Hi, I'm Andy. We’ve likely met at conference or out campaigning. I’m asking for your vote to be re-elected to the Policy Committee.
I’ve served on the committee for the past two years, and I’m standing again because I believe we have a real opportunity to be more innovative and bold in how we shape policy. Circumstances are shifting, and with that comes space for us to articulate a clear, confident liberal story for Scotland. I was also co-opted onto a Federal Policy Committee working group chaired by Ed Davey, conducting research ahead of the next General Election. That strengthened my understanding of how national policy is developed and communicated – and the importance of strong Scottish input.
Alongside this, I’ve been an active campaigner. I stood in Edinburgh South in 2024, and I am the selected candidate for Edinburgh South Western for Holyrood in 2026. Knock-on-doors experience matters: it keeps us grounded in the real concerns and hopes of the people we speak to.
Professionally, I run a neurodiversity consultancy, working with organisations across sectors to build more inclusive workplaces. Before returning to Scotland, I founded and later sold two businesses in Seattle – a teen mental health counselling practice, and an education programme supporting neurodivergent young people. I’ve also been active in the campaign to create smartphone-free school environments, working with councils across Scotland and speaking alongside MSPs and MPs.
We should be confident in developing policy that is innovative and bold, and willing to move first when opportunities arise. If re-elected, I’ll continue to work for policies rooted in confidence in liberalism and a more liberal future for Scotland. I would be grateful for your support.

What skills/experience will you bring to the role?

Over the past two years on the Policy Committee, I’ve developed a clear working understanding of how policy is made in the party. I helped shape the policy content of our last manifesto, contributed to research that will inform the next Westminster one, and have supported policy development in areas including housing and defence. I understand how Policy Committee, conference, members, and party staff interact in shaping positions – and how to move proposals from strong ideas to adopted policy. In short: I know how to be effective within our structures.
Outside the party, I’ve worked extensively on lobbying and coalition-building, particularly in the campaign for smartphone-free school environments. This has meant working with politicians across parties and levels of government. I am pragmatic, consensus-oriented, and focused on building agreement without losing sight of principle.
I also bring the perspective of a business owner working in new and developing fields. Much of my professional work takes place in competitive “marketplace of ideas” environments, where success depends on being bold, fresh, and willing to innovate. Founding and growing two organisations, and now consulting in a rapidly evolving sector, has taught me how to develop strategy, persuade, and turn broad aims into clear, workable plans.
Finally, my professional background gives me subject expertise in teen mental health, education and ASN, and neurodiversity. These are areas where thoughtful, humane, and forward-looking policy matters – and where I believe our party can continue to lead.

What do you hope to achieve if elected?

If re-elected, I want us to be bold in shaping the party’s future direction. We have a real opportunity to develop clear, confident policy in emerging areas such as AI, neurodiversity, and the future of work – areas where there is currently a vacuum in Scottish and UK politics. I would like the Scottish Liberal Democrats to be the party that engages seriously with these challenges, rather than reacting to them once they are already upon us. We have an opportunity to be a party that is seen as forward-thinking, confident, and the party of the future. To do so, we must be bold and proactive, not reactive. 
I believe we should position ourselves as the party of the coming decade: the party that supports the development of green technology, manages a just transition that protects workers and communities, and invests in the national and regional infrastructure that allows local economies to grow. We should be embarassed in Scotland that we cannot dual a road, or build a ferry network. Scotland once represented the future; now its infrastructure is crumbling, and making us all poorer (in every sense). There are liberal solutions to these problems - and I hope to develop them. 
Internationally, our party should be at the forefront of thinking about how to respond to global instability, how we strengthen our own democratic institutions, how we develop energy that isn't reliant on autocrats, and we can embrace global technological shifts that are reshaping society.
I am a tech optimist. I believe that innovation – not inertia – will solve the problems we face. Too many of our current challenges stem from years of drift and complacency, north and south of the border. We must be willing to move first, take ideas seriously, and back practical solutions that improve people’s lives.
And build more bloody houses.