Tag Archives: scottish parliament

Mark Valladares

29 May 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 29th May 2025 - 11:15 pm
  • Davey on tariffs: summon the US ambassador as Trump chaos “putting Liz Truss to shame”
  • “Scandal” as 400 military families forced to face emergency housing repairs over VE day anniversary
  • Greene comments on stalemate fears over Ardrossan harbour buyout plan
  • Fiscal forecasts expose SNP financial mismanagement coming home to roost
  • Lib Dems back Presiding Officer in Ross row
  • Cole-Hamilton calls for national RAAC fund

Davey on tariffs: summon the US ambassador as Trump chaos “putting Liz Truss to shame”

Responding to the US Court of International Trade ruling that blocks many of Trump’s tariffs, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The Government must urgently summon the US ambassador to clarify what this court ruling means for Starmer’s recent deal with Donald Trump. The levels of chaos from Trump’s economic policy is putting Liz Truss to shame.

“Scandal” as 400 military families forced to face emergency housing repairs over VE day anniversary

New research obtained by the Liberal Democrats has revealed that 442 military families had to call for urgent repairs on their state-provided housing over the week of VE-day commemorations – with a massive 64,000 requests for urgent repairs clocking up since January 2024.

Parliamentary questions submitted by the Liberal Democrats have revealed that over 440 urgent repair requests were filed by service families in state-provided military homes over the VE-day week.

The party has condemned the Government’s “hypocrisy” as the statistics have come to light. They’ve said it’s “a scandal” that so many serving families had to deal with the fallout of poor accommodation, particularly during a week of celebration for the service of the UK’s Armed Forces personnel and veterans.

The investigation, led by Helen Maguire – the party’s defence spokesperson – also revealed that a massive 64,258 urgent repair requests had been filed by military families since January 2024.

The harsh winter months saw the highest number of callouts by families in military homes, with 5,921 urgent requests submitted in January 2024 and 5,546 in January 2025.

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Jamie Greene

The economic performance gap in Scotland

By Jamie Greene | Thu 29th May 2025 - 11:50 am

To paraphrase a famous election campaign, what do the Scottish Liberal Democrats do for a working-class boy from Greenock?

Well, in my case they make him their Economy and Finance spokesperson in the Scottish Parliament.

I’m delighted to be able to speak for us on this portfolio at Holyrood and honoured by the trust I’ve been shown as our newest Lib Dem MSP. I’m also aware there is a lot of hard work to do.

In nearly two decades in power, the SNP have failed to deliver. They have preferred bureaucracy and constitutional bickering over supporting Scottish businesses, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

As deputy convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit committee, I see what has gone wrong on a weekly basis.

Figures from the Auditor General lay bare the SNP’s economic mismanagement.

While the tax powers of the Scottish Government have brought in an extra £3,367 billion, a startling £2,738 billion has effectively been lost due to policy decisions taken in Scotland, leaving just £629 million available to use. In layman’s terms, just 20p in the pound of additional tax paid due to divergent policies is available to spend.

This has been labelled the “economic performance gap” by the independent Scottish Fiscal Commission and it should worry us all.

The gap is a direct result of Scottish Government decisions and is a creation of the SNP in government. “Pay More, Get Less”, should feature on every SNP leaflet at next year’s election.

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Mark Valladares

28-29 September 2024 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 29th September 2024 - 10:00 pm
  • Conservative Leadership Race: Candidates have spent years defending the indefensible
  • Badenoch’s maternity pay comment: Another example of Tory sleaze and scandal
  • Cole-Hamilton addresses King at 25 years of the Scottish Parliament event

Conservative Leadership Race: Candidates have spent years defending the indefensible

Commenting after the four Conservative leadership candidates spoke with Trevor Phillips, ahead of the Conservative Party Conference, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

As James Cleverly said himself, people wanted the Conservatives out of Government and this dire set of candidates has made it crystal clear why.

From the Conservative’s Partygate and PPE scandals to their disastrous mini budget, every one of the Conservative’s leadership candidates has spent years defending the indefensible.

The British people have had enough of Conservative sleaze and scandal. They’ve had enough of seeing their health services and economy trashed. And that’s why so many former life-long Conservative voters backed the Liberal Democrats at the last election.

People want urgent action to fix the health and care crisis not Conservative leadership candidates sniping from the sidelines. That’s why Liberal Democrats are calling for a Budget to Save the NHS and Care and working day in day out to be the constructive opposition the country needs and deserves.

Badenoch’s maternity pay comment: Another example of Tory sleaze and scandal

After Kemi Badenoch’s comments on maternity pay earlier today, Liberal Democrat Women and Equalities Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said:

It is this kind of out touch comment that shows yet again why the Conservatives got trounced at the last election.

The Conservative Party should focus also on championing policies that support British families, rather than the constant Tory sleaze and scandal we’ve become all too familiar with.

The Liberal Democrats’ proposals would give new parents the choice and flexibility they need, including boosting statutory pay for new parents, and a new ‘dad month’ to help more fathers take time off work to be with their new baby during the first year.

Cole-Hamilton addresses King at 25 years of the Scottish Parliament event

Speaking as he addressed Their Majesties The King and Queen to mark 25 years since the opening of the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

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The Voice

Alex Cole-Hamilton stands for First Minister

By The Voice | Wed 8th May 2024 - 8:39 am

Alex Cole-Hamilton’s bid to become Scotland’s First Minister was never going to end in success, unfortunately. It was important that he did it though. The MSPs in the Chamber were not his audience. That snippet on Reporting Scotland where he got the chance to be on the record, speaking to the people of Scotland, was an important part in Liberal Democrats setting out our stall.  Hope, he said, was at the heart of everything the Scottish Liberal Democrats stood for as he outlined our vision for better healthcare, education and giving power back to communities.

Watch here:

The text is below

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Caron Lindsay

The Scottish Parliament Election – 25 years on

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 6th May 2024 - 9:30 am

Election night 1997. The tv room at the count in Chesterfield. Two people in the room – me and Tony Benn who was eating a white chocolate magnum and ignoring me. He might have been ignoring me because I was blubbing a bit because I was so happy that we were finally, after years of campaigning, going to have a Scottish Parliament.

The cross-party co-operation that had built the case for that Parliament across political and civil society was a great model. The Conservatives opposed the idea but even the SNP were eventually persuaded to come on board.

Fast forward two years to 6 May 1999 when the first elections to the new Parliament took place, with a nice shiny new proportional electoral system. 129 MSPs, 73 representing constituencies and 56 on regional lists were elected. The campaign had seen Alex Salmond and the SNP get into disfavour for not backing the NATO airstrikes on Kosovo aimed at stopping the humanitarian disaster and ethnic cleaning.  Paddy Ashdown and the Lib Dems were strongly in favour of this action.

Our big issue was tuition fees – we opposed Labour’s plans to introduce them and were very clear about our position on that. And we honoured that.

I couldn’t vote in this election because I lived in England. In fact, on election day, I was, at 37 weeks pregnant,  running a committee room in Chesterfield whee we boosted our Councillor numbers from 9 to 19.  Those were very happy times.

However, I was very invested in what was happening back home. I was up at the crack of dawn watching the final results come in the next day.

The Scottish people had elected 56 Labour MSPs, 35 SNP, 18 Conservative, 17 Liberal Democrats, 2 Greens and a Socialist. The whole system was meant to encourage co-operation and no party was meant to have a majority.

The coalition that eventually emerged after a few twists and turns between us and Labour did some amazing things in its 8 years – abolition of tuition fees, free personal care, free eye and dental checks, land reform, STV for local Government among them. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a functional partnership that was prepared to wring the neck of the powers we had to get stuff done. Our Jim Wallace was Deputy First Minister and Ross Finnie became Rural Affairs Minister.

Alex Cole-Hamilton reflected on the anniversary:

I am proud of the part Scottish Liberal Democrats played in delivering a Scottish Parliament and in the successes we have delivered through it.

In government, the Scottish Liberal Democrats delivered pioneering legislation like the abolition of upfront tuition fees, the introduction of free personal care and the smoking ban. We also legislated for the building of the Borders Railway, gave communities the right to buy land, made dental and eye tests free, introduced free bus passes, and opened up the business of government to proper scrutiny through Freedom of Information law.

These are Lib Dem successes delivered because of devolution, and without which we would never have achieved them.

So what do I want to see our powerful Parliament do next?

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The Voice

Alex Cole-Hamilton on Scottish Budget: SNP and Greens out of ideas

By The Voice | Wed 28th February 2024 - 11:55 am

It was a depressing day in Holyrood yesterday as the SNP/Green budget passed. An unfunded Council Tax freeze crippling Scottish Councils, affordable housing cut by a third in the middle of a massive housing emergency, mental health support cut, education cut.

There was never a cat in hell’s chance that Lib Dems would vote for such an ill thought through budget. Alex Cole-Hamilton explained why:

In this budget, the Scottish Government is reaching for more tax rises. It is punishing low and middle-income families through fiscal drag, it is taking a hammer to the green renewables piggy bank and it is cutting public services for young and old alike. Why? It is doing so because Scottish National Party and Green ministers are completely out of ideas about how to spark growth, drive innovation or enlarge the tax base sustainably. They have a habit of making costly blunders—for example, the two ferries that are rusting in dry dock, the botched deposit return scheme, the independence papers and the selling of Scotland’s prized sea bed on the cheap. Next in their sights is the clueless and bureaucratic billion-pound ministerial takeover of social care that we are set to debate this week. In every case, taxpayers and public services are expected to pay the price.

The Government is out of touch and is taking people for granted. One thing that it must realise is that it needs the talents of everyone in order to grow the economy and make our country fairer. There is an intrinsic link between the health of our people and the health of our economy. People are waiting in pain for long-overdue operations. Their conditions are worsening by the day. It can take years for people to get the mental health treatment that they desperately need, which means that they cannot get on in life. There are now around 200,000 people in Scotland who are out of work because of mental ill health, long Covid and long-term conditions. According to the Our Scottish Future think tank, that costs our economy £870 million a year.

The longer people are out of work, the worse their prospects become. The longer they wait to be treated, the greater the cost to the NHS. That is why making yet another cut to overwhelmed mental health services makes no sense whatsoever.

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Caron Lindsay

Keeping prisoners safe – and discussing these matters responsibly

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 31st January 2023 - 6:52 pm

There has been screaming controversy in the media for days now about a Scottish transgender woman who has been convicted of rape. Many misleading media reports have suggested that she would have to be accommodated within a women’s prison. There was outrage when she was initially taken to Cornton Vale women’s prison where she was held away from other prisoners while initial risk assessments were carried out over a 72 hour period.

Once that risk assessment was completed, unsurprisingly, she was moved away from Cornton Vale to HMP Edinburgh. There are few clearer statements of the obvious  than that anyone convicted of sexual assault, violence or raping women should not be incarcerated alongside women.  It was never going to happen in this case or in any other with such a record. There are procedures in place to protect prisoners from other prisoners who might harm them.

The Scottish Prison Service did its job properly.

In all parts of the UK, every prisoner is risk assessed for all sorts of things when they enter prison. Do they have a history of violence? Is there anyone in custody who might be a danger to them? Are they a danger to anyone on the prison estate? Is it safe to allow them to share a cell? That assessment determines the safest place for them and everyone else.

Unfortunately, the media has not missed an opportunity to print scare stories about trans women and the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill. As this has been unfairly blocked by the UK Government, it clearly has no relevance in this case. But even if the prisoner had a Gender Recognition Certificate under the current system, it would have absolutely no effect on where she will serve her sentence. Conflating the two issues, and suggesting that trans women are a danger to other women is wrong and irresponsible.

Scotland’s Equality Network has a very useful Twitter thread explaining the issues involved in this case.

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The Voice

Beatrice Wishart: We need to do better at tackling Endometriosis

By The Voice | Sat 15th January 2022 - 10:30 am

This week, the Scottish Parliament debated the horrible, painful, debilitating condition Endometriosis.

Shetland’s Lib Dem MSP Beatrice Wishart highlighted the distress this condition can cause and the impact it can have on women’s whole lives – and says that we must do better than the misogynistic dismissal of this condition that we so often see. Here is her speech in full:

I congratulate Rachael Hamilton on securing this important debate. So much has already been said about the impact that endometriosis has across all aspects of life, but I make no apology for repeating some of what has already been highlighted today.

I want to start by outlining exactly what is at the heart of this discussion: the lives of women and girls. Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to that in the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as ovaries and the fallopian tubes. Symptoms include, among others, painful or heavy periods, painful bowel movements and pelvic pain. An estimated 1.5 million women in the United Kingdom are affected, which is similar to the number of women who have diabetes.

However, as we have heard, it takes an average of eight and a half years to receive a diagnosis, which means eight and a half years of pain, of missing out, of uncertainty and of explaining. How tiring must all of that be? Relationships break down because the pain and struggle are too hard to comprehend. There is the misogynistic dismissal of so-called women’s issues and people saying that it is just painful periods or, even worse, that it is perfectly normal for women to experience pain.

There are long waiting lists and a postcode lottery for treatment. There is a serious problem with delays in getting an initial appointment with a consultant, and Covid has only made the long waits even longer. Non-urgent appointments have been delayed because of Covid, but, for patients, endometriosis is not non-urgent.

One person told me that, although their GP has been good, before being referred to a consultant, their daughter had to go through various other options to rule out cysts, irritable bowel syndrome and food intolerances. More than a year after their GP’s referral, they are still to receive an appointment.

I have also been told by women that endometriosis has made them infertile, and how the inability to have children has affected their marriages. As many as 30 to 50 per cent of women who are affected by infertility have endometriosis.

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem researcher discovers proof that the Queen lobbied ministers to change climate change law

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 28th July 2021 - 7:26 pm

Lily Humphries is one of the Lib Dem team in the Scottish Parliament and the brains behind many of our scoops with her freedom of information requests.

She features in in today’s Guardian which reports that Lily discovered that the Queen had successfully lobbied Scottish Government ministers to get an exemption from a new law which “requires landowners to facilitate the construction of pipelines to heat buildings using renewable energy.”

That’s not bad for someone who owns as much land as Her Majesty does. As the Guardian reports:

Her lawyers secured the dispensation from Scotland’s government five months ago by exploiting an obscure parliamentary procedure known as Queen’s consent, which gives the monarch advance sight of legislation.

The arcane parliamentary mechanism has been borrowed from Westminster, where it has existed as a custom since the 1700s.

The article explains:

The new documents, uncovered by Lily Humphreys, a researcher for the Scottish Liberal Democrats using freedom of information laws, disclose how the monarch used her special access to Scottish legislation to intervene in the parliamentary process as recently as February.

Not only that, but the Government didn’t tell Parliament about this as Willie Rennie pointed out:

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Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie; I will work for a liberal country – an open, internationalist, reformed, caring, fair and green country

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 19th May 2021 - 8:13 am

Yesterday the Scottish Parliament chose its First Minister. Nicola Sturgeon was always going to win, although she is one short of an overall majority. Willie Rennie announced his intention to stand against her because “Most people did not vote for the largest party and it is important that their voices are heard.” Conservative leader Douglas Ross followed suit.

Willie gave a really strong speech, setting out the sort of country he wanted Scotland to be. He addressed the deep divisions in the country, which is pretty much split down the middle on independence and attacked both SNP and Conservatives for reinforcing these divisions.

The Conservatives, he said, were the biggest threat to the Union, rather than defenders of it.

That is certainly true. The SNP and the Conservatives need each other to take attention away from their failing governments and on to a bitter fight over the Constitution. Willie was right to call it out and to give a vision of what Scotland really could be like.

Nicola Sturgeon was pretty graceless, to be honest, attacking both of the leaders who dared to oppose her personally rather than on ideas. She proved Willie’s point, really. And his generous words when she was elected are a stark contrast to her disrespect:

It has been an extraordinary time with extraordinary pressures, both Covid and political. I have admired Nicola Sturgeon’s personal leadership through the pandemic; she has made life-and-death decisions every day. I was impressed by the clarity of the communications and I agreed with the caution, too.

The fact that we have political differences in the chamber should not prevent us from respecting each other, and we should appreciate the personal sacrifice that comes with public service and office. Of course, that personal sacrifice pales in comparison with the many struggles that our constituents face every day, but it is sacrifice nonetheless, so I thank Nicola Sturgeon for that service and offer my support as well.

I suspect Scotland will look back on Willie’s speech in 5 years’ time and realise that there was a lot of truth in his words.

I want Scotland to be a liberal country where everyone can live as they wish, not held back by prejudice or expectations, and where every person can achieve their potential, lifted up by a healthy body and an educated mind.

I want an open and outward-looking Scotland, not one that blames its neighbours for our problems. I want a country that looks to the needs of people next door and around the world, and of people in the future, and not just to our own interests today. I want a Scotland with people who come together to overcome the enormous challenges that time throws our way. That would be my driving philosophy as First Minister.

I would start by putting recovery first. The people who are waiting up to three years for mental health treatment need recovery to come first. The friends and family of the 1,256 people who lost their lives in a single year to drugs deserve our attention. Those who are looking for work cannot wait. Those who are desperate for a hip replacement or cancer treatment cannot wait, nor can those who wait for a good education and nor can future generations who want a healthy planet. They all deserve our focus, because they cannot wait behind another debate on the constitution. That is why I would put recovery first.

When no single party has a majority, no one should assume a right to the office of First Minister. Most people did not vote for the largest party, so it is important that their voices be heard today. I stand for nomination as First Minister with great hope, but with a liberal dose of realism.

This country is divided like never before—right down the middle, according to the polls and the election. Yet the situation is worse than that: hardened supporters on both sides cannot understand each other any more. They have stopped listening to each other, and the election campaign entrenched those differences. The Scottish National Party’s materials often featured Boris Johnson more than Nicola Sturgeon. The Conservatives were more interested in attacking Labour and the Liberal Democrats than in trying to win over SNP supporters. They both stoked up people’s fear, which resulted in thousands of people voting for one extreme for fear of the other.

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The Voice

Liam McArthur elected as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament

By The Voice | Sat 15th May 2021 - 10:39 am

Lib Dem MSP for Orkney Liam McArthur has been elected as one of two Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament for new session.

While the new Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone is required to relinquiish her membership of the Greens group and be completely impartial, Liam and his fellow DPO, SNP MSP Annabelle Ewing, continue to be members of their groups. Unless they are actually chairing a debate, they can take part in business as normal and vote.

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Caron Lindsay

Declare a mental health crisis say Scottish Lib Dem MSPs

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 17th February 2021 - 10:19 am

Even if your circumstances have not been too adversely affected by the pandemic, chances are you have gone through some mental health challenges. Even people who were coping pretty well have found the dark and cold Winter lockdown pretty grim.

And if you have had to suffer bereavement, loss or financial struggles along the way, it’s been so much harder.

A study tracking Scotland’s mental health during the pandemic found that there was a significant rise in those contemplating suicide or suffering from Depression and Anxiety. The Herald reports:

The second wave of the Scottish Covid-19 Mental Health Tracker survey, which was carried out between mid July and mid August, a time when Covid-19 restrictions had been eased, showed 13.3 per cent had thought about taking their life in the last week.

That is up from the 9.6% recorded in the first wave of the research, which took place between May 28 and June 21.

That was in the Summer when restrictions were at their lowest point and the weather was at its finest

Last month the same paper reported a Federation of Small Businesses survey which found that half of the small business owners who responded said that they were struggling with mental health.

And another report suggested that almost half of young people had said that their mental health had deteriorated due to not being able to see their friends and worrying about their future prospects because of the state of the economy.

Even before the pandemic struck, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services struggled to meet demand. It was not unusual for young people to wait more than a year even to be seen.  You don’t have to be that good at maths to work out that even if you recover within another year, your life has still been blighted for more than a third of your secondary education. That has got to have an impact on life chances.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have been badgering the Government for years to improve mental health services. Now that these under-resourced services are going to feel any more pressure, the party will call for a mental health crisis to be declared in a parliamentary debate this afternoon.

In their opposition day slot, they will ask the Parliament for the second time to declare the situation a crisis. When the issue was last debated back in November 2019 (we are consistent, after all), the Greens and SNP ganged up to remove all reference to a crisis from our motion.

Our Mental Health Spokesperson Rebecca Bell explained why it was so important for the Government to act to help those who are struggling with mental ill health:

“People are struggling. When they turn for help, it is often not there. Problems that can start small, become crises as help is either lacking or arrives too late. Waiting times for mental health services are long and the targets for treating people have never been met.

“That was true before the pandemic, but the situation is now even graver. Sadly with resources vastly outstripped by the demands on services from those who need mental health treatment, departments are forced to focus solely on the acute end of the scale. that means more people are left sick for longer, and just getting worse. We need to aim for prevention as well so fewer people suffer mental ill health in the first place

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Caron Lindsay

Festival of Politics discusses racism, impact of Covid on people with disabilities, digital threats to democracy, Brexit and much more

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 9th November 2020 - 10:45 am

One of the very few upsides of this terrible year is that many festivals have gone digital and are free to access. I had a wonderful time at the Hay Festival and the Edinburgh International Book Festival earlier this year without leaving my sofa.

The weekend after next, from 19-21 November, the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics goes online and it, also, is completely free. Politicans and experts will mull over the issues of the day.

There are discussions which are relevant across the whole of the UK covering a huge range of topics. I’m looking forward to the discussions on racism and how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on people with disabilities, particularly after reading this article on BBC News this morning in which one young woman says that she has had difficulties getting supplies for essential breathing equipment.

As well as the topics in the headline, there are also discussions on gender equality, the US elections and what we want to see in Scotland in 2030 and much more.

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Caron Lindsay

Beatrice Wishart wins Shetland by-election for the Lib Dems

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 30th August 2019 - 4:27 am

Great news from Shetland tonight as the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ Beatrice Wishart won the Scottish Parliament by-election with 48% of the vote.

The result in full is:

Beatrice Wishart (Scottish Lib Dems)5,659 (47.86%, -19.52%)
Tom Wills (SNP) 3,822 (32.32%, +9.27%)
Ryan Thomson (Independent) 1,286 (10.88%)
Brydon Goodlad (Scottish Conservative) 425 (3.59%, -0.07%)
Debra Nicolson (Green) 189 (1.60%)
Johan Adamson (Scottish Labour) 152 (1.29%, -4.61%)
Michael Stout (Independent) 134 (1.13%)
Ian Scott (Independent) 66 (0.56%)
Stuart Martin (UKIP) 60 (0.51%)
Peter Tait (Independent) 31 (0.26%)
14.40% swing Lib Dem to SNP
Electorate 17,810 – Turnout 11,824 (66.39%, up by 4.31%)

Willie Rennie was delighted:

And Scottish Lib Dem Women’s Girls Supporting Girls initiative helped too, with visits from Jo Swinson and Christine Jardine.

 

A by-election in your safest seat is a scary thing, particularly when your party has caused it when previous incumbent Tavish Scott left politics to go and work for Scottish Rugby. He had a huge personal vote and had always by his own admission fought as himself rather than as a Lib Dem.

The SNP threw the entire kitchen at this because they knew that if we lost the seat, we would lose our status a a group in the Scottish Parliament. SNP MPs from the central belt had been pounding the streets of Shetland. They put a lot of fire power our way but we still got almost half the vote even with a strong challenge from Independent Ryan Thompson who was the biggest gainer.

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Mark Valladares

7 November 2018 – (the rest of) today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 7th November 2018 - 11:00 pm

Tonight’s press releases are brought to you from Madrid, where hundreds of liberals from across Europe are gathering for the ALDE Party Congress. This feature might be rather more erratically timed than usual until Sunday…

Brexit legal advice must be published

Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake has called on the Government to end their “murky games” and publish all legal advice on Brexit plans for the Irish border.

Mr Brake said:

Refusing to publish legal advice on Brexit makes a mockery of the discredited mantra ‘Take Back Control’. Choosing to withhold this information from the public raises serious questions about what

…

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Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie calls for Land Value Tax “to shape society and economy in fair and just way”

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 28th March 2018 - 10:01 pm

It was the Greens’ opposition day debate in the Scottish Parliament. They chose to hold it on local government finance.

It was a worthy subject, but they were a little muted. Their Andy Wightman made a speech which pretty much said “The Council Tax is bad. Let’s replace it with something.”

Don’t get me wrong, this was fine as far as it went. It was certainly a million miles better than the Tories and SNP who voted together to keep the Council Tax that the latter had once railed against.

If you are one of those liberals whose hearts beat a little faster at the mention of Land Value Taxation, you might want to sit down and have some smelling salts handy. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie espoused that old liberal idea from the dawn of time, saying that it would change the way our society and economy works in a fair and just way. Here’s his speech in full:

We have heard from Murdo Fraser and James Kelly that the SNP has been on a journey with the council tax. There was a time when it would take every opportunity to condemn it. Alex Salmond called it unfair and insisted that he would scrap it, but he did not. Nicola Sturgeon said—quite strongly—that she “hated” it. She went on to criticise any suggestion that it should be tinkered with, but then she did that.

Now SNP members seem to be the staunchest defenders of the council tax. When they secured the support of the Greens and the Labour Party for their arbitrary increases to the council tax, I argued that those would not be the first steps towards further reforms but the last steps. We have heard from the minister this afternoon that we will have to get a consensus across the Parliament from the other parties before he will even consider taking our proposals forward. Rather than being with us on developing a consensus, he is going to be a bystander, and his long-grass amendment confirms that.

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Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie’s masterclass in what to do when you say something you shouldn’t

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 29th January 2017 - 1:50 pm

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie was interviewed today on Sunday Politics Scotland. Like Tim Farron earlier, he made some excellent points on the issues of the day.

This week, it looks as though the SNP could fail to get their budget through. The SNP does not have a majority at Holyrood. The Greens are pushing them for a 60% tax rate, which finance minister Derek Mackay has ruled out. Willie has been talking to Derek Mackay for weeks now and has made clear that unless he is prepared to put in significant investment in mental health and education, then the Liberal Democrats won’t support it.

Willie made that point very clearly in the interview, coming across very reasonably. You can watch the whole thing here towards the end of the programme.

It was when he was asked about the possibility of an election, that he made a wee slip of the tongue, though. We know that he loves campaigning. Remember the fun he had in last year’s election.. Unfortunately, rather than saying “I love campaigning”, he said “I love myself.” Believe me, those of us who work closely with him will make sure he never hears the end of that one.

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Caron Lindsay

Rennie says SNP Government must put more into mental health, the police and helping disadvantaged kids in schools

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 19th January 2017 - 12:58 pm

It’s time for the Scottish Parliament to debate the Government’s budget plans for the coming year. It’s particularly interesting this year as the SNP no longer has a majority and must secure the backing, or at least the abstention, of others in order for the budget to pass.

Willie Rennie has written to Derek Mackay, the SNP’s Finance Minister, to set out the changes that the Liberal Democrats wish to see before they could consider supporting the budget.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that he is sticking to the priorities we outlined in our manifesto for the Scottish elections last year – more money for disadvantaged kids in schools as we implemented successfully south of the border, an expansion of mental health services, particularly for young people, and more funding for the Police who are struggling to cope with the SNP’s disastrous centralisation.

It’s quite important that we have all this in mind in everything that we do during this Parliament. We need to think about what we want to achieve and what we will have to say to voters in 2021 about what we have fought for and where we are not prepared to settle for tepid, unambitious half-measures. In the last Parliament, where the SNP had a majority, we still made issues like early years education, colleges, the Police, civil liberties and mental health our own and won significant concessions from the SNP in budget discussions. Now that there is no majority, we need to push for more.

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The Voice

What’s on in our Parliaments this week? 12-16 September 2016

By The Voice | Mon 12th September 2016 - 8:55 am

Scottish Parliament 3What are our MPs, MSPs, MEPs and AM’s going to be talking about this coming week?

Holyrood

On Tuesday, MSPs hear a statement on how the SNP government intends to resolve the mess they’ve made on agricultural payments.

There is also a debate on housing. Given that the government moved the goalposts on house building and the number of houses built for social rent has fallen well below both need and target, there is a great deal of jelly to be nailed to the wall.

On Wednesday there is a debate on Brexit and the UK’s negotiating position.

Domestic abuse law comes under scrutiny on Thursday

The Senedd

The Welsh Assembly is back this week.

On Tuesday they will debate substance misuse, implications of Brexit and First Minister Carwyn Jones will face his first question session.

Wednesday is an opposition day, with Plaid, UKIP and the Tories each having an hour for debate on a subject of their choice.

Westminster

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The Voice

What’s on in our Parliaments this week? 5-9 September 2016

By The Voice | Sun 4th September 2016 - 11:06 am

Scottish Parliament 3So, it’s term-time again. After a frenetic and dramatic end to the last parliamentary session, everyone has done their best to make sure it looks like nothing is happening over the past 6 weeks.

That’s all over now, though. The Westminster and Scottish parliaments are back in session this week.  Wales has another week off.

It’s time to get to grips with the major issues around Brexit. That’s going to be the only game in town for quite some time.

Holyrood

There are three major items of business this week. The first is a two day debate on the SNP Government’s plans for the year ahead.

They will include a Social Security Bill to take account of the new powers coming to Holyrood. The government has also stated that its key priorities are educational attainment (which it intends to tackle by national testing rather than more resources) and the economy. They will also be introducing measures on warm homes and climate change.

Nicola Sturgeon will be making a statement on Scotland’s place in Europe. Last week, Willie Rennie said that she was talking too much about independence. Will she offer any other approach?

Finally, there will be an update on the controversial named person scheme which was ruled illegal earlier this Summer. How will the government tackle the requirements of the court judgement?

Westminster

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Caron Lindsay

Vikings, Unicorns and an open, inclusive Parliament to be proud of

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 2nd July 2016 - 9:30 pm

Scotland’s Parliament is just 17 years old, but compared to its centuries old neighbour, it’s really been the grown-up this week. Four of its parties have really got to grips with strategic thinking, looking for ideas to help us through the current mire in which we find ourselves, a mire not of our making.

Today we had our equivalent of the State Opening of Parliament. It only happens once every five years and I was lucky enough to have a ticket. It\s very different from the Westminster event with all its pomp and tradition. True enough, there was a little bit of pomp, with the Queen’s Archers and bearers of such wonderful heraldic titles as “Unicorn Pursuivant.” However, this is very much an event for the people, filled with music, poetry and performance.

We were seated in the Gallery by 10am, an hour before the festivities were due to begin. We originally had fantastic front row seats, but were moved on because they were apparently reserved for the media. The National Youth Choir of Scotland sang songs including the Skye Boat Song, which has a special meaning for Lib Dems, and Burns’ Ae Fond Kiss.

At about 10:50, the state trumpeters who play the fanfare appeared near us. Screens showed the party leaders lined up outside, waiting for the Queen to arrive. We were slightly apprehensive about whether Willie would behave as he has form round royalty. Our fears were heightened when he bounded into the Chamber grinning and was the last to sit down and be quiet. We found out later that Prince Philip had complemented him on his buttonhole. The Duke wasn’t to know that five years ago, Willie hadn’t realised he had to have a buttonhole. His blushes were spared by Annabel Goldie, the then Tory leader, picking him a flower from one of Holyrood’s courtyard gardens.

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Caron Lindsay

What Willie said…..when he stood for First Minister

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 21st May 2016 - 3:53 pm

Willie Rennie’s candidacy for First Minister in the Scottish Parliament this week attracted some comment in the press. Andrew Liddle in the Press and Journal was very complimentary:

While it was clearly going to end in defeat, it also offered up a golden opportunity for Mr Rennie to expound his platform.

True to character, it was an irreverent move, not a devious one.

Here is Willie’s speech – he combines exactly the right mix of self-deprecating humour and statesmanlike vision.

“Ohhhh dad. You’re not are you?”

Those were the encouraging words from my unimpressed 12 year old son when he heard on the radio this morning that I was standing for First Minister.

I told Stephen that I had been inspired by a women nationalist leader who stood up against the odds.

But unlike Leanne Wood I won’t be relying on UKIP votes today.

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Caron Lindsay

It’s Willie vs Goliath in Holyrood

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 17th May 2016 - 2:28 pm

This afternoon, MSPs will choose the new First Minister of Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the largest single party will not be unopposed, though. Willie Rennie, on his fifth anniversary as Scottish leader, is standing against her. Willie is a massive optimist, but I doubt even he expects to get more than a handful of votes. We won’t have a Wales scenario in Edinburgh. However, it is important that someone lays down a marker that the SNP, which no longer has a majority, has to work to make its case to Parliament. Nicola Sturgeon’s comments that she expects Parliament to respect her mandate are not the sort of comments you would expect from a leader without a majority. She has to show a bit of humility and respect for Parliament.

This will not be the only time when the Liberal Democrats will lead the opposition to the SNP, as we did so often in the last Parliament. On Thursday, Sturgeon presents her list of Ministers to the Parliament. Under its standing orders, Parliament can only reject any new names. It can’t pass judgement on any of the people already in post. Willie Rennie has appointed Mike Rumbles to be Business Manager (or chief whip). This is a role that he took during the last period of Holyrood minority government from 2007-11. His experience of the Parliament’s procedures will be helpful.

The Liberal Democrats have been horrified at the total muck-up the SNP has made over payments to farmers. During the election, Tavish Scott slammed the SNP for seeking to charge interest to farmers on emergency payments made to them while they sorted out their IT system. It seems incomprehensible that Parliament should not even get a say as to the performance of the Minister responsible. The Parliament has an opportunity to assert itself and reject that Minister. The Press and Journal reports:

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Caron Lindsay

Alex Cole-Hamilton’s first week in Holyrood

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th May 2016 - 4:39 pm

It’s been a wee while since we’ve had a brand new Parliamentarian. Here’s how Alex Cole-Hamilton, who gained Edinburgh Western from the SNP last week, spent his first week in office.

Monday

Outgoing Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick instituted a 3 day induction for new MSPs so that they weren’t just thrown in the deep end. Here’s Alex enjoying his new office:

BBC Scotland were there filming. Watch from around 14 minutes in to see him have a wee bit of a jazz hands moment:

Tuesday

We always knew Alex would be a hard-working constituency MSP. On election day, the Post Office closed a vital Post Office with no notice. Alex was quickly on the case supporting local residents and explaining why this was such a problem for the community:

It’s terrible. The other closures in the area were carried out with the assurance that the office at Duart Crescent would remain open. If you are elderly, infirm or have kids it is too difficult to get down the hill to St John’s Road.

A post office is the surrogate hub of the community and much more than just somewhere to pick up your pension. It is the only slice of social inclusion available to some of the elderly residents. As we close these counters it is another barrier to their involvement in society.

I am sure we have all heard anecdotes of people raising the alarm as someone has not collected their pension for a couple of weeks. That will all be lost if this is a permanent closure.

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Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie: I want Scotland to be the best

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 3rd April 2016 - 8:36 am

In today’s Sunday Herald, Willie Rennie talks to political editor Tom Gordon about the Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign. He sets out the key Liberal Democrat themes:

I want to get Scotland back up there, with an ambitious programme for investing in education with a penny on income tax.

Protecting our civil liberties, getting our police force to be the best again so that it’s got the confidence of the public but also police officers themselves.

On the environment, making sure we have a very strong programme on fracking and not cutting Air Passenger Duty . And on the health service, making sure mental health services get the support they need and recruiting more GPs. You couldn’t be more positive than that.

As Holyrood gains new tax powers, Lib Dem plans to increase income tax by a penny to invest in education is the most radical in a set of fairly modest measures put forward by all the parties. The SNP have always talked a good fight, but when they are actually given significant power, it’s like they’ve been given a Ferrari that they won’t take out of second gear. Willie talked about the SNP’s timidity:

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The Voice

What’s on in our Parliaments this week?

By The Voice | Mon 23rd November 2015 - 12:58 pm

Scottish Parliament 3What are our MPs, MSPs, MEPs and AM’s going to be talking about this coming week?

Holyrood

Women will be a key focus of the Scottish Parliament this week with a debate on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women on Wednesday which starts 16 days of activism lasting till Human Rights Day on 10 December.

There is also a debate on how welfare reform affects women on Thursday.

On Wednesday, controversy about the SNP Government’s decision to tender for the contract to run Clyde and Hebridean ferry services will be highlighted in a Labour Opposition Day Debate. No doubt Liam McArthur and Tavish Scott will want to mention the fundamental unfairness which has seen the Scottish Government cut ferry fares for islanders off the west coast, but not for the northern isles.  

The Senedd

AMs will be debating affordable housing, with North Wales Lib Dem Aled Roberts tabling some radical amendments calling for the planned rate of housebilding to be doubled. 

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Caron Lindsay

MSPs reject Assisted Suicide Bill – read two compelling speeches from Lib Dems McArthur and McInnes

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th May 2015 - 12:15 pm

I was sad that Holyrood rejected the Assisted Suicide Bill yesterday, but I was heartened by the fact that support for such a measure is growing and I think the debate will continue.

It was also good to see that it was conducted in such a respectful and sensitive fashion.

I thought you might like to see the two speeches our MSPs made, one on each side of the argument from Alison McInnes and Liam McArthur. Both were brilliant, thoughtful and liberal. If I had been persuadable, Alison’s speech might have done it.

Alison McInnes:

I come to this debate as a liberal and

…

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Caron Lindsay

Last chance to convince MSPs on Assisted Suicide Bill

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 26th May 2015 - 5:45 pm

From the Facebook page of my friend Anne, reproduced with her permission:

My mother was riddled with cancer, according to the Coroner, when she planned her successful suicide in 1972 at the age of 54. She waited for her first grandchild to be safely born, chose a day my brother and doctor wife were visiting so that my father wouldn’t find her, left notes around the house re unfinished business (including knitting for her grandson), went to a spare bedroom and took sleeping tablets writing a note as she fell asleep. It was the only way she could make sure the family didn’t watch her die a slow and painful death.

Under the new legislation, she could have met her grandson and we could have said our goodbyes. I have waited over forty years for this – please don’t make me wait any more.

Tomorrow the Scottish Parliament debates the Assisted Suicide Bill. This Bill would give terminally ill people the right to receive assistance in ending their lives within a very tightly regulated procedure as set out (from the My Life, My Death, My Choice” website) below:

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Caron Lindsay

Who needs human rights?

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 9th December 2014 - 3:58 pm

Last week, in the run-up to Human Rights Day tomorrow,  the Scottish Parliament debated the Scottish National Action Plan on human rights. This aims to ensure that every citizen can realise these internationally recognised rights.

Alison McInnes led for the Liberal Democrats and she went through the SNP Government like a dose of salts for its dreadful stance on stop and search. She highlighted how any one of us might need these rights to protect us one day should we find ourselves sick or vulnerable. If you read the Daily Mail, it’ll tell you that human rights are nasty things that let terrorists off the hook. Well, actually, they  protect all of us from abuse by the state in all sorts of ways.

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The Voice

Liam McArthur highlights Swinson’s and Featherstone’s work and supports ambition action on violence against women

By The Voice | Tue 9th December 2014 - 10:40 am

Last week the Scottish Parliament debated violence against women during the 16 days of action between the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and International Human Rights day. Liam McArthur led for the Liberal Democrats. He noted that in the ninety minutes of the debate, 9 women would face violence at the hands of their partners.

It was a sensible, consensual debate which you can read here.  Liam’s speech in full is published below:

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