Lib Dems on track for one of 'best ever results' in Edinburgh at next year's Holyrood elections, says Ed Davey
Liberal Democrats are on course for one of their "best ever results" in Edinburgh at next year's Holyrood elections, the party's UK leader Ed Davey has predicted.
He was visiting Edinburgh College's Granton campus, which falls in the newly created Edinburgh Northern constituency where the Lib Dems have high hopes of winning.
After being shown around the college's Renewables Centre and posing for pictures in the construction department, Mr Davey told the Evening News the party in Scotland was "absolutely buzzing".
He said: "In Edinburgh we're on for one of our best ever results, winning constituencies - but I think we can win on the list as well."
The Lib Dems are hoping former Labour voters in the new Edinburgh Northern will switch to back them in order to beat the SNP.
Mr Davey also spoke about how the Lib Dems believed a change in energy policy to focus on insulation and renewable power could halve energy bills within 10 years.
He said the skills he had just seen being taught at Edinburgh College were vital for the future. He said: "What's happening here at this college is so, so important. Talking to the instructor, it's clear they've got massive demand - they have more young people wanting to take these courses than they've got places for, and that's why we need to invest in our people and their skills.
"There's no point in a government saying they're going to build all these homes and do these construction projects, vital though they are to save people money, unless they ensure the skills are there.
"Scottish young people are coming forward and saying 'Can we be trained?' and Lib Dems say 'Yes, let's train them'.
"With people really struggling with the cost of living we need to help them - and what that means is we need to train the people who can install the insulation, the heat pumps, the solar panels, so people can get their bills down.
"We don't want to be dependent on gas, whether it's from Russia or anywhere else. We want to make sure people can use Scotland's own electricity power sources, which are wind and sun."
The new Edinburgh Northern seat takes in a large part of Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton's current Edinburgh Western constituency, represented at Westminster by fellow Lib Dem Christine Jardine, as well as parts of Edinburgh Northern & Leith where the party has a strong vote.
The Lib Dems say the vote breakdown from previous elections suggest a close contest between them and the SNP. Lib Dem candidate, Forth ward councillor Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, will be pitched against the SNP's Euan Hyslop, a fellow councillor.
Mr Davey said: "This new constituency takes in a big chunk of Alex's constituency and Christine's, so they have had the best Lib Dem representation for many years - so those parts already know it's the Lib Dems if you want a really good local champion and we're the ones who can beat the SNP.
"In the parts that are coming in, we're strong locally already and because of Sanne's campaign people are already realising that if they want to beat the SNP it's the Lib Dems in this new constituency.
"So, with the Labour vote tumbling across Scotland as it is across the UK, we are clearly the challengers and that's coming back on the doorsteps already.
“We think it could be quite a close fight in this constituency between, that's why it's so important for people who previously voted Labour, for example, to realise if they want to stop the SNP we're the ones to do it."