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Holyrood campaign enters week two Council tax sparks campaign row
(about 12 hours later)
Political parties are staging events across Scotland as the election campaign enters its second week. The SNP has hit back at Labour, claiming plans for council tax reform would mean property revaluation.
The Conservatives will be focussing on mental health, pledging an extra £10m to improve treatment and services. Labour had previously slammed the SNP for its plans to replace the council tax with a 3p local income tax.
Labour leader Jack McConnell will promote his party's tourism policies in Fife and Loch Lomond. The Conservatives focussed on mental health as the campaign for the Holyrood elections entered its second week.
SNP leader Alex Salmond will step up his calls to replace council tax with a 3p local income tax, while the Liberal Democrats will focus on education. The Lib Dems campaigned on education, pledging to cut class sizes and Labour promised to create Scotland's first centre of excellence for golf.
The party's Scottish leader, Nicol Stephen, will announce plans for smaller class sizes and more teachers. Improve treatment
The party said that the centre would be built in Nairn, if Jack McConnell was returned as first minister.
The idea is based on existing "centres of excellence" in music and drama, and the golf scheme could be set up in other areas across Scotland in the years leading to the Ryder Cup in 2014.
Tory leader Annabel Goldie pledged an extra £10m to improve treatment and services for the mentally ill if her party won power at Holyrood.
Ms Goldie claimed there were "serious shortfalls" in the current service.
Over half a million pensioners will pay nothing under the SNP's local tax system Alex Salmond
But she claimed the extra cash would help fund a wider range of treatments.
And she vowed the Conservatives would also set up a register of how long people had to wait before receiving counselling or psychological care.
The Lib Dems took their campaign to Aberdeen, with a promise by the party's Scottish leader Nicol Stephen to cut class sizes by recruiting 1,000 more teachers if they won power at the elections.
Mr Stephen said: "I want to see reductions to class sizes delivered throughout our schools, with the priority being classes of 25 or less in P1-P3."
Middle incomes
The Nationalist assault on Labour over the council tax took place in Aberdeen where party leader Alex Salmond cited opinion poll findings that suggest 71% of people want to scrap the council tax in favour of a "fair" local income tax.
Labour has said its planned council tax reforms will include an additional band at the top and bottom of the scale.
Mr McConnell has said this would not require a revaluation but Mr Salmond insisted that such a move would be inevitable. "Over half a million pensioners will pay nothing under the SNP's local tax system," said Mr Salmond.
"Taxpayers on low and middle incomes will on average benefit by between £260 and £350 a year.
"Labour's hated council tax is totally unfair and will inevitably require a damaging revaluation. "