Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie gave an interview to Holyrood magazine ahead of the party’s conference in Aberdeen. The first few paragraphs told us that he was talkative, he smiled a lot and that he was “near universally liked.” We just wish that translated into poll ratings.

Alistair Carmichael described him as a “force of nature” on Friday and anyone who has seen the energy with which he campaigns from Shetland to Galloway will agree.

He doesn’t get everything right as his baffling response to the question about the difference Nicola Sturgeon brings to the role of First Minister shows, but he made  a solid defence of the party’s record in government and showcased the party’s USP – a strong commitment to civil liberties. There’s stuff in here that people across the UK will find useful.

The interview took place in the wake of the vote on the SNP’s plans for a super ID database. Willie had called for this measure to be done by primary legislation, not snuck in by committee, a clever move which secured the backing of Labour, Tories and Greens.

“There is a belligerence there that I found unhelpful, especially when organisations that he has previously called on in aid of his arguments, like the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, are opposed. He’s not necessarily been the greatest fan of the Information Commissioner but when he came out and said, very robustly, that the law might be broken here if he proceeds, then to ignore that was unfortunate.

“But I hope that he has got the message from the fact we got the independents, as well as the Greens, onside. That is a clear message because it is the first time it has happened in a long time – that we have all voted together and almost won. They had to drag some MSPs in from all over, from maternity leave and from a visit in a far flung part of Scotland. That shows how close it was.”

On civil liberties generally, he said:

… on so many liberal justice issues the SNP get it wrong. They got it wrong on the centralisation of the police, they got it wrong on stop-and-search, on corroboration – on so many issues it has been up to the Liberal Democrats to hold them to account. On so many of these issues, if we weren’t here, they just wouldn’t have been raised and we would end up with a more illiberal country as a result.”

The Lib Dems have certainly made the SNP’s lives more difficult on these issues and Rennie says he feels vindicated by his criticism of justice reform.

“We have been doing it consistently for a long time now. I think any idea that the SNP are liberal has been dispensed with and you really need us to hold them to account.”

On Saturday he gave 10 words as the Scottish Liberal Democrat message: Taxes down, pensions up, more jobs, better healthcare, stronger Scotland. Here is the longer version:

The big message for the campaign is that we want to build a stronger economy and a fairer society so that there is opportunity for everyone.

“The SNP took their eye off the ball during the referendum on key day-to-day issues like the NHS, the police, college cuts, and you could argue that the ID database is another example of that.

“Then you can’t trust Labour with the economy and you can’t trust the Tories with fairness, and that’s why you need the Lib Dems. So that is our unique position in the General Election and that is what will put us on a strong footing from which we can win across the country.”

Willie was one of the few Liberal Democrat candidates in 2010 who didn’t sign the pledge on tuition fees. Here he talks about the impact of the issue:

I don’t think people will ever forget, it is not one of those things that you ever would forget because it was quite a dramatic period and students were a big part of our voter base. But I think that gradually, step by step, they are coming.

“I also think that people recognise that although we got it wrong on tuition fees, we got it right on an awful lot of other areas, so cutting tax, pension increases, getting the economy back on track, childcare expansion.

“So they know politicians aren’t prefect, that political parties aren’t perfect, but that by-and-large, we have done a pretty good job. We held the Tories back where they have gone too far and been that centre-ground force in the Government, which has been good for the country

You can read the whole interview here.

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