Voting for a new Britain: Campaigns Briefing - 12 Days to Go

WILLIAM HAGUE made his second visit to Scotland in a week in an attempt to shore up his party's fortunes. Latest polls indicate that the party, which has no Scottish MPs at Westminster, will secure only 11 per cent of first-preference votes on 6 May. Mr Hague said: "Labour have a raft of new taxes all ready in the wings that they would inflict on Scots if unchecked."

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LABOUR AND the Liberal Democrats spent the day attacking each other, despite the expectation that the two parties will end up in coalition after the election. Lord Steel of Aikwood, the former Liberal leader, urged electors to give their second vote to his party. "The last thing Scotland needs is a Labour-dominated parliament," he said. The Scottish Secretary, Donald Dewar, said: "It is nice of David Steel to acknowledge how strongly we are running. It certainly does not suggest the Lib Dems have much to offer if they are simply looking for votes on the rebound."

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MIKE GERMAN, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, was accused of overplaying his assertion that the people of Wales lived in fear of crime. One cynic said: "The only reason people fear crime is because every time they open their door, there's a Lib Dem there."

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YESTERDAY'S Daily Record carried a front-page picture of a snarling Sean Connerychasing a photographer, with the headline: "You've seen the polls then, Sean." Who knows what might happen if SNP-supporting Connery got his hands on mild-mannered Donald Dewar?