Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today pressed the First Minister to abandon her plan for Covid ID cards.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today accused Nicola Sturgeon of making "wildly unrealistic" claims about NHS capacity as new figures revealed that since she became First Minister the number of available hospital beds has fallen by 7%.

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today warned that Police Scotland must be transformed into a 21st century police force after new figures revealed that recorded cyber-crime doubled in the past twelve months.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and Health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called for an independent inquiry into unnecessary deaths caused by the waiting times crisis, as new data published today shows that more than a quarter of patients attending A&E continue to wait longer than the SNP’s four-hour target.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called for new actions to “fix fast fashion” in Scotland, as part of the move towards a circular economy.

The proposals form the latest instalment in Mr Cole-Hamilton's plan to offer "new hope for the climate emergency" in the run up to COP26.

Responding to the Scottish Government announcing £1m per year to eliminate the stigma around mental health, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today written to the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to ask them to begin a statutory inquiry into whether the Scottish Government are in breach of equality laws over the implementation of its Covid ID card scheme, scheduled to come into force on 1st October.

On World Tourism Day (Monday 27th September), Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has expressed his concerns over the continuous disruption faced by the tourism sector over the past 18 months, and warned that Scotland's reputation as a holiday destination would suffer unless the Scottish Government steps up.

Responding to UK Hospitality Scotland Executive Director Leon Thompson’s comments on Good Morning Scotland, in which he noted 

"We are seven days from this coming in, we haven't seen the regulations that the government are still drafting, we haven't seen any guidance from the Scottish Government and the government hasn't produced any business impact assessment or indeed a quality impact assessment either, so we are really still very much in the dark",

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“The hospitality industry thinks this scheme is a dog’s breakfast. They are being expected to get hold of new equipment in a week, without even getting clear guidance of what is expected of them. 

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today warned that unless the Scottish Government ditch their controversial Covid ID scheme they risk discriminating against young, poor and ethnic minority Scots and driving night time businesses to the wall. You can find our campaign to stop Covid ID cards here.

Today the Scottish Government published more information about their Vaccine Certification proposals including confirmation that the scheme will apply from Friday 1 October (from 5 am) “until further notice”, and Ministers will hold the power to extend the regulations on a three-weekly basis. However, there is still no sign of the relevant regulations or impact assessments, and additional staffing or infrastructure costs will be met by businesses.