Wee Debates hustings

Wee Debates – a podcast by Iain X and Donald Macleod – held a hustings last Thursday evening. There were a few technical problems at the time but Iain and Donald have succeeded in putting together an interesting recording. The hustings was attended by myself for the Liberal Democrats, Susan Thomson (Scottish National Party), Steven Welsh (Scottish Family Party), Donald Boyd (Christian Party) and Angus McNeil (Independent). Torcuil Crichton (Labour) and Kenny Barker (Conservative and Unionist) did not attend.

You will hear opening statements from all the candidates, followed by a question and answer session conducted by Donald Macleod.

Meet me

I will be in The Narrows of Stornoway for the three days before the General Election: Monday 1st, Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd July, ready to hear about the issues you think are important and to answer any questions you may have about Liberal Democrat policy. I look forward to meeting you. Look for the orange rosette!

My “first vote”

I was having a short ‘seat’ on a bus shelter perch next to a post box yesterday. A man popped his Postal Vote into the box, spotted me, and said “That’s your first vote.”  So it’s all worth it!

Isles FM hustings recording

If you didn’t catch the hustings held live on Friday 21st June on Isles FM, the entire programme will be repeated tomorrow (Monday 24th June) at 4:00pm. Or you can listen to the recording at any time by going to the Isles FM website rePlay page. Candidates for all parties except the Conservatives and Reform took part.

Isles FM hustings

Tune in to Isles FM today between 4:00pm and 6:00pm to hear your Western Isles General Election candidates discuss how they propose to address the issues of importance to local people. Anyone who attended the hustings in Benbecula earlier this week will know how valuable these opportunities are. I will be participating as your Liberal Democrat candidate and look forward to answering your questions.

For a Fair Deal: Our Manifesto

Alex Cole-Hamilton launched the General Election manifesto of the Scottish Liberal Democrats yesterday at Craigie’s Farm near Edinburgh, alongside Wendy Chamberlain. Alex described the manifesto as “a bold and ambitious plan for our country”, and said:

“Our fair deal for Scotland would see:

  • £170m of investment for Scottish agriculture
  • A new Carer’s Minimum Wage, boosting the minimum wage for care workers by £2 an hour
  • Family carers given an extra £1,040 each year through the Carer’s Allowance/Carer Support Payment
  • World class mental health services paid for by taxing the social media giants
  • A 10-year insulation programme to get bills down and tackle the climate emergency”

Read the entire manifesto here.

Wee Debates interview

Iain X, the local freelance journalist and podcaster, is creating a WeeDebates podcast in which he and Donald Macleod interview all the electoral candidates for the Western Isles. Here is his interview with me.

All the interviews may be found on Facebook with the hashtag #weedebates, and on X at @iainmaciver.