SCOTTISH Labour is calling on voters to help them "create a fairer, more equal Scotland".

Education, income tax and local authority spending are some of the key areas needing to change, according to the party's Clackmannanshire and Dunblane candidate, Craig Miller.

He said: "This election voters will have a real choice: continued Tory austerity and SNP cuts or investing in education and public services with Scottish Labour. 

"The Scottish Parliament, one of the most powerful devolved parliaments in the world, has the power to tackle inequality, invest in future generations, support jobs and create a fairer more equal Scotland, but only our manifesto has demonstrated how we can do this and how we will fund it."

Mr Miller said it is a "depressing reality" that in certain areas on Clackmannanshire, almost one in three children live in poverty, many in "extreme poverty".

He added: "It is a national disgrace that a child born in Sauchie will have a life expectancy of 10 years less than a child born in Dollar. 

"Fuel poverty will affect many households in this area, whilst many pensioners continue to live on the breadline. 

"Increasing taxes will never be universally popular, and we understand the importance of protecting the lowest paid. That’s why our one pence increase in tax will not be paid by anyone earning under £20,000. 

"The increase is needed because we must reverse the SNP cuts to Clackmannanshire Council and every other council in Scotland. 

"Twenty per cent of staff are expected to lose their jobs; social work services have been given a £1.9million cut to their service, this is a shameful example of the complete disregard for our most vulnerable, those who need the greatest support, but who the SNP have deemed to be the easiest target; a seven per cent cut to the third sector, despite an increasing expectation that they will have to fill the gap in services because of government and local authority slashing of budgets."

He added: "One percent of our country earns over £150,000. The Tories and the SNP believe that they pay enough already and that we shouldn’t ask them to pay any more. I take a different approach. 

"When we have had 152,000 college places cut; student bursaries slashed to the second lowest level in Europe; 4000 fewer teachers and enormous reductions in classroom assistants, the need to act is now. 

"We will ask the richest in Scotland to pay 50p on their higher earnings. This will result in having up to £110million to invest directly to education. 

"We must invest in the future generations and I make no apology for asking the richest to support this policy. 

"Council Tax has been one of the most unfair tax policies there has been. After nine years of a Council Tax freeze those in the highest Council Tax bands have benefited three times more than someone in the lowest band. 

"We will abolish the Council Tax altogether and replace it with a Property Tax. This will result in 80 per cent of households paying less than they currently do. This is fair and progressive. 

"I hope voters will support the fair, progressive agenda that has been put forward by Scottish Labour. Scotland can’t afford 5 more years of Tory austerity and SNP cuts. May 5 gives us an opportunity to create a fairer, more equal Scotland."