The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has confirmed his party has been in talks to potentially support the Scottish National Party’s 2025-26 Scottish budget.
Finance Secretary Shona Robinson is set to present the budget to the Scottish Parliament on 4 December.
The SNP currently have 62 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) but require a majority of 65 MSPs to pass the budget.
Robinson’s party has lacked a majority of support in Holyrood since the collapse of its Bute House power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens in April.
The pro-Independence Scottish Greens have also indicated they support the budget’s passing in return for concessions.
Lib Dem leader Cole-Hamilton told BBC Scotland his party would vote against the budget if it sets aside even a “penny” towards the promotion of Scottish independence, stating that he is “done with the constitution”.
He instead urged the government to focus on improving the state of education, GP surgeries, and Scotland’s ongoing mental health crisis.
Citing a lack of sufficient extra funding from the UK Treasury, First Minister John Swinney said constrained finances mean his government will have to make “difficult” decisions.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) – an independent think tank – has warned that “tough choices still loom for ministers”.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Robinson said that the £300m increase in UK Government funding for Scotland to offset the Treasury’s increase in employer’s National Insurance contributions is “simply not good enough”.
She said that more than £500m would be needed to cover increased public sector staffing costs.
The planned Scottish budget has already come under criticism from opposition parties with the Scottish Conservatives demanding £1 billion in tax cuts.
It is unlikely that either the Scottish Conservatives or Labour would support the budget while the Alba party only has one sitting MSP, meaning the support of either the Scottish Liberal Democrats or Greens will be critical.
“Alex Cole-Hamilton speaking in Scottish Parliament May 2024” by Scottish Parliament is licensed under CC BY 3.0.