Alex is the constituency MSP for Edinburgh Western, and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He was first elected in 2016, and re-elected in 2021.
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.
It’s getting harder and harder for parents to access childcare, particularly outwith normal school hours in West Edinburgh.
Alex has raised the concerns of people right across West Edinburgh who are finding it harder and harder to access NHS dentistry appointments
Alex has called for urgent action from the Scottish Government to tackle the avoidable deaths in emergency care, staff burnout and problems in social care.
Access to wrap around child care, including after school clubs and child minders has become increasingly difficult in West Edinburgh - with demand in many cases far outstripping supply.
Schools, hospitals and other public buildings in Edinburgh are being inspected for the use of RAAC. Alex was the first to raise this in the Scottish Parliament after Lib Dem research uncovered the issue.
Alex has urged the Scottish Government to do everything in its power to clean up Scotland’s sewage problem and to tackle plastics pollution on beaches across the country.
Alex is asking for people who have been required to undergo an assessment despite having a long term or chronic condition from which there is no recovery, as part of the transfer, to get in touch.
Alex has today called on the Scottish Government to support ambulance crews as he revealed that almost 3,000 people faced waiting more than 8 hours for an ambulance last year.
Alex has urged the government to move further and faster following the publication of a new report showing an increase in the number of people attending A&E due to a drug-related incident and a rise in drug deaths earlier this year.
With a new record set for waiting times in A&E, local MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton has called on the Scottish Government to take immediate action.
Pupils at Cramond and Trinity Primaries will be taught in portable units after the discovery of a potentially dangerous concrete in their buildings.
Alex is leading efforts to bring stakeholders and officials together to build a strategy to answer Edinburgh’s growing housing crisis.
