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Scottish Liberal Democrats have today announced that they will vote against the Planning Bill again at Stage 3, the final parliamentary hurdle, blaming "SNP timidity and Tory obstructionism" for the failure to radically overhaul planning in Scotland.

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

"Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose the Planning Bill at Stage One because it was obvious that the Bill handed too much power to ministers at the expense of local communities.

Commenting on this morning's economic figures which show that the Scottish economy grew just 0.5% during the first quarter of 2019, Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Katy Gordon said:

"We need to hear a frank explanation from the SNP as to why Scotland is slipping behind the rest of the UK. They have had 12 years to try and get the Scottish economy up to speed.

Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Mike Rumbles MSP has today reiterated calls for Scotland's rail franchise to be put in fresh hands, after new statistics uncovered through a freedom of information request revealed barely any of the ScotRail services running between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley meet the 42-minute "standard" journey time.

My number one priority as leader would be stopping Brexit. It should be the number one goal of everyone in our party.

It's why I've worked so hard as the leading Liberal Democrat in the People's Vote campaign to bring together a group of like-minded MPs who want to give the British people the final say.

Responding to the news that households with a gross income of up to £100,000 are getting help with a new home deposit through the Scottish Government's Help to Buy scheme, Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Caron Lindsay commented:

"People will be surprised to see households with an income of up to £100,000 accessing the SNP Government's Help to Buy scheme. Households with this sort of income should be able to afford to buy a home without the government's help.

Commenting on a new YouGov poll of Conservative party members which reports that 63% would accept Scotland leaving the UK as the price of Brexit, Scottish Liberal Democrat election campaign chair Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

"The Conservative party is hopelessly cavalier with the future of the United Kingdom. This poll is a damning indictment of Conservative priorities and a humiliation for Ruth Davidson.

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP today grilled Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf on the Scottish Government's "misjudged" decision to sign up to gagging agreement with the SPFL in exchange for access to secret data on sectarianism.

The data is only being collected because a Scottish Government-appointed expert recommended it be made public to allow for "genuine debate about the extent of sectarian behaviour and attitudes in football".

Speaking during a Scottish Government statement on cycling in Scotland in the Scottish Parliament today, Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Mike Rumbles told MSPs that not enough had been done to deliver on promises to give every school pupil access to cycle training in Scotland.

Mike Rumbles said: