Lib Dems ‘poised to take seats off the SNP’ at Holyrood elections, says leader

The Scottish Liberal Democrats are “poised to take seats off the SNP” at the Holyrood elections in May, the party leader has said.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland on Friday, Alex Cole-Hamilton said he believes his party is “coming back”.

He said: “We’re bigger than we have been for a while. We’re coming back. We’re winning at Westminster.”

Mr Cole-Hamilton continued: “In the last Scottish general election we overtook the Scottish Conservative Party, we came within touching distance of the SNP, and we were the standout winners in all local party by-elections in Scotland last year. We gained. We put more seats on than anybody else.”

He said the Scottish Liberal Democrats “absolutely are ready to take the reins of success”.

Mr Cole-Hamilton also said he believes that the party could “sweep” the highland constituencies and beat the SNP in the north of Scotland.

He said: “I think we could sweep the Highland constituencies, whether that’s Argyll and Bute.

“Then, you know, everywhere we’ve got a Liberal Democrat MSP, whether that’s Strathkelvin and Bearsden, the new seat of Edinburgh Northern, right across the country, we are poised to take seats off the SNP.”

When asked who he would be willing to share power with, Mr Cole-Hamilton declined to state any specific party. He said he would work with anybody that “shares my values”.

He said: “I will work with anybody that shares my values to deliver change on things like access to healthcare, about getting Scottish education back to its best, about getting Scotland moving again, dualling those lethal northern roads and fixing our ferry fleet.

“But at the same time it’s not about power for power sake, it’s about delivering for the people of Scotland.”