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Alex Cole-Hamilton pledges £170m for Scottish farmers – BBC News

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Alex Cole-Hamilton pledges £170m for Scottish farmers – BBC News

Image caption, Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton visited the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh

The Scottish Liberal Democrats say they will invest £170m in Scottish farmers as part of a £1bn UK-wide agriculture pledge.

Scottish leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said farmers had been “neglected and undermined” by governments in London and Edinburgh.

He set out the plan with representatives of Scotland’s farmers during an election campaign visit to the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh.

The party said the money would be used to support profit, employment, sustainability and the future of rural and remote communities.

The £1bn pledge was set out in the party’s manifesto which was published on Monday – though the figure for Scottish farmers was not detailed.

They also want to give British farmers the ability to trade with countries in Europe with “minimal need” for checks by negotiating comprehensive veterinary and plant health agreements.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “The Conservatives’ botched deal with the EU combined with an SNP government uninterested in rural communities has resulted in serious damage to the UK’s food system.

“We will put our money where our principles are, with £170m for Scottish agriculture.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats will also fix our broken relationship with our European neighbours, tackle worker shortages and renegotiate trade agreements so that they always uphold our high environmental and animal welfare standards.”

Rural affairs was also on the campaign trail agenda for the Scottish Tories, who say rural healthcare is “in crisis”.

The party has set out plans to ban the closure of rural health care services, review recently closed facilities and recruit 1,000 more GPs.

They accused the SNP of focusing too heavily on the central belt “at the expense of everywhere else in the country”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer took aim at the SNP’s drive for independence during a visit to Scotland.

Speaking to journalists, Sir Keir said John Swinney had “his priorities wrong” in urging Scots to vote for the SNP to put pressure on the next government to allow another referendum.

He said he wanted voters to elect Labour MPs in Scotland “so they can sit at the heart of an incoming Labour government”. His priorities, he said, were to ensure a “strong economy” and create jobs.

Image caption, Sir Keir Starmer spoke to journalists during a visit to Scotland

Child poverty was the focus on the campaign trail for the SNP, with deputy leader Kate Forbes saying it was the party’s “top priority”.

She said she was concerned that Labour were “uninterested” in taking away the two-child benefits cap.

She told BBC News: “We have Keir Starmer in Scotland today not offering very much change at all. Certainly not offering an end to Tory austerity, certainly not willing to tackle child poverty in the way that we are.

“So it will only be SNP MPs in Westminster holding Labour to account that can mean we properly deliver for Scotland.”

Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens have published plans for increased transparency and strict restrictions on how parties are funded.

They say these plans will tackle the “corrupting influence of ‘dark money’ and wealthy donors” on parties in Westminster in particular.

Party co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “In the long run we need to move to a fair system of state funding of political parties to create a truly level playing field, but there are important steps we can take right now.

“We need far stricter limits on donations and campaign spending, and tougher transparency and enforcement rules.”

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