Ministers want higher alcohol prices to curb drink-fuelled violence

Ministers wanted higher prices to curb drink-fuelled violence, but cuts in whisky excise duty, she claimed.

Speaking at Question Time in Holyrood, First Minister Alex Salmond said the two issues were totally different.

The Lib Dems accused ministers of going back on scrapping student debt, while the Tories attempted to pick holes in government plans to scrap council tax.

Ms Alexander told the Scottish Parliament of her concerns about mixed messages coming from the heart of government.

She said Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill wanted to double the cost of drink, while Finance Secretary John Swinney was lobbying for a tax cut on all spirits.

Who should people believe? Fiona Hyslop or fionahyslop.com Nicol Stephen Scottish Liberal Democrat leader

"Like it or not," she said, "cutting tax means cutting the price of vodka and alco-pops", which she said caused much of the trouble on the streets.

"Meanwhile, the justice secretary wants to double the cost of alcohol," she added.

But Mr Salmond insisted there was a perfectly valid distinction between the two issues, telling MSPs: "Wendy Alexander should acknowledge that when we talk about the cost of drink being cheaper than the cost of water, it's not the cost of 10-year-old Glenmorangie that's cheaper than water."

The first minister said he had spent a decade working with MPs across several parties calling for excise cuts, so as not to discriminate against Scotland's "great" whisky industry.

'Fundamentally flawed'

Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Nicol Stephen claimed Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop had recently said on student debt, "We never promised to write it off", but an SNP website had stated "we will write off the accumulated debt".

He went on: "Who should people believe, I wonder? Fiona Hyslop or fionahyslop.com."

The SNP, Mr Stephen said, once denied breaking its promises, but now denied ever making them in the first place, as he claimed the phrase "dump the debt" was widely used in Nationalist election campaign literature.

Mr Salmond said his proposals were fairer than the council tax

Mr Salmond - whose government's plans to abolish the graduate endowment were passed by parliament - said manifesto commitments should be followed, telling MSPs: "Students in Scotland were demonstrating in favour of the government's proposals on free education.

"I'm delighted with the support we had from the Liberal Democrats to make that progress."

Miss Goldie attacked the government's plans for a local income tax to replace council tax - branding it a "national income tax", as it was to be set centrally.

"Let's be absolutely clear about this - we're dealing with a national income tax, a Scottish national income tax," she told Holyrood.

Miss Goldie also claimed ministers would fail to make the change, because there was no parliamentary majority for the change.

Mr Salmond told her a local income tax was a "better and fairer way" of paying for local services than the current council tax, adding: "There is something fundamentally flawed about a taxation system that doesn't take account of people's ability to pay."