Party reaction to voters' survey

Political parties have given their reaction to a BBC Scotland poll which showed that the top priority for voters was for public bodies to build and run hospitals.

City congestion charging and motorway tolls were widely disliked while only one fifth of people wanted to phase out nuclear power and replace it with renewable schemes.

Scottish Labour Party - Andy Kerr

"It is not our intention to go back to a public sector building workforce. It was used in the past, it didn't work and has moved on.

"PPP does not cost more to the public.

"PPP payments account for £23 of the £2,000 we spend on health in Scotland per head of the population.

"We also brought the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank back into public ownership and it's now doing 29,000 operations a year compared with 2,500 when we bought it."

Scottish National Party - John Swinney

"What we are concerned about is the fact that PPP projects are very expensive and as the poll suggests the public are very concerned about the control of these projects.

"We will have a not-for-profit organisation acting in the public interest which would undertake the building of these projects.

"There a range of PPP projects which are well advanced that would have to take their course.

"But we give an absolute guarantee that we would not waste taxpayers' money in implementing this policy."

Scottish Liberal Democrats - Ross Finnie

"We have to persuade the public that in going onto green taxes are in fact a substitute for something else. We need to change their behaviour.

"Our environmental agenda is more about tackling our use of energy and replacing our generation of electricity with different renewable means.

"And if we are going to shift people away from the motor car we have to offer them an alternative.

"The environmental challenge is not just about changing our behaviour, it's about recognising the opportunities that this throws up for Scotland."

Scottish Conservatives - Murdo Fraser

"What's interesting about this poll, particularly in answer to the question about road charging is that it's a pretty clear thumbs down from the Scottish people.

"It's time to look seriously at high speed rail links which would have a huge environmental benefit in terms of getting people out of short haul aviation.

"And since this poll was last carried out in 2003, more people have been convinced by the argument that we have to have some retention of nuclear capacity.

"The poll does seem to bear out the fact that people are coming round to that way of thinking."

Scottish Green Party - Mark Ballard

"The Scottish Greens share the public's strong opposition to the private finance initiative, which raids future public budgets to give 30 years of subsidy to private shareholders.

"We believe public services are better run when they are just that, public, and ending this scam one is of the Greens' key pledges for this election."