Scottish Liberal Democrats
Scottish state party of the federal Liberal Democrats, led by Alex Cole-Hamilton.
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSPs joined the Scottish Conservatives on 22 September 2026 as the only groups to vote against John Swinney's right-to-decide motion, which passed 84 to 18 after Labour amended it.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026
Why did the Scottish Lib Dems vote against Swinney's right-to-decide motion?
Timeline for Scottish Liberal Democrats
Mentioned in: Marra's MSPs vote for right to decide
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Findlay refuses to quit Tory leadership
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Electoral Calculus projects first SNP majority since 2011
UK Local Elections 2026Background
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are the Scottish state party of the federal Liberal Democrats, one of three alongside the English and Welsh parties. The party is based in Edinburgh. Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, has been leader since August 2021.
Cole-Hamilton's party opposes Scottish independence and campaigns to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom. That stance shapes its votes at Holyrood on constitutional questions, where it sits with the Scottish Conservatives against the SNP's agenda.
Before the 2026 Holyrood election, Electoral Calculus projected an SNP majority built on a fragmented unionist vote rather than an SNP surge. In September 2026 the party was one of only two groups at Holyrood to oppose the right-to-decide motion.
The party opposes the right-to-decide motion
On 22 September 2026 the Scottish Liberal Democrats lined up with the Conservatives against the First Minister's motion asserting Scotland's right to decide its own future. With the SNP, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Greens in FAVOUR, it carried 84 to 18 once Labour's child-poverty amendment had been added by 91 votes to 12.
The vote fixes the party's position after Labour's new leader, Michael Marra, moved his MSPs behind the motion. The Liberal Democrats now share the unionist side of the chamber with the Conservatives alone, which leaves Alex Cole-Hamilton's group as the only non-Conservative Party at Holyrood voting against.