David Green
Scottish Liberal Democrat WHO moved a Holyrood amendment on independence in September 2026.
David Green's Liberal Democrat amendment to John Swinney's right-to-decide motion fell by 35 votes to 68 at Holyrood on 22 September 2026; his party then voted against the motion, which passed 84 to 18.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026
Timeline for David Green
Moved the Liberal Democrat amendment, defeated 35-68
UK Local Elections 2026: Mentioned in: Marra's MSPs vote for right to decideBackground
David Green is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross. He won the seat at the May 2026 election with 14,666 votes, unseating the SNP's Maree Todd, WHO took 9,574.
At Holyrood he is his party's spokesperson on public service Reform, and he has sat on the Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee since June 2026. Earlier in his career he worked as a parliamentary aide to the late Charles Kennedy, WHO held a Highland seat at Westminster.
His first months in the Scottish Parliament have made him one of the Liberal Democrats' sharper voices against a second independence referendum.
Green's amendment fell by 35 to 68
When Holyrood debated John Swinney's motion of 22 September 2026 asserting Scotland's right to choose its own future, Green moved the Liberal Democrat alternative. It was defeated by 35 votes to 68. His party then opposed the motion itself, which carried 84 to 18 once Labour's 17 members had swung behind it.
The vote placed Green and his colleagues firmly on the unionist side of a chamber that had just endorsed a principle with no binding effect. He had shown his hand in August, when he answered the Scottish Government's draft independence referendum bill with a single word: "Yawn."