• Cole-Hamilton calls for stronger response to nitazenes ahead of Scottish Drugs Forum
• Cole-Hamilton: Scotland deserves better than Farage
• Nigel Farage accused of plan to ‘rip up Welsh countryside’ with fracking
• Scot Lib Dems comment on Simpson defection
• Reconviction rate increases among prisoners

Cole-Hamilton calls for stronger response to nitazenes ahead of Scottish Drugs Forum

Speaking ahead of the Scottish Drugs Forum on Wednesday 27th August, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has called on the SNP government to take strong action on the growing number of drug deaths caused by synthetic opioids such as nitazenes, which can be hundreds of times more powerful than heroin.

In December 2023, Mr Cole-Hamilton wrote to the Scottish Government’s drugs minister to warn that experts were concerned about synthetic opioids which were expected to fill a global shortage of heroin.

In January 2024, Mr Cole-Hamilton MSP challenged then First Minister Humza Yousaf during First Minister’s Questions about his government’s real-terms cuts to the drugs budget despite the emerging use of nitazenes in Scotland.

He has subsequently raised the issue repeatedly in the Scottish Parliament and in the media, including securing a parliamentary statement on the matter in September 2024

In August, Public Health Scotland issued a warning about nitazenes after the drug was detected in 38 deaths between January and March 2025.

Speaking ahead of his appearance at the forum, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

These are extremely dangerous drugs: they are cheap, easily purchased online, terrifyingly potent and often used to bulk out other drugs such as heroin.

Nitazenes and other synthetic opioids are responsible for a growing number of deaths in Scotland, which is why I have repeatedly raised this issue in parliament and joined with campaigners in warning of their harms. We cannot afford to let this emerging threat get out of control.

As a former youth worker, I have seen first-hand how the drug deaths crisis is devastating lives and communities. I was very proud that my party secured more support for drug services in the recent budget, including a new facility to help mothers and babies born addicted to drugs, but we cannot stop there.

Scotland needs world-leading drug services. If we are to deliver them, the government urgently need to get on the front foot with nitazenes and other synthetic opioids, through enhanced information, detection and treatment.

The Scottish Government should also move ahead with new drug checking facilities and rolling out a network of safer drug consumption rooms across the country, because help cannot just be limited to Glasgow.

Cole-Hamilton: Scotland deserves better than Farage

Commenting ahead of Nigel Farage’s visit to Scotland today, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

Scotland deserves better than Nigel Farage. His deportation plan crumbles under the most basic scrutiny and shows that Reform are trying to take the public for fools.

People are right to feel tired and frustrated, but Farage doesn’t care about delivering first-rate healthcare or getting Scottish education back to its best.

Scotland needs change with fairness at its heart. You get that with the Scottish Liberal Democrats and it’s why we’re winning again.

Nigel Farage accused of plan to ‘rip up Welsh countryside’ with fracking

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have pledged to fight any attempt by Nigel Farage and Reform UK to impose fracking on Wales, warning that the proposals could damage the countryside and threaten local communities.

On 25 August, Reform UK announced plans to allow fracking across the United Kingdom, with senior figures including Nigel Farage and Richard Tice urging energy companies to prepare. The Welsh Liberal Democrats highlight that if Reform UK performs well in the 2026 Senedd elections, it could use devolved powers to push fracking in Wales.

Powers to license fracking in Wales have been devolved to the Welsh Government since 2018, and with the Senedd elections approaching next year, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated the public should know about Reform’s plans to restart fracking licenses.

The party argues that fracking poses risks to the environment, causing noise, air and water pollution, while undermining efforts to tackle climate change. Fracking trials in England triggered earthquakes and left communities concerned about safety. They say that returning to shale gas would be a step backwards when investment should focus on renewables, home insulation and green jobs.

They also warn that fracking sites are visually intrusive and would tear up parts of the Welsh countryside, harming tourism and disrupting local life. The party is urging people who want to protect wildlife and landscapes to stand against Farage and Reform at the ballot box in 2026. The Party has also launched a petition opposing Farage’s plans: https://www.libdems.wales/nofracking

Commenting, Jane Dodds MS, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:

Wales has made its opposition to fracking crystal clear. Local people do not want to see our beautiful countryside torn up for a failed experiment that has caused earthquakes and pollution elsewhere. Yet Nigel Farage and his Reform colleagues are determined to ignore the evidence and gamble with the safety of our communities.

Let me be clear, the Welsh Liberal Democrats will fight any attempt to bring fracking back to Wales. We will oppose it in our communities, in the Senedd and in every corner of this country.

At the 2026 Senedd elections, the choice will be stark. A vote for Farage and Reform risks tearing up our countryside and dragging Wales backwards. A vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats is a vote to protect our environment, invest in clean renewable energy and secure a safer and greener future for generations to come.

Adding his comments, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are leading the fight to protect our countryside, whether that is standing up against sewage being dumped into our rivers or stopping Nigel Farage and Reform from tearing up our natural landscapes through fracking.

Reform’s announcement shows they are prepared to put their interests before those of our communities. Fracking has already been tried and failed in England. It caused earthquakes, divided communities and never delivered cheaper energy.

Here in Wales, we will not allow Nigel Farage and his party to rip up our countryside for the sake of a reckless experiment. The message is clear: if people want to protect Wales from fracking, they should vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

Scot Lib Dems comment on Simpson defection

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said;

Nigel Farage is proposing sending billions of taxpayers’ money to the Taliban, an oppressive regime that British soldiers fought and died to defeat. This is a back of fag packet solution to a small boats crisis that he helped create through Brexit. Not a penny should go to a group so closely linked to terrorist organisations proscribed by the UK. I am not sure why Graham Simpson is so keen to back Nigel Farage’s Taliban tax.

This defection shows that the Conservative party is in freefall. I had hoped that the Scottish Liberal Democrats would overtake them at the Scottish election but if this keeps up, we’ll achieve that goal long before then.

One thing is for sure, the Conservatives will once again double down and try to race Reform UK to the extremes

If you are the kind of sensible, moderate voter who took a chance on Ruth Davidson’s Conservatives, now is the time to jump ship and back the Scottish Liberal Democrats to deliver change for Scotland with fairness at its heart.

Reconviction rate increases among prisoners

Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader and former police officer Wendy Chamberlain MP has today said that more must be done to prevent a “revolving door of reoffending” after new figures show that the reconviction rate for those released from custody has increased to 42.8%.

New figures show that there was a 42.8% rate of reconviction for all offenders released from a prison or young offender institution in 2021-22. This is an increase from 39.6% in 2020-21.

62.8% of those who were given custodial sentences of three months or less were reconvicted after being released in 2021-22.

Wendy Chamberlain said:

These figures show that much more needs to be done to prevent a revolving door of reconvictions.

The SNP spent years ignoring the warning signs of prison overcrowding. This has now escalated into a crisis that makes it much tougher for staff to work with prisoners and stop them from reoffending when they are released.

There’s been a decline in education, training and work activities across the prison estate. These ought to be at the heart of prison life to increase the chances of people making positive contributions to society when they leave.

Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see a modern prison estate that strikes the correct balance between punishing, rehabilitating and reducing reoffending. To achieve that, the government need to get serious about giving staff the resources they need and easing overcrowding by driving down the use of remand.