Labour candidate fiddles the figures

'There are no way any of these figures can make sense. They mix up billions and millions, Scottish figures and UK figures, one-year and three-year totals, it's all smoke and mirrors. Family trees and figures are clearly not Kathleen Walker Shaw's forte. This is not spinning, it is lying.' Lib Dem Dr Keith Raffan on Labour's creative accountancy, 24 th November 1998.

Gloves off at last on North-east hustings

By Robbie Dinwoodie, Scottish Politital Editor in the Herald

It was also the day when Labour issued a press notice for an event and then expressed surprised when journalists sought to ask questions, berated some reporters along the way, and then oversaw a press conference at which the candidate did not utter a single word. None of the questions even mentioned the words "control" or "freaks".

The day began when LibDem candidate Keith Raffan made a spirited onslaught against what he called "Labour's latest and most absurd lie" - a leaflet from his counterpart, Kathleen Walker Shaw, claiming credit for an extra £250bn on health spending and £1300m on education spending.

They tacitly accepted that this must be a misprint, but Scottish Party leader Jim Wallace said it was typical of the way in which Labour laid claim to grand achievements which were impossible to pin down statistically.

Mr Raffan was more blunt: "There are no way any of these figures can make sense. They mix up billions and millions, Scottish figures and UK figures, one-year and three-year totals, it's all smoke and mirrors. Family trees and figures are clearly not Kathleen Walker Shaw's forte. This is not spinning, it is lying."

In another jibe at Mrs Walker Shaw's recent misfortunes over her family origins, Mr Wallace added: "We cannot conceive where she got her figures from."

All of this angered Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar, who said the mistake on the £250bn was clearly down to a misprint, intending the word million.

He said of the LibDems: "It's a question of small slips for small minds. If this is the centrepiece of the LibDem campaign, then I feel very sorry for them, because I am glad they are drawing attention to our record on health and education spending.

"To focus on a misprint of a single letter seems an extraordinary myopia. If Keith Raffan was a reasonable man he would agree that the Government's record on health and education is second to none."

Mr Dewar fielded every question. The candidate said not a single word. It seemed an extraordinary way in which to approach the conclusion of a campaign in which Labour must make a mark if it is to avoid a result with unpleasant implications for next year's Holyrood election.

There was sniping, meanwhile between the LibDems and Tories, and the Tories and everyone else. MEP Graham Watson, speaking alongside Mr Raffan, claimed that in Brussels recently Tory candidate Struan Stevenson had expressed a personal preference in favour of a single currency. Mr Raffan took this opportunity to attack Mr Stevenson as "schizo", unsure which policies he favoured for Europe.

Mr Stevenson denied all this, saying he had been at a number of private meetings with Mr Watson which had been unminuted, but at which he insisted he had supported his party leadership's stance of staying out of the single currency for years to come.

His press conference was dedicated to attacking Labour and the LibDems as parties of high taxation, particularly in terms of new potential taxes on transport and tourism which could damage such a key industry in Scotland.

Where these sounded similar to former Tory Government policies such as Skye Bridge tolls or airport landing taxes, the answer was: "That was then, this is now, and rural Scotland faces the danger of a new clearances."

It was lively, mutually backstabbing stuff, but meanwhile the nationalists were out of town on their tour-bus enjoying the feeling of being above the fray.

Candidate Ian Hudghton mocked Mr Dewar's appearance as the opening of a new facility at Aberdeen College, pointing out that the institution had received a grant cut of £1m in real terms this year, representing a threatened cut of 40 staff. - Nov 25.