Sir Ed Davey gives his verdict on Lib Dem coalition deal and makes Scottish Parliament election prediction
The Lib Dem leader says his party could win as many as 15 seats at the 2026 Scottish Parliament election
Sir Ed Davey has declared the Lib Dems will overtake the Scottish Conservatives at next year’s Holyrood election, claiming his party could win as many as 15 seats.
Speaking during a visit to North East Fife on Tuesday, the UK Lib Dem leader also said any coalition deals would be up to Scottish leader Alex Cole-Hamilton.
Polling suggests the Lib Dems could win ten seats at next year’s election, doubling their existing numbers. The same poll by Survation suggested the Scottish Conservatives will fall from the 31 seats the party won in 2021 to just 11, within touching distance of the Lib Dems.
If the poll plays out at the ballot box in May, the SNP would win 62 seats, Scottish Labour 18 and Reform UK 17.
Sir Ed spoke to The Scotsman during a visit to Cairnie Fruit Farm’s pumpkin patch, in the Lib Dem heartland of North East Fife.
He said: “I think we have great prospects here. People like what Alex Cole-Hamilton and the Scottish Lib Dems are saying, trying to make sure there are improvements in our schools, health, care, helping with the cost of living.
“People are fed up with the SNP and feel they have not run Scotland well all these years and allowed education and health to fall backwards. They are certainly not going to the Conservatives or Labour, so we have a real chance of having one of our best results for many years, overtaking the Conservatives.”
Last month Mr Cole-Hamilton claimed the Lib Dems could take as many as 15 seats. When asked about this prediction, Sir Ed said: “Alex called it - who knows, it is early days. But I am positive about our chances of winning in constituencies where we won in Westminster last year, and on winning in the regional list, which means people can vote for us anywhere in Scotland.”
When asked if the Lib Dems could seriously challenge First Minister John Swinney in his Perthshire North seat, Sir Ed said: “We hope to challenge as many SNP MSPs as possible. People are fed up with the SNP and turning to the Lib Dems as the principled alternative.”
The party had previously said it was targeting a win in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, the seat held by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes.
The most recent polling predicts the SNP will fall short of a majority in 2026, which could mean parties on both sides of the independence debate negotiating coalition deals. Sir Ed said any coalition deal in Holyrood would be up to the Scottish leader, but added “the key thing is winning as many seats as we can because we’ve got the wind behind us this time”.
He also told The Scotsman his party was “the exact opposite of Reform” as they would “value everybody and treat people with respect”. “I think Scottish people with Scottish values will reject the English nationalism represented by Nigel Farage,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives said: “Ed Davey should have spent his visit apologising for his party enthusiastically voting for Nicola Sturgeon’s gender reforms, which were completely at odds with the views of mainstream Scotland.
“We’re fully focused on taking the fight to the SNP and Labour governments who are happy to let Scots pay more, but get less. The Liberal Democrats are irrelevant.”
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