Parties Campaign Before Another Leaders Debate

Politicians are continuing efforts to sway voters ahead of a BBC leaders debate in London, with the Conservatives launching their Scottish manifesto.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson will be joined by Prime Minister David Cameron - who will not be taking part in the televised debate.

He will claim a deal between Labour and the SNP would be a coalition of chaos.

The party will highlight new analysis showing the Nationalists have voted the same way as Labour 91.5 per cent of the time during this parliament, including 27 out of 28 votes on welfare and 62 out of 65 votes on the economy.

Travelling to Glasgow to launch the Scottish Conservative Manifesto, Cameron said:

"We meet here in Scotland in the middle of a massive political fight. We've got Labour and the SNP on opposite sides - slugging it out - but if you take a step back they're really on the same side. You have a weak Labour party, who want more spending, more borrowing, more debt and more taxes. And the people who will prop them up, the SNP - who want even more spending, more borrowing, more debt and more taxes.

"Together, they pose a clear threat to the future of our United Kingdom. A coalition of chaos.  The SNP acting as the chain to Labour's wrecking ball, running right through our economic recovery - and it will be you who pays the price. With jobs losses, massive tax rises and an economy back on the brink of bankruptcy. In short it won't work for Scotland, but it will hurt for Scotland."

But SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says a hung parliament is an "opportunity to deliver the positive change."

She said: "The mould of two and three-party politics at Westminster has been shattered, and the reality is that no single party will be in a position to form a government on its own after May 7th.
 
"That presents a fantastic moment of opportunity to deliver the positive change that people are looking for.
 
"The SNP will be a positive and constructive voice at Westminster, ready to join others in a progressive alliance to end austerity and protect vital public services like the NHS."
 
Scottish Labour, meanwhile, says Scottish youngsters need more help to find employment.

Party leader Jim Murphy is meeting young people at a Scottish Gas training centre in Hamilton. He says:

"In a few weeks Scotland will either get a Tory Government determined to turn the clocks back on our young people, or a Labour Government that will hit fast forward on opportunities for the next generation.
 
"I want every young person to benefit from support from a Labour Government that will let them learn, sharpen their skills, and get on in life regardless of the postcode or background they were born into."

The Scottish Liberal Democrats are challenging the SNP over what they call a "centralisation obsession" during a campaign visit in Inverness.

Leader Willie Rennie and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander will walk around the city's high street, which saw armed police officers on routine patrols last year.

The pair will claim the Lib Dems are the only party who will stand up for communities in the Highlands and across Scotland as they meet voters in Inverness.

The Scottish Greens will join a Campaign Against the Arms Trade vigil in Edinburgh.

The party are standing in the majority of Scotland's 59 seats for the first time, launched their manifesto two weeks, which features calls for a foreign policy based on peace, a global deal on climate change and a halt to the arms trade.

Membership of the Scottish Greens has surged to almost 9,000 with one in ten members an ex-Labour supporter.

Scottish Green MSP Alison Johnstone said:

"The widespread opposition we've seen in Scotland to the renewal of Trident is symbolic of the desire to stop spending billions of pounds on military hardware while communities here and overseas suffer from poverty.

"We have a real opportunity to re-skill military workers to address modern defense priorities, peacekeeping and humanitarian work. With more Green MPs there's more chance of diverting some of the UK's annual £43 billion military budget towards protecting our public services and creating good jobs in our communities."