MSPs yesterday voted in favour of a six-month minimum sentence for anyone caught carrying a knife in a public place.
Holyrood’s justice committee also rejected the Scottish Government’s plan to phase out prison sentences of six months or less.
The government believes the law on knife crime is already tough enough. It also wants to introduce a presumption against short sentences, while allowing sheriffs the discretion to impose them where they believe there is no alternative.
In both votes the committee was tied four-four, with Labour and the Tories up against the SNP and Liberal Democrats.
Tory convener Bill Aitken used his casting vote to defeat a plan to abolish short sentences and back mandatory jail time for carrying a knife.
But Mr Aitken’s amendment for a mandatory two-year sentence for possession of a knife was rejected by the committee. Both votes were taken as part of the stage two debate of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill.
Labour argued that given the “persistent level” of knife crime a new sentencing regime must be introduced.
According to Labour, 59% of all homicides last year involved a knife, but 70% of those caught carrying a knife avoided jail.
The party wants a mandatory minimum sentence to put knife crime on the same level as firearms offences.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “Mandatory minimum custodial sentences for knife-carriers — a ‘one size fits all’ approach — are not the solution.”
He said violent crime was at its lowest level since 1986 and the average custodial sentence for people who carried knives in 2007-08 was 217 days.
Mr MacAskill wants to scrap short prison sentences on the grounds that they do not address reoffending. He wants to replace them with tough community-service sentences.
He told the committee three-quarters of offenders who served short sentences reoffended within two years. Three out of five offenders on community sentences did not reoffend.
The government could still gets its way on both matters when the bill goes before parliament later this year.
Afterwards, Labour justice spokesman Richard Baker said: “Labour believes it’s time that knife criminals understand that if you carry a knife you will go to jail. Only sending this tough message will deter knife criminals.”
Mr Aitken said Labour’s call for six-month sentences were not strong enough but were a start. He said: “Prison serves four important functions — to deter criminals, to protect the public, to punish and to rehabilitate. All four matter but we need the political will to make prison work.”
Lib Dem justice spokesman Robert Brown said: “It is hugely disappointing that the Labour and Conservative parties have voted together to pass this highly populist amendment which will do nothing but distract attention from the real issues surrounding this problem.”
A government spokesman said: “The fact that voting by the justice committee was tied at four-four and had to rely on a casting vote by the committee convener demonstrates that there is broad support in parliament for our stance as well, so we will take this to stage three to allow the whole of parliament to decide, as is right and proper.”