Labour attacks Tories on education

Jack McConnell predicted a "triple whammy" on education

Scottish Education Minister Jack McConnell said "clear choices" were facing voters as he predicted cuts, division and privatisation under the Conservatives.

He said a three-fold threat to education from the Tories was in stark contrast to Labour's commitment to smaller class sizes, new schools and more teachers.

Meanwhile, the Tory campaign accused Labour of planning to cut 10 regiments if it returned to power, some of them historic Scots regiments.

And the Scottish National Party claimed Scotland's public services are in decline because of spending cuts and expensive private finance initiatives.

The Tory threat to Scottish education is three fold - an educational triple whammy

Jack McConnell

Mr McConnell said university privatisation, spending cuts and the scrapping of local education authorities would spell disaster for Scotland.

"The Tory threat to Scottish education is three fold - an educational triple whammy.

"First they are committed to privatising Scotland's universities - and have rightly been condemned for this. But less criticism has been attached to their plans for schools."

He claimed Tory tax cut plans would mean the axing of one new secondary school, four new primary schools and 100 new teachers in each Scottish constituency.

Partnership

Mr McConnell then outlined the effects he said Tory plans to abolish educational authorities would have.

He claimed the impact would include lower school standards, a proliferation of quangos, chaos in local school transport and rising indiscipline as exclusion units were scrapped.

The minister said: "In every way that local authorities add value to education the Tories will scrap these functions."

"Only in partnership with Westminster can Holyrood deliver for Scotland's schools."

Meanwhile, the Tory campaign in Scotland was joined by Shadow Defence minister, Iain Duncan Smith, who accused Labour of planning to cut 10 regiments if it returned to power, some of them historic Scots regiments.

Ian Duncan Smith: Serious risks

A former Scots Guard captain, Mr Smith said: "Labour's proposed cuts to our armed forces further undermines their morale and poses serious risks to the future of Scotland's historic regiments."

He claimed Labour would also break the Nato and transatlantic alliance through plans for a Euro army and declared: "The Conservatives will reject these plans.

"Spending on our armed forces is at its lowest level in more than half a century.

"In addition to undermining our military capability, it sends out entirely the wrong message internationally to our aggressors and would-be aggressors."

John Swinney: Public spending

SNP leader John Swinney claimed Scotland's public services are in decline because successive governments have eroded its share of budget spending and introduced a string of costly Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes.

In a speech at Stirling University, Mr Swinney branded the PFI "a Thatcherite idea to benefit Treasury officials in London" and accused Labour of making Scotland the private finance capital of Europe.

Mr Swinney accused successive Tory and Labour governments of eroding Scotland's share of public spending and pursuing policies designed to benefit London at the expense of Scotland.

He claimed centralised financial control was potentially "disastrous" for Scotland and said the SNP would replace the PFI with a non-profit making Scottish Trust for Public Investment.

"Money from Scots taxpayers which should be used to put more nurses in our hospitals and more police on our streets will be handed over to private contractors. That doesn't make sense.

Profit-making dimension

"Under Labour, Scotland has become the PFI capital of Europe - committing five times more money into these deals than the UK average."

Mr Swinney said the SNP's proposal of a Scottish Trust for Public Investment would remove the profit-making dimension from public spending, allowing more to be spent on school and hospital buildings.

Mr Swinney also said the SNP would set up an Education Convention and a National Healthcare Commission, made up of a cross-section of people who work in and use health and education services such as patients, doctors, teachers and parents.

He said: "I want to rebuild the Scottish public service ethos which the Tories tried to dismantle and which New Labour has done nothing to protect."