Cole-Hamilton responds to Swinney writing to opposition parties 

Responding to John Swinney's offer to meet opposition parties, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"During the campaign we promised that every vote for us was a vote for change with fairness at its heart. We've achieved more votes, won in places we've never won before in a Scottish Parliament election, and now have the highest number of Scottish Liberal Democrat MSPs for almost 20 years.

"The SNP could not have been clearer in their objective for this election - they were fighting for an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament. Thanks to the Liberal Democrats' success, they failed to do that. The SNP have gone backwards, losing votes and seats, meaning their plans for another referendum on Scottish independence lie in tatters.

"I realise the arithmetic of the new Parliament means that, with likely Green support, John Swinney will almost certainly remain as head of an SNP Government. And so the key question is how we can deliver the change our country deserves, even if the government isn't changing. No party has won a majority and so, just as the architects of the parliament envisaged more than 25 years ago, political parties need to be prepared to find common ground where it exists.

"In due course, there will be time to discuss these matters, but the ink is barely even dry on the results and John Swinney has not been reappointed as First Minister yet.

"We need the parliament to focus on fixing our NHS, addressing the cost of living crisis, and getting Scottish education back to its best. Equipped with the extra votes and extra seats which people have entrusted to us, and using our more powerful position in this new parliament, our fight for change with fairness at its heart starts right now.”