• Cole-Hamilton comments on declining nursing applications
• Cole-Hamilton sets out plan to “fix the damn roads”

Cole-Hamilton comments on declining nursing applications

Responding to an embargoed report by the Royal College of Nursing about a falling number of applications for nursing courses, with over 1,000 fewer people applying to study nursing in 2025 compared to 2019, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

For nineteen years, the SNP have made a dog’s dinner of NHS staffing. These gaps stretch all the way back to Nicola Sturgeon cutting nursing training places and claiming that was sensible.

Such a drastic fall in the number of people applying to be nurses and the sheer scale of the drop-out rate will have a serious impact on frontline services unless action is taken immediately.

At the election, by backing the Scottish Liberal Democrats on your peach, regional ballot paper, you can vote for a new workforce plan that will boost the number of nurses, ensure every ward is safely staffed and deliver change with fairness at its heart.

Cole-Hamilton sets out plan to “fix the damn roads”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today set out his party’s plan to get Scotland moving and “fix the damn roads” as he took to the track at Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife, where the party is hoping to gain seats on the peach regional ballot paper.

Figures from Transport Scotland show that across the country in 2024:

• 161 people were killed on Scotland’s roads – an 11.8% rise from 2023.
• There were 5,734 total road casualties. 1,978 were seriously injured and 3,595 were slightly injured in road collisions.
• There were 495 child casualties, with 3 children killed and 160 seriously injured.

Scottish Liberal Democrats are setting out their plans to fix dangerous roads and help people safely get from A to B by:

1. Creating a new data-driven Dangerous Roads Programme and nationwide coding system that is used to trigger interventions and joint-working including the presence of road policing, cameras, adjustments to speed limits, resurfacing, better lighting, or even pave the way for bypasses or dualling.
2. Introducing speed awareness courses to re-educate speeding drivers and reduce re-offending.
3. Speeding up the long-overdue dualling of the A9 and making junctions safer.
4. Setting a timetable for the dualling of the A96 within the first 100 days of the new Parliament.
5. Delivering a programme for significant improvements to roads including the A83 and Rest and Be Thankful, A82 and A75 to make them fit-for-purpose.
6. Helping local authorities fix potholes in their roads by guaranteeing them fair funding.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

It has been nineteen years since the SNP came to power with big promises of smooth shiny roads. Now, people are fed up of waiting.

Under the SNP, Scotland’s roads are in a terrible state and the dualling of crucial trunk roads is miles behind schedule. Just like the ferries, they have become a symbol of how our infrastructure has been neglected under the SNP. These are basic things that people expect the government to get right.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have a realistic plan to get Scotland moving again. By improving core connections, driving progress on major projects such as dualling the A9 and tunnels for Shetland, we will boost regional development and rejuvenate our economy.

On top of that, Liberal Democrats are calling for an immediate cut in fuel duty to bring down prices at the pump.

It’s time to fix the damn roads and get Scotland moving again. That’s what you will get if you vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on your peach regional ballot.