Commenting on the release of government records from 1989 to 1994 - which reveal the contemptuous attitude of the Tory party over the implementation of the poll tax in Scotland - Glasgow SNP MSP Anne McLaughlin said: "These papers are a timely reminder of the contempt of the Tory Party for Scotland.  The words may have got warmer, but their deeds in government will haunt them for years to come.

"I remember those years well and how they thought the Tories could get away with imposing the poll tax on Scotland because Labour let them get away with it. However the grass-roots opposition to the poll tax - supported by the SNP - help see that policy off.

"These papers show that Scotland needs a party that is prepared to stand up for Scotland against a Con/Dem government in London with no real mandate in Scotland – and avoid the failed opposition we saw from the Labour Party in the 1980s and 1990s."