Lib Dem leader 'made to look a fool' over SNP independence spending

The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats has been urged to apologise after being "made to look a fool" over his support for the SNP Budget.

Alex Cole-Hamilton previously said he would vote down any Budget that contained even a penny of independence spending. His party later backed the spending plans, which were passed by MSPs in February, after striking a deal with the SNP.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Alex Cole-Hamilton | PA

But the Scottish Conservatives have now called this position "dangerously naïve" after First Minister John Swinney renewed his push for a second independence referendum.

In a letter to Mr Cole-Hamilton, Tory MSP Sue Webber said: “John Swinney has a lifelong obsession with independence. It seems extremely naïve of you to take him at his word when he said there would be no spending on the constitution.”

Ms Webber, who represents the Lothian region, added: “Will you now apologise for inflicting this Budget on both your constituents and the country as a whole? The public deserve an answer given these embarrassing developments for you and your party.”

It comes after the Scottish Government published a new paper on independence last week titled Your Right to Decide, which called on UK ministers “to make a clear commitment to respect the people of Scotland’s right to decide their future”.

At a speech in Edinburgh, Mr Swinney said another referendum “has never been more important, more urgent or more necessary”.

During the Budget negotiations last year, Mr Cole-Hamilton insisted his party would not back any independence spending, adding: "I think that would be a massive misuse of public funds no matter how small.”

The Scottish Government had previously published 13 papers in its Building a New Scotland series, at a cost of more than £200,000, with the last released in April 2024.

Ms Webber said: “Alex Cole-Hamilton owes pro-UK voters an urgent apology. He was dangerously naïve in helping John Swinney pass his budget and thinking the SNP leader wouldn’t continue wasting taxpayers’ money on trying to break up the United Kingdom.

“That has been John Swinney’s top priority all his political career and he wasn’t suddenly going to stop now.

“The Liberal Democrat leader must come clean as to why he ordered his MSPs to vote for a Budget that would continue to saddle Scots with higher taxes and poorer public services, as well as allowing the nationalists to pursue their independence obsession.

“This was a bad Budget for those living and working in Edinburgh and across Scotland. Alex Cole-Hamilton should be embarrassed that he was so weak in caving in to John Swinney’s rhetoric in pre-Budget discussions. He’s been made to look a fool by Swinney and the SNP.”

The Lib Dems pointed to the fact the government department working on the Building a New Scotland series, the constitutional futures division, has been disbanded. The latest paper is not part of this series, but a further document is expected in the coming months.

A Lib Dem spokeswoman said: "We have always opposed spending on independence, that position led to the abolition of the government independence unit in January, and we will oppose any future spending on independence too."