First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled a plan to end Westminster austerity and pump £180billion into the UK economy.
She used the latest in what is expected to be a series of pre-election speeches in London to claim an obsession with the deficit was “destroying the social fabric” of the country.
With polls showing that an enlarged group of SNP MPs could hold the balance of power at Westminster in May, Ms Sturgeon moved to flesh-out her economic vision.
She sought to go further than Labour in offering an “alternative” to the austerity agenda, claiming the “human cost” of the cuts had been too high and that they had failed “categorically and comprehensively” to achieve their goal.
The first minister proposed allowing government department spending to rise by 0.5% a year, in a move she said would cut the debt and at the same time enable an extra £180billion to be spent over the next four years, compared to the coalition’s plans.
In a speech at University College London, Ms Sturgeon said: “We could protect the infrastructure, education and innovation which will support stronger and more sustainable growth in the future.
“We could take a different approach to the crude cuts that reduce work incentives and impact directly on disabled people and families with children.
“We could manage the deficit down, but without destroying the social fabric.”
Ms Sturgeon later said she was “not wedded” to the £180billion figure, but using it as an example.
Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, defended the coalition’s economic record.
“The first minister is here trying to turn good news into bad: she wants the UK to be performing poorly, when in fact it is growing strongly,” he said.
“By cutting the deficit in half, we have restored economic credibility, got employment up to record levels, and achieved growth rates that the eurozone and most of the G7 would envy.
“Nicola Sturgeon should welcome the progress we have made, in contrast to the economic fortunes suffered by many of our neighbours.”
Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran said: “Scotland can’t afford another five years of David Cameron, but Nicola Sturgeon wants to help the Tories get back into power.
“Every vote for the SNP in May is another boost for David Cameron, and makes it more likely that he will be Prime Minister for another five years.”