Howard pinpoints 'trust' factor

Michael Howard made his second election visit to Scotland

Trust is an issue for voters in the general election, Tory leader Michael Howard has said in Edinburgh.

He said Scottish voters could bring about change and put his party into power at Westminster.

Labour accused the Tories of lowering the election campaign to the level of personal attacks.

The SNP has targeted the south west to campaign against nuclear dumping while the Lib Dems have continued their attack on Tony Blair over Iraq.

Mr Howard has acknowledged his party is trailing Labour in the election contest but insists his side can still win.

Who does what - Westminster or Holyrood?

However, Labour strategists believe the Tories are deliberately underplaying their prospects and will accuse them of playing on public apathy with the aim of getting into Downing Street "by the back door".

'Take a stand'

As a result, Labour is set to change its overall emphasis with a more aggressive approach, picking on the Tories' record and policies.

On his second visit north of the border since the campaign started, Mr Howard urged the people of Scotland to play their part in a Conservative victory.

Speaking at the party's news conference in Edinburgh, he said it was time for people to "take a stand".

"The one thing on which Mr Blair has taken a stand in the last eight years, on going to war - no more important decision can a British prime minister make - and he can't even tell the truth about that, so yes of course character is an issue at this election, trust is an issue at this election," he stated.

The Tories criticised Labour plans to merge six Army regiments

The Tory leader also met Army veterans and their families fighting plans to merge Scotland's six infantry regiments into one super-regiment.

Mr Howard told them: "We don't have to settle for this, we don't have to settle for second best, we don't have to accept this.

"There is an alternative, there is something people can do, if people really care about the future of the Scottish regiments and all the long-term consequences of the changes which the government proposes."

He said Tony Blair had twice raised taxes after elections despite pre-poll promises and was refusing to admit he would do the same again.

The Tory leader added: "What does he take Scottish voters for, does he think they are idiots?"

Mr Howard's Scottish visit coincides with new Labour newspaper adverts contrasting "the lowest mortgage rates in 40 years" with the 15% interest rates under Conservative control.

Depleted uranium is an issue here in Scotland SNP leader Alex Salmond

Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling said: "Michael Howard is indulging in name-calling because he doesn't want to talk about his record.

"We're happy to talk about our record, we have a strong and stable economy."

Meanwhile, SNP leader Alex Salmond has travelled around Dumfries and Galloway calling for Scotland not to become the UK's nuclear dumping ground.

Mr Salmond quoted from a Ministry of Defence letter in which, he said, Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram admitted that "four essentially complete" depleted uranium shells had been found at the Kirkcudbright firing range.

The SNP leader said: "If you thought depleted uranium was only a problem on the battlefields of Iraq, think again, depleted uranium is an issue here in Scotland.

Iraq advice

"This letter reveals the MoD's activities here in Dumfries and Galloway. I find it quite remarkable, that 'essentially complete' depleted uranium shells have been recovered on the foreshore and by a fishing vessel in the Solway Firth."

Mr Salmond said a new Labour government had plans for new nuclear missiles, a new nuclear power station and a deep storage nuclear waste dump.

He added: "But here in the south west their nuclear obsession means dangerous uranium fired into the sea."

The Scottish Greens said the money spent on nuclear weapons should instead be set aside to tackle poverty and invest in healthcare and education.

We need an inquiry which has the same breadth and remit as the one established after the Falklands invasion Sir Menzies Campbell Lib Dem deputy leader

Green MSP Chris Ballance said: "Little progress has been made towards reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles - instead we are seeing other countries join the nuclear arms race.

"The Iraq war is rightly an issue in this election, but so should we be looking at the future of WMD in Scotland."

The Lib Dems have once again challenged the prime minister over the conflict in Iraq and urged him to publish the full legal advice he received before going to war.

Speaking in Edinburgh, Lib Dem deputy leader Sir Menzies Campbell said none of the inquiries into the Iraq war had examined the decisions taken by ministers.

"We need an inquiry which has the same breadth and remit as the one established after the Falklands invasion, in which the exercise of government by officials and ministers was under scrutiny," he said.

Tax burden

Sir Menzies said the justification for Britain to go to war had "no basis in international law".

But he dismissed the SNP's intention to table a motion for the prime minister to be impeached over the conflict as "a medieval process".

"It is archaic and there is no relevance to current legal circumstances and I see no advantage whatsoever in that kind of posturing," he added.

The SSP's Colin Fox called for "Robin Hood" taxation

"The verdict that will count will be the verdict of the British people. That is a verdict they have the opportunity of delivering on 5 May."

High-earners could pay 80% in tax under plans revealed by Scottish Socialist Party leader Colin Fox.

Electioneering in Glasgow, he said the party wanted to replace the council tax with a "Scottish service tax".

This tax would start at 4.5% for those earning between £10,000 and £30,000, rising to 20% of incomes over £100,000.

Mr Fox said the rich were not paying enough tax under Tony Blair's government and called for the tax burden to be eased on the poor.

Westminster powers Asylum/immigration Benefits Broadcasting Defence Employment legislation Energy Foreign policy Pensions Treasury UK economy

Holyrood powers Agriculture Arts/culture Criminal justice Economic development Education Environment Health Housing Local government Transport

Return to top