Scottish Lib Dem leader reveals rock hero selfie snub as he takes your election questions.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton answers your questions
Last updated 8 hours ago
Alex Cole-Hamilton believes the Scottish Lib Dems will take a “massive leap forward” in the 2026 Holyrood election.
He has been answering your questions in our series of leadership interviews.
Asked if the Liberal Democrats are positioning themselves as potential “kingmakers” in deciding who will be the next First Minister, Alex Cole-Hamilton ruled out doing deals with the SNP, Reform and the Conservatives.
However, he has opened the door to a potential agreement with Scottish Labour.
“There are no pacts or alliances with Labour, I’m just dedicated to getting as many Lib Dem MSPs elected so they can deliver change for their communities. But, of course, if there is an option to unseat the SNP in a way that shares our values, we will certainly look at that.”
WATCH: You ask the questions
The party leader faced questions on a range of issues from listeners across Scotland when he sat down with our Scottish Political Editor Alan Smith.
Action on Mental Health
Kayleigh in Kilwinning who said her young son had been on a mental health waiting list for more than 3 years.
Alex Cole-Hamilton described the situation as a “crisis” and pledged to recruit more staff to tackle lengthy waits:
“We want to massively invest in support, making sure there are mental health professionals to see them and get shared care if they want it. This is not just bad for the young people at the heart of this, it’s also agonising for their families and parents in particular.”
Knife Crime
16-year-old Ryan from Dundee wanted to know what he would do about knife crime, after seeing a few people “get attacked” and says it’s “just not safe anymore”.
In response, Alex Cole-Hamilton was keen to stress young people were more likely to be victims than perpetrators and highlighted his pledge to give them a legal right to youth work.
He also has concerns about how easy it is for people to get hold of knives:
“Right now, in a lot of shops in Scotland you will have security tags on a block of Cathedral City Cheese, but you will not have a security tag on a six-inch carving knife which will just be hanging on a display, and kids can just walk out with them. We absolutely need to change that.”
What's on his playlist?
As part of our leadership interviews, we are putting them in charge of their own music festival and asking them to tell us about their dream line up. Alex Cole-Hamilton’s selection was very eclectic…
“I really enjoyed going to see Oasis. One of the best gigs I have ever been to was when I took my 12-year-old daughter to see Taylor Swift, I hadn’t been a Swiftie before going to the gig, but I am now.
The Scottish Lib Dem leader says he’d also put gothic rock, post punk artist Nick Cave on the bill and revealed an unlikely meet up with his musical hero in 2023:
“I walked out of the Coronation speaking to Nick Cave and it was one of the coolest moments of my life until I asked him for a selfie and he said no!”
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