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Thursday, March 18, 1999 Published at 22:56 GMT
UK Politics
Scotland campaign turns on a penny
The stakes have been raised in the election campaign
The Scottish National Party (SNP) pledge not to cut the basic rate of income tax has raised the stakes in the election campaign for the new Scottish Parliament.
The SNP says it will not implement proposals by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to cut the basic tax rate to 22p, if it wins the election on 6 May.
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| The BBC's John Pienaar: "The tax pledge has redefined the terms of the campaign" |
The move has changed the direction of the election debate on the eve of a campaign visit to Scotland by the chancellor, say analysts.
![[ image: The SNP says a penny income tax generates £230m]](/olmedia/295000/images/_299261_snp150.jpg) |
| The SNP says a penny income tax generates £230m |
Now the debate is centring around whether anybody is prepared to vote for higher taxes for greater public services.
SNP members on Thursday said the campaign is a "gamble" - especially as Labour was 10 points ahead in the polls - but "the proof of the pudding is in the eating".
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Relevant Stories 17 Mar 99 | UK Politics Scots Lib Dems reject 2p tax hike 13 Mar 99 | UK Politics SNP vote to reverse tax cut 09 Mar 99 | NEWS Brown targets income tax |
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