Analysis: Scottish Liberal Democrats manifesto 2026

The Scottish Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto in Edinburgh earlier at the end of last week (Friday 17th April 2026). 

The final major party to outline their pitch to voters ahead of the elections on 7th May, party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton launched the manifesto in the unique setting of the Edinburgh Food and Drink Academy. Titled “Change with Fairness at its Heart”, the overriding theme is that Scotland can, and should be better.

The Liberal Democrat strategy for the upcoming election was perhaps best captured not in the speech itself but around it, with Cole-Hamilton preparing peach and frangipane tarts to emphasise his message that voters should back the Liberal Democrats on the peach regional ballot papers. 

This strategy is in part drawn from electoral reality. While the Lib Dems look set to at least hold steady in their tally of four constituency seats won in 2021 (per YouGov’s latest MRP poll), any growth of the party in Holyrood is likely to come from success in the regional contests. While Liberal Democrat candidates on some constituency ballots may feel to some as a “wasted” vote, given the first-past-the-post system, the manifesto emphasises that voting Lib Dem in the regional vote anywhere in the country has the potential to convert into a seat in Holyrood. 

That said, there are still several constituency seats the Lib Dems are targeting as the election nears. Having gained Mid Dunbartonshire and Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire from the SNP at the 2024 General Election, the party will be hoping to translate that Westminster momentum into Holyrood gains. Among their top targets is Inverness and Nairn, which looks set to be one of the more fascinating individual contests of the election, with former SNP, now independent MSP Fergus Ewing standing against his former party. With the Lib Dems having won the neighbouring Westminster seat in 2024, they will be hoping that a split SNP vote could allow them to claim victory at Holyrood too.

Bute House is not the prize here, but a strong result on 8th May could hand the party genuine influence in Holyrood. Cole-Hamilton said on Friday that he would sooner resign as leader than vote for John Swinney as First Minister once the Scottish Parliament returns after the election, but did not rule out supporting budgets.

A stronger Lib Dem presence could therefore still shape the next parliament's agenda, even from the opposition benches.

With the margins between success and disappointment razor thin, the Scottish Lib Dems have opted for a manifesto that focuses on targeted improvements to people’s lives. Their four key priorities are listed as delivering better health care, providing support for the cost of living, strengthening Scottish transport, and improving education. 

Health and Social Care

The Scottish Liberal Democrat plans are specific and targeted, if not especially headline grabbing. 

The key pledge is embedding 900 new multidisciplinary patient-facing staff at GP practices and neighbourhood health teams, which the party claims will give every GP practice an additional member of clinical staff, reducing wait times and staff workloads. At the same time, more funds will be allocated for local surgeries, with the aim of all users seeing a GP within five working days for non-urgent appointments. 

To further aid people seeing health professionals quicker, pharmacists will be empowered to prescribe medicines, particularly for repeat prescriptions, avoiding the need to for a visit to the GP. Like several of their rivals, the party have pledged to end the 8am rush for appointments by allowing the NHS App to be used for bookings. 

The party have also pledged to create a 10-year NHS Workforce Plan  to support the recruitment and retenion of staff. It comes as reports have suggested that staff are leaving at an alarming rate due to excessive workloads. Also included are provisions to provide NHS workers with better access to housing, as well as a homecoming incentive scheme for those trained in Scotland but who now work abroad. 

Dentistry forms a core part of the Lib Dem’s appeal, with plans announced to address the shortage of dentists by increasing training places, bringing those in the private sector back to the NHS and improving the ability for foreign practitioners to work in Scotland. 

Access to care will also be facilitated by a national lung cancer screening programme, with ageing equipment to be replaced. Walk-in mental health services would also be created to provide support for people in crisis. An additional £7.5 million will be allocated to speed up the diagnosis of ADHD and autism, while an £4.5 million will go to supporting people conditions like ME and long covid. 

Underlining all of these measures is a clear message from the Lib Dems that fixing the NHS means fixing social care. 

Delayed discharge is cited as the key bottleneck in this regard, and the manifesto promises to reduce it by half by the end of the decade. This will be driven in large part by improvements in salaries for care workers to an equivalent of £28,500, designed to aid both recruitment and retention. Care workers would also receive improved access to housing, as well as national bargaining and clearer career paths. 

At the same time, unpaid carers will receive an additional £400 a year through the Carer Support Payment. 

Cost of Living

The cost of living has been a consistent theme across every party’s manifesto, and the Scottish Liberal Democrat’s is no different.

Energy sits at the heart of the cost of living offer. The party is promising a £100 million emergency insulation fund, with catch-up zones designated for areas furthest behind on energy efficiency. A Fairer Heating Bill would drive uptake of climate-friendly heating systems, including heat pumps and district heating.

The party is also promising to quadruple the amount of energy generated by solar over the parliament, and to rewrite community benefit rules so that local areas receive a greater share of the revenue generated by energy companies in their communities.

To support struggling high streets, business rates would be reformed, while a £178 million relief package would be agreed at the Budget, with a particular focus on supporting the hospitality and entertainment industries. Workers would be supported by Job Transition Loans of up to £5,000, aimed at enabling people to change careers or improve their skills. 

Transport

The Scottish Liberal Democrats’ transport proposals are centred around plans to “get Scotland moving again”. 

Top on the list of priorities is ferries, which the manifesto describes as a “fiasco” overseen by the SNP. The party would pass a Ferries Bill which would impose statutory duties to replace vessels and port infrastructure as required, ensuring communities are not cut off by poor services. The tripartite governance of ferries would be restructured to empower community voices, while the compensation scheme for recent disruption would be expanded. 

Alongside this, the party proposes a data-driven Dangerous Roads Programme to tackle safety issues nationwide, accelerated upgrades to major routes such as the A9 and A96, and increased funding for local authorities to address potholes and road maintenance.

The manifesto includes proposals for a TfL-style model giving communities control over bus services, alongside improvements to ScotRail such as late-night services, new stations, automatic compensation, and a commuter guarantee. A nationwide tap-and-go ticketing system would aim to integrate different transport modes, while investment in active travel seeks to promote walking and cycling. The manifesto also emphasises decarbonisation, including expanding EV charging infrastructure, encouraging modal shift from road to rail for freight, and supporting low-carbon aviation.

Education

The Lib Dems’ education proposals are framed around providing more pupil support. 

The party would recruit 2,000 more pupil support assistants as part of a new School Workforce Strategy, alongside more specialist support including speech and language therapists, ASN teachers, specialist behaviour support, and educational psychologists. The party would legislate to make every school a smartphone-free environment and end the excessive use of short-term and zero hours contracts for teachers. 

To close the poverty-related attainment gap, the party would inflation-proof Pupil Equity Funding and legislate to make it a permanent feature. Play-based learning would be extended until age 7, starting with voluntary pilots for a longer statutory Early Years Phase, while a review would be launched into the availability and quality of digital devices in schools. 

What comes next

If the manifesto has a defining word, it is 'realistic'. The Liberal Democrats are making a deliberate pitch on deliverability over ambition, a bet that voters are more persuaded by targeted, costed commitments than by sweeping promises.

With all major party manifestos now published, the campaign enters its final straight. Two leaders' debates have already taken place, with a further debate on STV set for 28th April. PoliMonitor will be monitoring all key developments in the weeks ahead. The Scottish Parliament election takes place on Thursday 7th May 2026. Results coverage begins on Friday 8th May.

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