Bute House, then we will be prepared to be grown up and work on an issue-by-issue, budget-by-budget basis.”
