Alex Cole-Hamilton to stand for First Minister 

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today (Sunday 17th May) announced his intention to stand as a candidate for First Minister ahead of a key vote in the Scottish Parliament. 

It comes as Scottish Liberal Democrats secured their best election result for almost 20 years. 

This saw the party almost triple their numbers and come second in the number of constituencies won. 

Alex Cole-Hamilton secured more votes than any other constituency candidate, winning Edinburgh North Western with 22,959 votes. 

The Scottish Liberal Democrat result also saw unprecedented victories in areas across the country, including Strathkelvin and Bearsden and Edinburgh Northern, neither of which had ever been held by the party before. 

Scottish Liberal Democrats picked up seats across the Highlands, with Andrew Baxter overturning a more than 15,000 majority to defeat the SNP in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch. 

For the first time in 15 years, David Green returned Caithness, Sutherland and Ross to Scottish Liberal Democrat hands, unseating SNP government minister Maree Todd to do so. 

Alex Cole-Hamilton said: 

“Scotland deserves change with fairness at its heart, and that is why I will be offering my candidacy for the office of First Minister. 

“This vote is a key part of our parliamentary democracy, and it would be an insult to that democracy if it were to be approached as some kind of done deal.  

“Rather, I see this vote as an opportunity to make the case for a liberal vision of Scotland. I do so following a phenomenal Scottish Parliament election result for our party, in which so many people put their trust in us. 

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want a government that is focused every single day on fixing the NHS, on addressing the cost-of-living crisis, on getting Scottish education back to its best. 

“We want a government that respects the needs of people in every corner of this country, that will end the ferries chaos, upgrade dangerous roads and get Scotland moving again. 

“I understand that the outcome of this election has been decided, but no party has won a majority. 

“If our democracy is about anything, it is about the exchange of ideas for what our country can become. By standing for First Minister, I want to show how Scottish Liberal Democrats envisage that change.”