Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has insisted he is not placing a ceiling on his party’s ambitions as he forecasts a “massive leap forward” in the upcoming election. The Scottish Lib Dems are confident of at least doubling their current representation at Holyrood from five MSPs.
The party secured four seats in the 2021 election, with Jamie Greene adding to its numbers in parliament last year after defecting from the Scottish Conservatives. While the Lib Dems are targeting 10 constituency seats, Cole-Hamilton has also placed an increased emphasis on making gains through the regional list system.
That strategy was clearly evident in Edinburgh on the final day of campaigning, where the party hosted an event with a peach theme—reflecting the colour of the regional ballot paper. Wearing a peach-coloured suit, Cole-Hamilton told the Press Association he was buoyed by polling numbers which, he claimed, indicated the party was “storming” into election day on Thursday.
“I’m not going to put a limit on our ambition,” he said. “But we’re really excited in what we’re seeing in our numbers coming back in seats across the Highlands, the west coast, East Dunbartonshire, Fife and Edinburgh, but also on that second peach-coloured ballot where everyone can vote for the Lib Dems. We think we’re going to take a massive leap forward and deliver our vision for change with fairness at its heart.”
While Cole-Hamilton reiterated his desire to see the SNP removed from government, he declined to discuss potential post-election alliances. “Talk of after-election deals is for after the election,” he said. “But we’re not going to put the SNP back in power.”
Cole-Hamilton also dismissed what some have characterised as a so-called “scunner factor” of public disinterest and disillusionment with the campaign. He argued the contrary, insisting his interactions with voters had been largely “positive”.
“The change that Scotland needs is a change of government, but it needs to be a vision for change with fairness at its heart,” he said. Throughout the campaign, the Lib Dems have focused their policy efforts on the NHS, education, cost-of-living issues, and Scotland’s transport infrastructure.
