Summary

  • Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton tells The Sunday Show on BBC One Scotland that voters on the doorsteps "don't care" about a second independence vote

  • He argues that issues like access to GP or dental appointments are more important to people, adding that another referendum "isn't salient" right now

  • Cole-Hamilton tells presenter Martin Geissler he is a passionate European but his party will not be advocating a re-join the EU policy

  • Elsewhere on Sunday, it is the formal SNP campaign launch with John Swinney urging the electorate to "vote SNP to put Scotland's interests first"

  • Ahead of a visit to Giffnock in East Renfrewshire, the Scottish Conservative's deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said her party would "fight to save Scotland's town centres"

  • During this second weekend of campaigning, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was due to be in Renfrew, Renfrewshire

  • Before polling day on 4 July, The Sunday Show on TV and radio will feature interviews from Scotland's party leaders, report on the campaigns and analyse policy pledges

Live Reporting

Edited by Claire Diamond

  1. Analysis

    Lib Dems aim to overtake SNP as third largest party

    Georgia Roberts
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    The Liberal Democrats are hoping to make big gains in Westminster this election and Alex Cole-Hamilton just pointed to their performance in the English local elections and Scottish elections to back up his optimism.

    Overtaking the SNP to become the third largest party would be the biggest prize.

    The party has spent almost a decade in fourth position, following the SNP’s landslide win in 2015 and a lacklustre performance for the Liberal Democrats in the years following the coalition government.

    Becoming the third biggest party again would mean a guaranteed bigger profile for them in Parliament; a question at Prime Minister’s Questions after the opposition party every week, and a bigger presence at the helm of some select committees amongst other things.

  2. Campaigns are 'Christmas for Lib Dems' - Alex Cole-Hamilton

    Martin begins by talking about the therapy Alex Cole-Hamilton has been having and asks if the Scottish Lib Dem leader enjoys the campaigning.

    "I absolutely love election campaigns, it's like Christmas for Lib Dems," replies Cole-Hamilton.

    "My goodness we're going to make a big stride forward at this election," he says.

  3. When is the election?

    The next general election will take place on Thursday 4 July.

    The UK is divided into 650 areas, called constituencies, and each of these elects one MP to represent local residents at Westminster.

    Scotland will elect 57 MPs.

    This time, you will have to present a valid form of photo ID at the polling station before casting your vote.

    You can follow all the latest election news on the BBC Scotland website.

  4. A look at the newspaper front pages

    front pages

    As the panel discuss the week, it's time for a quick look at the political news making headlines on the front of Scotland's Sunday newspapers:

    The Scottish Mail on Sunday reports on a 'desperate' u-turn for the SNP on energy policy. The newspaper says John Swinney plans review his party's policy on opposing plans for new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

    This would be in direct opposition to his predecessors Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf who were against the plans. The paper says the review is "in a bid to woo voters" who work in the sector.

    Pensioners could be hit by a "£1,000 tax raid" if Labour come into power is the warning coming from the prime minister according to the Scottish Sunday Express. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is also targeting older voters in the Sunday Telegraph, as he promises a tax guarantee to protect people in retirement - although there is no new policy announcement.

    Finally, the Sunday Mirror says one part of the plan is to get Britain working again. It is clear already, the paper says, that Labour is the choice to create more jobs.

  5. And we are live...

    This week’s The Sunday Show is now on air.

    Remember, you can hit Play at the top of this page to watch - it’s also live on BBC One Scotland and Radio Scotland.

    And we’ll bring you live text updates, reaction and analysis right here.

  6. On this week's panel...

    Martin Geissler will be joined this morning by three panellists to analyse the week's news.

    They will be:

    • Eunice Olumide MBE, a model and actress
    • Dr Elli Loose, a political scientist at Glasgow University
    • Donald MacLeod MBE, the owner of two Glasgow nightclubs

  7. Who is Alex Cole-Hamilton?

    Alex Cole-HamiltonPA Media

    Alex Cole-Hamilton is leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

    He took up the party leader role in 2021, taking over from Willie Rennie after a decade at the helm.

    He is also the MSP for Edinburgh Western.

    Mr Cole-Hamilton was born into a Liberal Democrat family and helped to deliver leaflets during the 1987 general election campaign at the age of nine.

    After studying politics and international relations at the University of Aberdeen he worked for children's charities including YouthLink Scotland and Aberlour until he was elected to Holyrood in 2016.

    The father-of-three has said it was his experience of working with vulnerable children, and what he saw as the parliament's failure to help them, that inspired him to get into politics.

  8. Good morning

    Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of The Sunday Show.

    This week we have Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton in the hot seat.

    We'll also hear from pollster Mark Diffley and a panel of guests to discuss a busy week of electioneering.

    You can watch or listen by pressing the play icons at the top of this page.

    The programme is on BBC One Scotland from 10:00 until 11:00, then continues on Radio Scotland until 12:00.