Tag Archives: scottish government

Mark Valladares

1 September 2026 – today’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 1st September 2026 - 11:00 pm
  • McArthur sets out opposition to SNP’s food price consultation
  • Rennie responds to CalMac ferry costs rising by £20 million
  • Cole-Hamilton responds to Programme for Government
  • “What happens when the second fire starts?” – Baxter challenges Scottish Government over wildfire readiness

McArthur sets out opposition to SNP’s food price consultation

Responding to the Scottish Government launching a consultation on capping food prices, Scottish Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:

Farmers are warning that this will push them out of business, while retailers say it could lead to job losses.

The SNP love populist policy ideas which sound plausible and then backfire horribly.

What’s frustrating is that this kind of policy making ignores genuine solutions like Liberal Democrat calls for an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into potential profiteering by supermarkets and food multinationals.

We also want to see more support for farmers facing rising energy bills and costly red tape, so that Scottish farmers can get great value food on tables.

Rennie responds to CalMac ferry costs rising by £20 million

Responding to the project management costs for the construction of new CalMac ferries being built in Turkey rising by £20 million, with delays expected for all three vessels, Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said:

Islanders and coastal towns will be looking at this news and thinking, here we go again.

They may also be wondering why SNP ministers can approve millions of pounds more for CMAL, but water down a promise of proper compensation for communities affected by ferry disruption.

John Swinney must set out a detailed programme for ferry construction so that islanders finally get the services they deserve.

Cole-Hamilton responds to Programme for Government

Responding to the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

Remote and rural communities will be particularly concerned that when the SNP promise reform, they actually mean taking away local services, removing local decision making and centralising towards Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Right now, ambulances crews are queuing up outside A&E, patients are being treated in corridors and NHS staff are worked to the point of burnout. Reform is necessary but it needs to have their interests at its heart. Big upheaval lasting years could deliver distraction instead of change. If you are a pregnant woman in Caithness or a cancer patient in the Borders, will this actually improve your care?

We were strong critics of the centralisation of the police, and in the early years we were shown to be right and sadly people lost their lives.

We are in favour of communities being in charge and are instinctively nervous about the proposed merger of health boards.

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Mark Valladares

1 September 2026 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 1st September 2026 - 10:30 pm

A big day in Scottish politics today, and the day’s press releases reflect that…

  • Cole-Hamilton: Programme for government must match Scotland’s talent
  • Chou Turvey responds to police officer illness and injury
  • Chou Turvey responds to SNP ministers failing to fund sexual offences court
  • Harley: Swinney must deliver for NHS in programme for government

Cole-Hamilton: Programme for government must match Scotland’s talent

Speaking ahead of John Swinney’s Programme for Government, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

The SNP’s programmes for government often read like a wish list to Santa that never got posted, leaving us to think of all the things that never got delivered.

Scotland deserves a government that will match the talent, creativity and ambition of its people.

The priorities of John Swinney’s agenda must be: fixing the crisis in social care to fix the NHS, using ever lever at the Scottish Government’s disposal to help with the cost of living, finally dualling the A9, ending the ferries fiasco, and getting Scottish education back to its best.

From the opposition benches, with our newly expanded group of MSPs, we will be the grown-ups of this parliament, providing strong and effective criticism, hunting for agreement where we can, to get things done for the people of Scotland.

Chou Turvey responds to police officer illness and injury

Responding to embargoed reporting by 1919 Magazine, which highlights that almost 3,000 Scottish police officers are unable to carry out their full operational duties due to illness or injury, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

This is a staggering number of police officers who are unable to do their full job.

Many of these officers are struggling because of the spiralling demand on their time and the failure of the SNP government to properly support them.

Ministers need to stop asking police officers to perform the impossible. I will be using my voice in parliament to make sure the government finally steps up and meets the needs of officers and staff.

Chou Turvey responds to SNP ministers failing to fund sexual offences court

Responding to reporting in the Scotsman that SNP ministers have failed to bring forward any funding for their flagship sexual offences court, which they said would help cut the backlog of court cases, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

The SNP have an exceptionally poor track record of making lots of commitments in legislation and then failing to do the practical work to implement them.

The sexual offences court is at risk of suffering the same fate as greater protections for domestic abuse victims, protections which were promised in law more than five years ago, but which have yet to be implemented.

I am concerned that the SNP’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls is a fundamentally superficial one: warm words that grab headlines but go nowhere.

Ministers must set out a timeline for the creation of a specialist sexual offences court. They must also clarify whether additional resource will be given to ensure the law is implemented.

Harley: Swinney must deliver for NHS in programme for government

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP has said John Swinney must deliver for the NHS in his programme for government, as new figures revealed the worst ever A&E waiting times for July, high delayed discharges, thousands of people waiting more than a year for mental health care and increasing vacancies among nursing and midwifery staff.

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Mark Valladares

11 May 2026 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 11th May 2026 - 10:30 pm
  • Lib Dems – Starmer’s reset speech tone deaf on Wales
  • Cole-Hamilton responds to Swinney writing to opposition parties

Lib Dems – Starmer’s reset speech tone deaf on Wales

Commenting on Keir Starmer’s ‘reset speech’, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

Keir Starmer’s speech today showed just how out of touch Labour has become with communities in Wales. Despite years of Labour failure in Cardiff Bay and last week’s election results, the Prime Minister did not even mention Wales, let alone offer the fresh thinking people are crying out for.

To make matters worse, Labour has rubbed salt in the wounds of

…

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems react to PM speech

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 10th May 2020 - 8:36 pm

As soon as Boris Johnson started speaking, I was infuriated.

Nicola Sturgeon manages to get a signer there for every briefing. And she does hers live.

Boris’s was pre-recorded. Why not have a signer in the room with him so that, whatever channel you watch, you can understand what is being said?

It’s not the first time I’ve been infuriated by his government over the past week. The misjudged, mixed messaging. One minute people were doing great for obeying the guidance, the next they were getting too lazy at home. Then the briefing that lockdown was going to be lifted on Monday leading to a whole clutch of “we’re being set free” headlines. It’s not what you need in the middle of the greatest crisis we  have faced in generations. People need to understand exactly what they need to do.

That’s why the new slogan is so terrible.  Nobody knows what “stay alert” means in practical terms. Everyone will tell you something different. If you had something like stay 2m apart, wash your hands, wear a mask in confined spaces, you know exactly what to do. Not only that, but when the other UK governments hear about it on in the press, it’s clearly not been well discussed.

So how have senior Liberal Democrats reacted to the PM’s speech?  So far we have been asking careful questions about issues like care homes, PPE and testing. I sense a more critical tone now.

Ed said that the PM’s statement had more confusion that clarity:

 

This is the first time we’ve seen divergence between England and the other nation states of the UK.

As liberals, we should welcome this, given that we get what devolution means. We should respect the devolution settlements that give different parts of the UK the powers to do what is right for them.

But that means that all the governments have to clearly show that the decisions they make are governed by the science.

Willie Rennie said tonight:

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