STEWART PATERSON

Political Correspondent

NICOLA Sturgeon has warned people against voting for the LibDems in a key seat in the election.

The First Minister reminded voters of the Conservative/LibDem coalition years during which she said the LibDems “did the Tories dirty work”.

She attacked the party on pensions and tuition fees and allowing austerity to be imposed.

Ms Sturgeon was campaigning in East Dunbartonshire where former coalition junior minister, LibDem, Jo Swinson is looking to regain the seat she lost to John Nicolson of the SNP two years ago.

The First Minister said the LibDems can’t be trusted.

She said: “The last time voters put their trust in the Lib Dems, they let the Tories into power and slashed Scotland’s budget, broke their promises on tuition fees and implemented cuts to pensions which are still being felt today.

“The Lib Dems did all the Tories’ dirty work slashing the pensions of millions of women. It was a Lib Dem Pensions Minister who drove through these changes, and unbelievably he later tried to blame civil servants for giving him poor advice – but they must take their share of the blame.”

The constituency which includes affluent towns like Bearsden and Milngavie has a high number of retired people and Ms Sturgeon said pensioners should be afraid of the Tories.

She added: “Pensioner poverty is on the rise across the UK - and the last thing we need are more Tory attacks on pensions.

“The Tories are clearly going to win this election UK-wide, and the question is which party will stop the Tories betraying pensioners once again.”

She said SNP MPs would oppose any proposal to abandon the triple lock on state pension increases and would continue to support the Waspi women born in the 1950s who have had to wait longer to claim their pension due to government pension age changes.

Mr Nicolson is defending a narrow majority of just over 2000 over Ms Swinson.

He said the LibDems rather than fight the Tories had backed them for five years in government when Ms Swinson was a junior minister in the Department for Business.

He said they had betrayed the poorest by supporting the Bedroom Tax, backed the Tories’ austerity agenda with public spending cuts and broke their own “solemn pledge” on tuition fees.

Mr Nicolson said on health and education the SNP had a strong record in Government at Holyrood.

He said “By contrast, the Lib Dems propped up the Tories in government, slashing welfare spending, implementing the bedroom tax, privatising the Royal Mail, and breaking their solemn promise on tuition fees.”