Cole-Hamilton urges voters to postal vote for Scot Lib Dems on peach ballot paper

18 Apr 2026

Alex Cole-Hamilton has today used a visit to a climbing wall in Edinburgh to urge voters voting by post to reach for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the peach regional ballot paper, saying that more Scottish Liberal Democrat MSPs will get more good things done in the next session of Parliament.

At the event, he highlighted his party’s record of achievements over the past five years which included:

£178m to support businesses through rates relief, including a package over 3 years to help licensed premises like pubs, restaurants, hotels, music venues, licensed clubs and night clubs - linchpins of the high street that have suffered in the cost of living crisis and deserve better. There was also £4m for self-catering businesses to cap their increases and provide a bridge to the next revaluation.
£70m for colleges - equivalent to a 10% uplift on last year's budget.
£20m for social care so providers have the funding they need to lift workers' pay to the Real Living Wage.
£9.4m for hospices to help them attract and retain staff by mirroring NHS pay rates.
£5m more for the Investing in Communities Fund, keeping open projects, services and activities in disadvantaged communities.
£7.5m to speed up autism and ADHD assessments.
£2.5m to back young entrepreneurs.
£7.1m for islands-specific investment, with money to remove peak ferry fares and a commitment to kickstart a new accelerator model.
Facilities to help new mums and babies born addicted to drugs
Cash for flood-stricken families and businesses in Fife when the government initially turned its back.
Suzanne’s Law and Michelle’s Law, strengthening the rights of victims and their families.
Specialist support for long Covid, ME and chronic fatigue.
A future for Corseford College for young people with complex needs.
Money restored to the housing budget after it was cut by the Greens and SNP.
The right for family carers to earn more without being penalised.
Work restarted on Edinburgh’s Eye Hospital and the Belford in Fort William.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Postal votes have been landing on doormats over the last couple of days and I want to urge those voters who are voting early to cast your peach regional ballots for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

“When I travel round the country knocking on doors, voters tell me that they are tired and frustrated with 19 years of the SNP in charge.

“Only Scottish Liberal Democrats have demonstrated a record of delivering change with fairness at its heart.

“Unlike other parties who send out angry press releases but refuse to do the hard graft of actually getting anything passed, we are all about rolling up our sleeves and getting things done for you, your family or your business.

“Just look at the £178 million in extra support we secured to support businesses through rates relief, or the tens of millions we locked down for care workers.

“We can now say we are more pro-business than the Conservative party and more pro-NHS than the Labour party.

“We achieved all of this with just a handful of MSPs, just imagine what we could do with more.

“I want to be straight with people. You have two votes. In many constituencies we are on the verge of winning against the SNP but wherever you are, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach ballot will deliver change with fairness at its heart.

“Scotland deserves better, and with the Scottish Liberal Democrats you can vote for it.”