THE Tories were accused last night of planning to slash public spending in Scotland if they win the forthcoming general election.
The SNP made the claim as Labour and the Conservatives were at each other’s throats over the economy.
Tory shadow chief treasury secretary Philip Hammond said £1billion could be saved by cutting child trust funds and ending child tax credits for households with incomes of over £50,000 a year.
Election supremo and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson earlier claimed the Conservatives are “in disarray” over economic policy.
He called on Tory leader David Cameron to clarify his party’s plans for cuts, which Lord Mandelson said would “strangle the economic recovery at birth”.
The SNP attack was headed by Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie, MP for Dundee East.
He contrasted Tory plans to cut spending with rising revenues in Scotland from North Sea oil and gas.
Mr Hosie said that over the last three years Scotland had run a £2.3billion surplus while the UK economy built up a £24billion deficit.
Claiming the cuts betrayed “the same old anti-Scottish attitude”, he said: “No matter what they pretend in Scotland it is clear the Conservatives plan significant cuts to Scotland’s budget.
“The upcoming general election is a chance for Scots to break out of the phoney war between Labour cuts and Tory cuts and back candidates that will fight against this slash-and-burn approach to Scotland’s economy.”
Mr Hosie said the only acceptable alternative to independence was full fiscal autonomy “giving Scotland full rights and responsibilities over all fiscal decisions and ensuring it is not the anti-Scottish attitude of Cameron’s Tories that decides Scotland’s economic fate”.
Shadow Tory chancellor George Osborne is expected today to detail the Tory view of Britain’s economic future.
Mr Hammond sparked yesterday’s clash by forecasting that Prime Minister Gordon Brown will commit the government to spending billions of pounds on defence by making a further firm commitment to complete two new super aircraft carriers in Scotland and the new fast jets that go with them, which are due to be based at RAF Lossie-mouth in Moray.
The pledge is expected in a green paper from Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth on Wednesday.
Liberal Democrat economics spokesman Vince Cable said: “Labour and the Tories are accusing each other of being confused and contradictory on the economy, and they’re both right.
“The fact that they insist on this political bunfight shows they have failed to understand that the British public and the markets want a clear picture of what the next government will do.”
He said only the Lib Dems had been consistent about the scale of cuts needed and what its priorities are.