LibDems won't back SNP budget that spends 'single penny' on independence

Scottish LibDems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has warned that his party will not back any budget, nor simply abstain from any vote, if a single penny of public money is spent on independence, warning the public is “done with the constitution”.

Mr Cole-Hamilton has now explicitly said that his party will not back any agreement with SNP ministers that includes any spending on independence and starkly warned his MSPs would not even abstain if any public money was put forward for the constitution.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Show, Mr Cole-Hamilton said the Scottish LibDems were “a long way” from agreement with the Scottish Government.

Read more: SNP told not to axe Scottish independence spending in Budget

He added: “In a parliament of minorities, it’s incumbent on all parties to try to forge a way ahead with the government. We have met with them on a couple of occasions.

“The direction of travel is reasonably positive but there is still a massive gulf between us. In large parts, it’s down to the financial circumstances in which we find ourselves.”

Mr Cole-Hamilton stressed that in order for his party to back any SNP budget, finance secretary Shona Robison will “have to move some mountains to get us to the table properly”.

He added that his party’s priorities in securing a budget agreement include “restoring power and funding to our local governments” as well as tackling “violence in our schools” and “access to local healthcare”, claiming that obtaining NHS dentistry was “fast becoming a thing of the past”.

The LibDems leader also pointed to capital spending being used on NHS projects such as the Edinburgh eye pavilion and a new Lochaber hospital in Fort William, as well as committing to reopening a train station at Newburgh in Fife.

But Mr Cole-Hamilton said that “in our heart of hearts, we fundamentally believe the change Scotland really needs is a change of government”.

He added that he would “love an election” after the LibDems performed well in the general election in July, adding: “I think Scotland needs an election.”

But he warned against simply tearing up a budget deal to force an election - setting out concerns the LibDems could be punished at the ballot box for doing so.

He said: “It’s actually very, very difficult in the terms of the Scottish Parliament, to bring the government down.

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“If the budget doesn’t pass, you see things like local government funding settlements not being made, people stop being paid.

“The people of this country will then, quite rightly, turn on the parties that made that happen. That’s the reality of this. I’d love an election but it’s just not feasible.”

Examining his party and the SNP, Mr Cole-Hamilton claimed there were “fundamental problems between our ideologies and our approach”.

He said: “We’re not convinced, and the SNP will have to go a long way to persuade us, that whilst they may delete things like any independence spending from their budget, they won’t just go back to their old ways about spending all political oxygen on the constitution.

“They and the Greens still seem wedded to this, even when they were sent a very clear message in July when they had that massive collapse.”

Mr Cole-Hamilton added: “I don’t see a circumstance where any Liberal Democrat could vote for a budget that clearly was spending money on the constitution when they were given that clear message from the people of Scotland.

“I think that would be a massive misuse of public funds, no matter how small.”

Asked whether even a single penny spent on independence would block a budget deal with his party, the LibDems leader said: “This is still a tight funding settlement, in a large part because the SNP has been unwilling to grow the economy.

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“Yes, we need every penny available to be spent on our schools, on our GP surgeries, on the mental health crisis which has seen year-on-year an actual reduction in spending on mental health in the hands of this SNP government.”

Pressed whether his party would simply abstain on the budget and let it pass, Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “This is not what we’re looking to do.

“LibDems believe in moving forward together in setting out reasonable asks of the Scottish Government.

“I would vote it down. That is exactly where we would be.”