The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats said Scotland’s political discourse needed to improve to stop abuse by politicians, after revealing he was undergoing counseling.
Alex Cole-Hamilton told the Herald ahead of his speech at the party’s conference in Hamilton on Sunday that the scale of the abuse was so great that the Liberal Democrats paid for him to undergo therapy for more than two years.
The revelations were made as the Scottish Parliament published the findings of a pilot programme, which found that 461 complaints made to police about abuse were classified to just 38 MSPs. It has been shown.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Show ahead of his speech at the conference, Cole-Hamilton said: “I think we need to raise the standards of public debate.”
He said the days of constitutional debate in Scotland were “gone and gone”, given that the more political debate focused on “everyday issues” the more the situation “became difficult to accept”. He added that he believes this will increase the chances of doing so. “Crimes” against issues such as health services and education.
“In the last five to 10 years, the landscape of Scottish politics, the ecosystem, has deteriorated and the abuse is very personal and in some cases takes place on the streets.
He added that he was “very grateful” that the party was financially supporting his treatment, adding: “I think it was important for me to be open and honest about it.
“I’ve been in therapy for a little over the last two years because this is a grueling job under constant public scrutiny.”
The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader continued: “I’m a human being, so I need a place to vent, a place to release some of that.
“I’m very lucky and I know other people aren’t as lucky, but I wanted to talk about this. Raise your hand and say, ‘Listen, we need help here.’ I wanted to say that it’s okay.”
The session “really helped me adjust my approach to politics, helped me realize what’s important and help me become more resilient than before,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Humza Yousaf also spoke about how he underwent therapy in 2016 when he was transport minister, and last year said he planned to return to therapy during his time at Bute House.
