BANFFSHIRE and BUCHAN COAST Liberal Democrats

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable today met with opposition parties where he set out his priority to "build the momentum for a People's Vote".

The meeting of opposition parties in Westminster today was attended by Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable and Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, Caroline Lucas for the Greens and Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Roberts.

Following the meeting, Vince Cable said:

"I made it explicitly clear to the SNP and others that the priority must be stepping up efforts to build the momentum for a People's Vote. That has been the priority for the Liberal Democrats for over two years, and it remains so.

"I am glad the other opposition parties were today able to agree to work together to achieve a 'People's Vote', including the option to remain in the EU.

"Meanwhile, Labour is missing in action. They claim to want a General Election before a People's Vote, but are making no moves to get one. Jeremy Corbyn cannot continue to court both sides of this debate: it is time to decide.

"We know that any Brexit will hit the pockets of hard-working people he claims to represent. As the Conservative Government falters, the prospect of no Brexit is going from possible to probable."

Responding to reported comments from Nicola Sturgeon to a weekend meeting of the Women for Independence group, that there may not be a second independence referendum in the current parliament and she would instead try to secure one at the next Holyrood election, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:

Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesperson on digital connectivity Mike Rumbles MSPs has today urged the Scottish Government to stop focusing on warm words and demonstrate real progress for rural communities by completing 100% coverage of superfast broadband.

Speaking during a debate on Scotland's Digital Economy in the Scottish Parliament today, the North East MSP reminded the minister that the SNP's original deadline for delivering the R100 programme was during this Parliament, not the end of 2021.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP is calling for minimum unit pricing to be raised to curb the persistent and "disturbing trend" of problem drinking in Scotland, after new statistics showed almost 100 people each day are admitted to hospital due to alcohol misuse.

In 2017/18 there were 35,499 alcohol-related hospital admissions. These admissions were made by 23,494 individuals.

Responding to the publication of the audit of the Scottish Police Authority's 2017/18 accounts, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP commented:

"Spiralling consultant and agency staff costs show that the SPA is still struggling to find its feet. The effects of the SNP's bungled policing centralisation will be felt for years to come.

Responding to EIS members overwhelmingly rejecting the Scottish Government's pay offer, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:

"This is an extraordinary and brutal rebuke to the Education Secretary's handling of the teaching profession.

"Teaching is an amazing profession but there is an urgent need to make it more desirable to potential and existing teachers.They have every right to demand better.

Responding to the news that the share of the NHS budget spent on GP services was 6.8% in 2017/18, compared to 7.3% in 2013/14, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

"The SNP's mismanagement has brought GP surgeries to crisis point.

"A quarter of practices now have vacancies, up from just 9% in five years. I have uncovered posts that have been vacant for two years and doctors have warned they are under pressure like never before.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called on the Health Minister to "get a grip" of ailing A&E performance as winter approaches, after official figures show performance has dropped below 90% once again.

The new statistics show performance against the 4-hour waiting time target sits at 89.1%. The Scottish Government's target is 95%, which has not been achieved since July 2017.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today urged the "meek" Scottish Conservatives to keep their word and rebel against Theresa May over the UK Government's withdrawal agreement.

Mr Rennie said:

"First the Scottish Conservatives told us that they had the ear of Government. Then they stamped their feet over the Northern Ireland backstop and fishing rights. Now they bow their heads and meekly accept a bad deal.

Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine has today called for an urgent debate to be held in the House of Commons over the rigid guidelines governing the prescription of medical cannabis.

After pressure from campaigners and MPs including Ms Jardine, the Home Secretary agreed to allow specialist doctors to legally prescribe cannabis-derived medicinal products earlier this year. However, recently published guidelines by the NHS and a number of medical professional bodies are so tight that very few patients will be eligible for a prescription at all.