Lib Dem Leader Signals Potential Support for Sarwar
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has indicated that his party might support Labour's Anas Sarwar in the nomination vote for Scotland's next first minister.
Cole-Hamilton stated that the Liberal Democrats would feel an "obligation" to consider a change in government if the opportunity arose to remove the SNP following the 7 May Holyrood election.
However, he confirmed that he would not back Conservative leader Russell Findlay or Reform Party chief Malcolm Offord in the nomination vote.
Speaking after unveiling his party's manifesto, Cole-Hamilton highlighted the Lib Dems' key priorities as the NHS, education, transport, and addressing the cost of living.
The Scottish Parliament will hold a vote to nominate the first minister, who is formally appointed by the King, after the 7 May election.
Nicola Sturgeon secured the nomination in 2021 when the SNP won 64 seats, just one short of an outright majority. Her nomination was not supported by other parties, but with no realistic alternative candidate, the Greens and Labour abstained.
Cole-Hamilton told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast:
"For all of the questions that Scotland currently faces, the answer to none of them is a third decade of SNP administration."
When asked if the Lib Dems could vote to nominate Sarwar as first minister if Labour were able to challenge the SNP, he responded:
"If there's an opportunity to change the government in Scotland, I think we have an obligation to look at that. It doesn't mean forming a formal coalition, or anything like that, but I make no apology for that."
The Lib Dem leader clarified that no formal pacts or alliances have been made with Labour.
He told the BBC that if there was a chance to remove the SNP from power by supporting a party "which shares our values, we will look seriously at that," but added, "I'm not going to make a commitment."
Cole-Hamilton emphasized that the party's focus remains on electing as many MSPs as possible.
Lib Dem Manifesto Commitments
He pledged that the Liberal Democrats would invest £400 million in social care, restore the education system "back to its best," improve ferry services and the road network, and work to reduce the cost of living.
On the topic of new North Sea oil and gas developments, Cole-Hamilton said:
"We still need oil and gas. Successive governments, both in Edinburgh and London, have failed to drive down our need for oil and gas. While that is the case, we need to make an honest assessment - does it make more environmental sense to take the oil that's in our waters, on our doorstep, or to import it from other places?"
Climate Crisis and Energy Policy
Although offshore drilling is regulated by Westminster, the Scottish government controls planning and onshore facilities that can influence offshore production.
Cole-Hamilton warned that the climate crisis is the "final boss of the 21st Century," adding:
"So we absolutely need to drive that just transition."
The Liberal Democrats previously opposed nuclear energy, aligning with the Scottish government's stance, but the party has since revised its position.
Cole-Hamilton told Radio Scotland Breakfast that small modular reactors "should be part of the mix" because the party concluded that the "threat" posed by nuclear waste is less severe than previously thought.
"We're not ideological about this, if it makes sense to have that part of the mix for when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining."
