Willie Rennie kicks off election year in Scotland by setting out the case for a bright, green liberal Scotland. Speaking on a visit to a factory in his Fife constituency, he said:

The last five years in the Scottish Parliament have been dominated by independence. The next five years should be dominated by a bright, green and liberal programme for Scotland:

With Scotland returning to work today it should signal a change of focus for our parliament: it’s time to get on with the day job.

Children and young people deserve a good quality education with nursery education and a pupil premium to give every child a chance of a good job.  Yet under the SNP, Scotland’s once proud education system has slipped in the world standing.

People deserve a good quality health service with better mental health services and more GPs.  Yet under the SNP there’s long waits to see a GP or get mental health treatment they need.

The planet must be protected, with action on climate change including warmer homes and better public transport.  Yet under the SNP Scotland has missed our own climate change targets.

Our traditional Scottish freedoms must be protected including power transferred to local communities and trusting police, nurses, doctors and teachers to do their job. Yet under the SNP we’ve seen armed police, excessive stop and search, power stripped from local communities and hoarded in Edinburgh.

With just five MSPs in Parliament Liberal Democrats have punched above our weight. Just imagine what we can do with more.

We need more strong liberal voices in parliament to advance that bright, green and liberal parliament.