2021 Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election

2021 Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election
← 2011 20 July – 20 August 2021
Leader before election; Alistair Carmichael (acting); Willie Rennie;	Elected Leader ; Alex Cole-Hamilton;

The 2021 Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election was triggered on 12 July 2021 after incumbent leader Willie Rennie announced his intention to step down as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

On 27 July, Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton announced his intention to run for leader. He stated that he wanted to offer an "alternative kind of thinking" to what he described as "the Scottish nationalism of the SNP and the British nationalism of Boris Johnson's Brexiteers".^[1]

Throughout the election, Deputy Leader Alistair Carmichael (MP for Orkney and Shetland) served as Interim Leader.

v t e Scottish Liberal Democrats
Leaders	Malcolm Bruce (1988–1992) Jim Wallace (1992–2005) Nicol Stephen (2005–2008) Tavish Scott (2008–2011) Willie Rennie (2011–2021) Alex Cole-Hamilton (2021–)
Deputy Leaders	Michael Moore (2002–2010) Jo Swinson (2010–2012) Alistair Carmichael (2012–2021) Wendy Chamberlain (2021–)
Presidents	Russell Johnston (1988–1994) Malcolm Bruce (2000–2015) Eileen McCartin (2016–2018) Willie Wilson (2018–2026) Caron Lindsay (2026–)
MSPs	Alex Cole-Hamilton Jamie Greene Liam McArthur Willie Rennie Beatrice Wishart
MPs	Alistair Carmichael Wendy Chamberlain Christine Jardine Angus MacDonald Susan Murray Jamie Stone
Organisation	Association of Scottish Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners Scottish Young Liberals
In Government	First Second
Leadership elections	1992 2005 2008 2011 2021

References