Election 2026: Our analysis of the Scottish Liberal Democrat manifesto

April 27, 2026

In the run up to the Holyrood election, we’re analysing what’s in each of the main party manifestos for humanists. We’re also asking candidates to adopt policies that make Scotland a more rational, socially just and compassionate country. Next up is the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Their manifesto contains a number of commitments on end-of-life choice, reproductive health and LGBT+ rights.

You can also read our analysis of the Conservative, Labour, Green, and SNP manifestos.

Abortion Rights

Graphic showing a woman sitting at a doctor's table with a picture of a pregnant body on a screen.

The manifesto says “we will treat abortion as a healthcare issue, and give MSPs the opportunity to vote on decriminalisation.” Humanist Society Scotland broadly welcomes this statement. However, we are disappointed that the Liberal Democrats have made no concrete commitment to modernise Scotland’s abortion law, nor to vote in favour of decriminalisation.

Right now, women and pregnant people in Scotland have no legal right to end a pregnancy. The law requires two doctors to sign off on an abortion request, with patients compelled to justify a deeply personal decision. Criminalising abortion also means that prosecutions and police investigations still take place today.

Humanist Society Scotland believes the status quo is failing vulnerable women, perpetuates stigma, and undermines the status of abortion as routine healthcare. This is why we’ve joined over 35 organisations and 400 individuals in calling for the full decriminalisation of abortion and an abortion law fit for the 21st century.

LGBT+ Rights

The manifesto says “Scottish Liberal Democrats will combat the prejudice, discrimination and stigma that prevents people living their lives to the full. We will defend hard-won rights and support equality for women, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people and neurodivergent people. We will respect and defend the rights of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, including trans and non-binary people.”

Humanist Society Scotland is pleased to see a specific commitment to legislation ending conversion practices against LGBTQ+ people. The manifesto promises to “ban all forms of conversion therapies and practices, working in partnership with the UK Government to achieve this”.

We are clear that Scotland needs a comprehensive, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices. That means no loopholes that exempt faith groups or those who reject trans identities.

Conversion practices are harmful, coercive behaviours that attempt to change or suppress a person’s sexuality or gender identity. Such acts are based on the false and dangerous notion that being LGBT+ is sinful, shameful or wrong and needs to be “cured”. Conversion practices are not only widely discredited as illegitimate and ineffective, but also cause significant and lasting harm to victims.

The manifesto also commits to “working towards a four nations consensus on addressing the shortcomings of the gender recognition process.” As humanists, we support a person’s right to live as and be legally recognised as the gender that they identify with. This is why we support the simplified gender recognition process agreed by MSPs in 2022.

End of life choice

As an organisation that campaigns for greater end-of-life choice, including the right of terminally ill adults to choose an assisted death, we recognise the importance of improved access to hospice and palliative care. We therefore welcome the manifesto commitment to establish a legal right to palliative care for all terminally ill people. The Liberal Democrats also promise to “support hospices to provide essential palliative and end-of-life care, enabling them to pay doctors and nurses in line with NHS salaries and giving children’s hospice care a fair deal”.

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