Willie Rennie: 'There's movement away from the SNP'

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie says he is confident his party will make gains in next week's Scottish election.

He said campaigning on the doorstep had led him to believe there was movement away from the SNP and a shift in the public mood on independence.

Mr Rennie also said he had the ambition to lead the country.

His comments came as he highlighted his party's main priority in the election - mental health.

Mr Rennie was speaking to BBC Radio Scotland in the latest of a series of leader interviews on the Good Morning Scotland programme.

He said: "I've got the ambition, I'll tell you because I am sick and fed up of seeing people waiting over a year for mental health treatment - 1,500 young people, 5,000 adults are waiting over a year for treatment."

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He said that having more Lib Dem MSPs would make the difference in determining whether independence supporting parties could gain a majority at Holyrood or not.

"I am optimistic about gaining seats," he said. "We have got some of the best candidates we have ever had, the most diverse group of candidates, leading women in top positions right across the country. We have got a very powerful message of putting recovery first, a real good package of policies and I think we have tapped into the public mood.

"That includes former SNP supporters, who were telling me last night when I was knocking on doors that perhaps they voted for the SNP in the past but now they want to put recovery first, they don't want another independence referendum."

He added: "Let's wait and see what the voters say because I can tell you there is movement and the movement is away from the SNP because people are very concerned that the next five years is going to be bedevilled by a debate on independence once more."

SCOTLAND ALERTS: Get extra updates on BBC election coverage

Just days before Scots go to the polls, Mr Rennie offered a "progressive home" to voters who had previously backed the SNP but were now concerned a majority for the party would mean a second independence referendum would take priority over recovery from the pandemic.

He promised his own constituents he would "vote against another referendum on independence at every opportunity".

He added: "The businesses in my area would never forgive me if I spent the next five years debating the constitution Their businesses are on their knees, desperate for support."

The North East Fife candidate said: "I am making a direct appeal to former SNP supporters, that if they want a progressive home, a progressive alternative, that will focus on mental health waits, on getting bounce-back for education, on creating jobs, then they should vote Liberal Democrat."

Mr Rennie said another independence referendum would see Scotland "repeating the mistakes of Brexit, repeating the chaos".

Recovery first

He argued: "We know that breaking up long-term economic partnerships is a dangerous thing, we see that for ourselves in Northern Ireland.

"We should not want to repeat any of that. We should be focusing on putting recovery first.

"We need to get people's jobs sorted, we need to get the children who have lost out in education, on so much in the last year, into smaller class sizes. We want to recruit 3,500 extra teachers, that should be the debate in this election campaign.

"But the SNP are so focused on independence that they are taking their eye off the ball - just like they did on the drugs issue where we have got the highest drugs death rate in Europe, in fact in the modern world."

Willie Rennie said he wants to knock out talk of a second independence referendum and focus on recovery and mental health

The Liberal Democrats won five seats at Holyrood in the 2016 election, making them the smallest of the five political parties in the Scottish Parliament.

Mr Rennie refused to say how many Lib Dem MSPs he expects to see elected after 6 May, but insisted he was "optimistic about gaining" seats.

"I am waiting, desperate, to focus on recovery for the next five years and I am utterly depressed that the nationalists seem dependent on focusing on independence," he said.

"That would distract us and I think that would mean more people would suffer for longer.

SCOTLAND'S ELECTION: THE BASICS

What's happening? On 6 May, people across Scotland will vote to elect 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The party that wins the most seats will form the government. Find out more here.

What powers do they have? MSPs pass laws on aspects of life in Scotland such as health, education and transport - and have some powers over tax and welfare benefits.

Who can vote? Anyone who lives in Scotland, is registered to vote and aged 16 or over on 6 May is eligible. You can register to vote online.

Mr Rennie outlined the measures his party would take to tackle the issue of mental health.

He said: "We need to cut the waits and recruit more psychiatrists and psychologists. We need to make sure we have mental health first aiders in every single workplace."

He went on: "We need to start immediately The problem was evident before the epidemic, it's even worse now."

Asked if a disappointing result in the forthcoming vote would lead him to reconsider his leadership position, he said that he loved his job, and enjoyed "making changes for the country and trying to make lives better."

He insisted: "We are going to grow. I can tell you we are getting more votes."

• BASICS: A really simple guide to the election

• POLICIES: Who should I vote for?

• CANDIDATES: Who can I vote for in my area?

• PODLITICAL: Updates from the campaign