• GDP: Reeves’s plan for growth leaves “economy on life support”
• Scottish Government refusing to say whether Gupta firms in breach of legal agreements
• Adam Harley selected for Scot Lib Dem target seat of Strathkelvin & Bearsden
• McArthur welcomes watershed moment in assisted dying debate as GPs vote to drop opposition
• Jardine comments on SNP MPs approved for 2026 candidacy
• Rennie responds to Glen Sannox pulled from service

GDP: Reeves’s plan for growth leaves “economy on life support”

Responding to GDP shrinking by 0.1% in January, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

The Chancellor’s wretched Budget has left our economy on life support so the Spring Statement must deliver a much needed shot in the arm.

Just as the Chancellor’s jobs tax is set to hammer small businesses and plunge high streets into despair, the Government’s refusal to negotiate a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union to unleash economic growth is baffling.

At the Statement, the Chancellor must admit that her Budget has failed to reverse the years of Conservative economic vandalism and put forward a new plan that unleashes the growth potential of small businesses up and down the land.

Scottish Government refusing to say whether Gupta firms in breach of legal agreements

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Willie Rennie has today piled pressure on the Scottish Government after a minister repeatedly refused to say whether recipients of millions of pounds of taxpayer-backed guarantees who have repeatedly failed to file accounts were in breach of their deals with the government.

It was revealed in October that the CEO of Liberty House Group, Sanjeev Gupta is currently facing prosecution over his alleged failure to file accounts for more than 70 companies. This follows years of media reporting that accounts for both the Dalzell steelworks – acquired by Mr Gupta from Tata Steel in a controversial back-to-back deal facilitated by the Scottish Government – and for the Lochaber aluminium plant – also owned by Mr Gupta and owing £7m in loans to Scottish taxpayers – have gone unfiled.

Mr Rennie has filed a series of parliamentary questions seeking to uncover whether a commitment to file accounts was included in either the legal agreements or loan conditions agreed with Mr Gupta and whether any terms of these agreements have been broken by the failure to file accounts. However responding for the Scottish Government, minister for employment and investment Tom Arthur repeatedly refused to reveal whether such terms were included or whether contractual terms had been breached.

Mr Rennie said:

For years I have pursued the Scottish Government for basic answers about what happens if Sanjeev Gupta’s business empire collapses and whether taxpayers will be stuck with the bill.

Between the unfiled accounts and furloughed staff, assorted serious fraud office probes and prosecutions, Mr Gupta seems to have no shortage of problems.

What puzzles me is why the Scottish Government seem so keen to cover up for him? If a requirement to file accounts was not part of their deals with Mr Gupta they should simply say so. If there was and the firms are now in breach of that agreement then ministers should set out what they are doing to safeguard taxpayers.

If we are to preserve Scotland’s last remaining steel mill, as well as a Highland business with significant potential then ministers will need to be far more open about their own dubious dealings with Sanjeev Gupta and his business empire.

Adam Harley selected for Scot Lib Dem target seat of Strathkelvin & Bearsden

Scottish Liberal Democrats have today announced that former charity worker Adam Harley has been selected as the party’s candidate for its key target of Strathkelvin & Bearsden at next year’s Scottish Parliament election.

The seat significantly overlaps with the UK Parliament constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire which was won by Liberal Democrat Susan Murray by almost 10,000 votes at the recent election.

Adam grew up and went to school in Bishopbriggs where he now lives with his wife and son. He originally worked in Theatre and the Arts before moving over to the Charity sector, fighting for the rights of people with cystic fibrosis to access life-saving medicines. He has also volunteered for organisations educating children from disadvantaged backgrounds and has worked with community groups supporting young people in danger of becoming involved in the criminal justice system, helping them turn their lives around.

He now works for Alex Cole-Hamilton, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

The current MSP Rona Mackay has announced that she will be standing down at the forthcoming election.

Adam Harley, Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Strathkelvin & Bearsden said:

So many people feel like nothing works anymore and that politicians aren’t on their side. I am committed to listening to the people and communities that make up Strathkelvin & Bearsden and giving my all to make sure they have the representation they deserve.

Under the SNP, our NHS has deteriorated, local schools are left in disrepair, and the cost of living has risen, making day-to-day life harder for everyone.”

It’s time for change. I want to build on the success of Susan Murray in the recent UK parliament election and work to make life easier, fairer and more affordable for everyone who lives here.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

Adam will be a great MSP. He has the experience and energy to represent Strathkelvin & Bearsden, and will speak up for residents on the issues that matter most, like swift access to local healthcare and well-funded local services.

After our stunning victory in Mid Dunbartonshire at last summer’s election where we pushed the SNP back into second place, this is now a top target for my party at next year’s Scottish Parliament election.

Voters will have a choice, a hardworking local champion in Adam Harley or more of the same with the SNP.

McArthur welcomes watershed moment in assisted dying debate as GPs vote to drop opposition

Liam McArthur MSP has today welcomed a “watershed moment in the assisted dying debate” after the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) voted to dropped its opposition to assisted dying.

At a meeting today, 39% of Council members voted that the RCGP should oppose assisted dying being legal, whilst 61% voted that the RCGP should move to a position of neither supporting nor opposing assisted dying being legal. Prior to the vote, the RCGP had been the only remaining UK medical royal college opposed to assisted dying.

Mr McArthur said:

This is a watershed moment in the assisted dying debate.

For many years it has been clear that the public overwhelming support giving those with a terminal illness and mental capacity the choice of an assisted death. More recently, however, we have seen a significant shift in the approach taken by medical bodies who previously opposed this choice.

I warmly welcome the decision taken by the Royal College of GPs, which follows similar decisions taken in the recent past by Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons as well as the British Medical Association who have moved from a position of opposition to one of neutrality.

These are bodies who represent medical professionals with a range of views on the issue of assisted dying and have an important role to play in shaping any legislation that might be passed at Holyrood, or indeed elsewhere in the UK. Doing so from a position of neutrality allows them to represent the interests of their membership while also informing the decisions taken by parliamentarians.

For too long, too many dying people in Scotland have faced a series of horrible decisions at the end of life, often despite the best efforts of palliative care. It is clear that they and their families are crying out for more choice, control and dignity.

In responding to those demands, I am committed to continuing to work with medical bodies, including the RCGPs, and other stakeholders on the detail of my bill to ensure we deliver a robustly safeguard assisted dying process that better meets the needs of dying Scots.

Jardine comments on SNP MPs approved for 2026 candidacy

Responding to the news that SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn alongside various former and serving SNP MPs have been accepted as potential candidates for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said:

Thanks to the excellent work of new Liberal Democrat MPs like Angus Macdonald and Susan Murray winning seats off the SNP at last summer’s election, there are now a lot more former SNP parliamentarians available to contest seat selections for Holyrood.

After nine months of looking at the back of Ed Davey’s head while he is quizzing the Prime Minister, Stephen Flynn, Dave Doogan and Stephen Gethins have decided they are fed up of having zero impact in Westminster and would rather pursue other alternatives.

One thing is for sure, with the nationalists expected to slip backwards in the Scottish Parliament too, it’s going to be a bitter bunfight for seat selections.

While I know what’s it’s like being a small party, I decided that representing my constituents was the important thing.

Rennie responds to Glen Sannox pulled from service

Responding to the news that the new Glen Sannox ferry has been removed from service, just two months after beginning sailings, Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie MSP said:

From painted in windows to short cables and now a cracked hull, this has been a never-ending nightmare for this SNP commissioned ferry contract.

Islanders, workers and taxpayers have had to suffer from this shambles.