Alex Cole-Hamilton
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh Western
Before Parliament, Alex worked in the childrens voluntary sector, including being Director of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights) and worked on the campaign to raise the age of leaving care in Scotland to 21.
Since being elected Alex led the successful campaign to save HIV Scotland from planned funding cuts, forced the Government to abandon their plans to abolish jury trials during the Covid pandemic and has spoken up for bus services, dentist and GP provision, and protecting greenbelt land in west Edinburgh.
He has prioritised campaigning on children's mental health, first aid awareness, long covid and supporting Ukrainian refugees. He was sanctioned by the Kremlin in August 2022 following his public criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and for his efforts to highlight Russian influence in Scotland.
Alex was first elected in 2016, and was re-elected in 2021.
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"Get the Basics Right" to get education back on track
The EIS Salaries Committee has “unanimously rejected” the government’s pay offer, describing it as “smoke and mirrors”. This means that strike action in Scotland’s schools will continue.
Local MSP for Edinburgh Western, Alex Cole-Hamilton, said:
“Teachers care deeply about their pupils and the last thing they want to do is close the gates, but this government has left them with no other option.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats have calculated that Scotland’s school pupils have now lost 2.1 million days of education due to strike action, which is set to double if an agreement is not reached.
“To get Scottish education back on track, we need to get the basics right. That means boosting pay and conditions for staff, permanent contracts, creating more time for lesson planning and cutting class sizes so that pupils get the support they deserve.”