I will not back Swinney as FM but could support his budgets, says Lib Dem leader

The Scottish Liberal Democrats would not support John Swinney to return as first minister, but could back an SNP-led government’s budget, the party’s leader has said.

The Lib Dems have backed the Scottish Government’s budget plans in recent years, in exchange for concessions including an increase in mental health spending.

Speaking to the Press Association after launching his party’s manifesto in Edinburgh on Friday, Alex Cole-Hamilton said voters expect a “grown-up” approach from political leaders.

“Dealing with the SNP, or any government, on a budget is not a referendum on their performance as a government – and by any metric, the SNP Government has failed the people of Scotland,” he said.

“Instead, it’s a means of unpicking some of the damage that they’ve done.

“Your viewers will want their politicians from any party to be able to roll up their sleeves when necessary, put aside their differences and work in the interests of the people of Scotland.

“That is the grown-up approach to politics that Liberal Democrats always embrace.”

Following the election on May 7, MSPs will vote on who will become first minister.

The vote is generally a formality, with the leader of the largest party winning the vote.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said on Friday his party will not back John Swinney in the Holyrood vote.

“I’ve been very clear I would resign as leader of my party before I put John Swinney back in power,” he said.

“For all of the questions that Scotland currently faces, the answer to none of them is a third decade of SNP administration.

“They’ve had their time, and look at the state of our economy, our NHS, our schools, our justice system – it’s time that they had a period of quiet reflection on the opposition benches.”

Launching his party’s manifesto, Mr Cole-Hamilton said Scotland “has so much going for it”, but it feels like the country is not working.

He pledged to put 900 multidisciplinary health workers into GP practices to alleviate pressure on family doctors, and boost social care by £400 million.

The party has been strong in its criticism of the Scottish Government’s handling of social care, which has led to increases in delayed discharges clogging up hospitals.

The Lib Dems also pledged to create a £100 million emergency insulation fund to improve the heating of homes, and to start work on delivering major infrastructure projects like tunnels between the islands that make up Shetland.

The Lib Dems are targeting 10 constituency seats, but they are also urging voters to back them on the regional list.

The 10 target seats include the already held constituencies of Edinburgh North Western, Fife North East, Orkney, and Shetland, along with Edinburgh Northern; Caithness, Sutherland and Ross; Inverness and Nairn; Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch; Argyll and Bute; and Strathkelvin and Bearsden.