Tomorrow, there is a Scottish Parliament by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse which was caused by the very sad death of the wonderful SNP MSP Christine McKelvie in March.

Our candidate is my brilliant friend Aisha Mir who had done such a great job of representing the party in challenging circumstances.

Reform is throwing the kitchen sink at this campaign. Nigel Farage, again being anywhere but Clacton, came to visit earlier this week. Christine Jardine, our Scottish Affairs spokesperson, criticised him for avoiding the media during his brief visit, though I could have lived my life quite happily without the image conjured up by her first sentence:

Once again Nigel Farage is all talk and no trousers.

He’s run away rather than face the press or the voters of Hamilton.

This is just a taste of how Nigel Farage lets down everyone who ever trusts him.

There are a lot of people are frustrated that they have been let down by the SNP, Conservatives and Labour but it’s the Liberal Democrats who are offering real change, not Reform. Farage doesn’t care about getting you swift access to a local GP or dentist. We do.

Aisha on the other hand has been doing lots of media. She did an outstanding interview on Good Morning Scotland (here, from about 1 hour 38 in) in which she highlighted her own personal, very recent, experience as a carer for her mum who died recently and talked about how we had the solutions while the likes of Reform only sowed division. She rightly described their recent attack video of Labour leader Anas Sarwar as “scummy tactics.”

Ahead of the election tomorrow, Aisha said:

For too many people, it feels like nothing works anymore.

The SNP have failed Scotland for eighteen years. The Conservatives are lurching to extremes. Labour are already letting people down. Reform have no real solutions.

I’m in politics to get things done. I want to be a hard working local champion who will put your priorities first.

Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats are offering you a vision of a Scotland that is back to its best.

A Scotland where people can see a GP and an NHS dentist in good time.

A Scotland that once again gives our children a world-class education.

A Scotland with a growing economy and growing businesses, where the government looks after your money and works with our neighbours.

Vote Scottish Liberal Democrat for a candidate who is focused on what really matters to you.

She and her team have run a perfect campaign and done everything that they had planned. They have done such a good job and deserve a good result tomorrow. All the very best to them.

Alex Cole-Hamilton added:

Last year, Liberal Democrats had our best result for a hundred years, defeating the SNP in huge swathes of Scotland and overtaking the Scottish Conservatives too.

We have a record of winning and momentum behind us.

In Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse voters have a chance to back a local champion who will speak up for residents on the issues that matter most, like swift access to local healthcare.

At next year’s Scottish election, every voter will have a chance to elect a Scottish Liberal Democrat local champion to represent their region.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social