Lib Dem housing policy a ‘win-win’, says party leader

A Scottish Lib Dem housing policy has been described as a “win-win” by the party’s leader.

With days left before the Holyrood election on Thursday, Alex Cole-Hamilton used a visit to Inverness to tout his party’s plan for housing key workers.

“ Housebuilders tell me the SNP’s chopping and changing of housing policy must end because it’s forced big institutional investors away.

“We need to make it easier for people to move to take better job opportunities.

“This key worker housing policy is a win-win.

“We’d get Scotland building again and secure a supply of workers in vital industries.

“Lib Dems believe in giving power back to communities.

“That’s why we believe it should be up to councils to decide who qualifies as a key worker in their area.

“In some locations that might mean building housing reserved for NHS or care staff.

“In others, it might be teachers or farm workers.”
Scottish Conservative rural affairs spokesman Tim Eagle said: “The SNP have neglected the housing needs of rural Scotland for nearly 20 years now.

“The Scottish Conservatives would take a comprehensive approach by backing repopulation zones and bringing empty buildings back into use.

“We would work with local authorities and health boards to ensure there is enough housing for key workers such as nurses, doctors and dentists to make rural Scotland beneficial for them and their families.”