Tories attack chancellor's record

Tories attack chancellor's record

Michael Howard said the chancellor had failed

The Conservatives have attacked Gordon Brown's stewardship of the economy as the chancellor made an election visit to Scotland.

Scots Tory leader David McLetchie accused both Labour and the Liberal Democrats of being the parties of higher taxation.

"Labour and the Lib Dems are undoubtedly the high-spending, tax-raising, interfering, money-wasting, job destroying, people failing chancers," he said.

And Shadow Chancellor Michael Howard, in Scotland on the same day as the chancellor, turned his fire on Gordon Brown.

"Gordon Brown has given Scottish families more tax, more spending and more broken promises. He has taxed, he has spent and he has failed," said Mr Howard.

Rural transport

Elsewhere, the Scottish Liberal Democrats promised "faster, more efficient transport" in rural areas while restating their commitment to scrapping the Skye Bridge tolls.

Speaking in Inverness, Scottish leader Jim Wallace said: "Links between communities are vital. Too often the lack of investment in transport by previous governments has resulted in rural communities becoming isolated."

Mr Wallace said the Skye Bridge tolls had already been frozen and should now be scrapped altogether in a move which would create 250 jobs and bring £5m to the island.

He added: "The Labour Party does seem to have moved some bit and is now willing to review this but I can assure you this is a policy we will push and push hard in the negotiations, should such negotiations take place."

PFI has been used to fund schools and hospitals

The Scottish National Party (SNP) is pledging to replace the private finance initiative (PFI) currently used to build new schools.

SNP leader John Swinney claimed an "expensive privatisation programme" had seen schools run for profit rather than the public good.

Mr Swinney said his party would use its preferred method of not-for-profit trusts.

Mr Swinney said PFI schools had led to complaints over the standard of buildings and a loss of access for local people.

"We will match, brick for brick, the current plans for new and refurbished schools but we will go further.

"The simplified means of funding which is available through not-for-profit trusts will give us even greater resources," claimed Mr Swinney.

'Community ownership'

"And with not-for-profit trusts, communities retain ownership of their schools, instead of handing them over to private contractors."

Under the PFI model and its successor, public-private partnerships (PPPs), schools, hospitals and some other public facilities can be provided by a consortium who raise the finance and build the school or hospital.

The consortium then operates it throughout its lifetime in return for regular payments by the public body involved, reflecting the cost of providing and running it.