Key policies ditched as Scottish Tories focus on drugs and crime

THE Scottish Conservatives have decided to ditch a number of key policies for this year's Scottish Parliament election and concentrate instead on crime and drugs, it emerged yesterday.

Annabel Goldie, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, revealed she had dropped her party's pledge to axe the graduate endowment - the payment in lieu of tuition fees paid by students after they graduate.

The Tories have also dropped their policy of taking education out of the hands of councils and their commitment to cut council tax by 35 per cent for all households.

Miss Goldie also confirmed her intention not to offer any income tax cuts. Instead, the Conservatives will spend 100 million on drug rehabilitation and another 80 million rejuvenating crumbling town centres.

There has been much internal party debate on whether to use the so-called Tartan Tax, the parliament's ability to cut income tax by 3p in the pound, to lower taxes in Scotland. However, despite pressure from within the party, Miss Goldie has decided not to offer income tax cuts to the electorate this year.

"It is not a political priority just now," she told the BBC's Politics Show.

Miss Goldie admitted she had axed her party's previous commitment to cut council tax bills by a third for all households and would instead offer a 50 per cent reduction for pensioners. She said: "What we have brought forward is a budgeted, costed proposal for our pensioners of 65 and over in any household."

Asked whether she would offer to scrap the graduate endowment, Miss Goldie replied: "That is, again, not a priority."

Her decision to focus on such public service issues as more police officers and drug course places will move her party towards the centre ground.

Miss Goldie's announcement came as the party published its regional lists of candidates for this year's election, showing which candidates can expect to be returned as MSPs. A small number of senior MSPs are in danger of losing out.

Murray Tosh, the deputy presiding officer, is unlikely to return as an MSP after coming fourth on the Tory list for the South of Scotland, a ranking which will almost certainly dash his hopes of becoming the next presiding officer. Only the first couple of places on most lists can be reasonably sure of election so, for Dave Petrie, the party's newest MSP and communities spokesman, his ranking of fifth on the Highlands and Islands list represents a major setback.

The bulk of the party's intake from 2003 - John Scott, Derek Brownlee, Alex Johnston, Nanette Milne, Murdo Fraser, David McLetchie, Annabel Goldie, Bill Aitken, Mary Scanlon, Jamie McGrigor and Margaret Mitchell - should all return to parliament this year.