ALEX Cole-Hamilton will deliver a speech to the UK LibDem conference today in which he is expected to make a bizarre comparison between the SNP’s finances and UFO conspiracy theories.
The leader of the Scottish LibDems is expected to say when he addresses the conference in Brighton that he cannot speak to an “active police inquiry”.
But a preview of the speech, focused on funding support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, shows he will raise the issue of the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon as first minister.
“Humza Yousaf (below) won the bitter contest to succeed her. He enjoyed a honeymoon period of less than a week. And then came the arrests,” he will say.
“I cannot speak [on] an active police inquiry, but it’s fair to say the impact of these revelations has been transcendent. Everybody’s talking about them.
“It is said that when you are elected president of the United States, you are immediately told the secrets of Area 51 and the crashed UFOs. Whereas if you become the leader of the SNP, you are immediately told the secrets of a disused £100,000 campervan parked in a Dunfermline driveway.
“Whilst this is steeped in both intrigue and schadenfreude, it’s actually the last thing the people of Scotland need right now.
“Nicola Sturgeon’s reputation is now being debated like never before, but she once declared that she wanted to be judged on her record on education.”
Cole-Hamilton will go on to say that a new analysis he is publishing will show the value of the “pupil premium” has been eroded by more than £200 since 2017/18 for every child – because of inflation.
He will add: “That’s money that could have been spent on breakfast clubs; on dedicated teachers and support staff; on activities that inspire and capture the imagination.
“It is a £200 stealth cut. They are pulling up the ladder from the poorest children in Scotland. Shame on them.”
But SNP MSP Collette Stevenson said: “As the co-architects of austerity, ushering in some of the cruellest Tory policies families have seen in decades, the LibDems have zero credibility when it comes to supporting children suffering the impact that Westminster cuts have had on household budgets and public services.
“The SNP will continue to take bold action to ensure children across Scotland have the best start in life.”
