:00:17. > :00:19.The Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, has ruled out
:00:20. > :00:21.short-term Holyrood tax cuts, but has said her manifesto will set
:00:22. > :00:25.out how Scottish taxes could come down in future.
:00:26. > :00:28.She made the pledges at her party's conference in Edinburgh,
:00:29. > :00:31.where both she and the Prime Minister David Cameron insisted that
:00:32. > :00:34.only the Tories could hold the next Scottish Government to account.
:00:35. > :00:36.From the conference, here's our political correspondent,
:00:37. > :00:44.Ruth Davidson is not playing to win power at Holyrood.
:00:45. > :00:46.Her party's pre-election conference at Murrayfield,
:00:47. > :00:49.is a pitch for the Conservatives to displace Labour and become
:00:50. > :01:03.the principal opposition to an SNP government.
:01:04. > :01:14.To challenge them to keep NHS spending rising. NHS funding should
:01:15. > :01:20.rise by 2%. Every single penny should be passed on. She said the
:01:21. > :01:25.time was not right for a tax cut but promised to resist tax rises. There
:01:26. > :01:30.is no justification, none at all, for demanding a higher tax burden on
:01:31. > :01:32.Scottish families than there is on people elsewhere in the UK.
:01:33. > :01:34.In all previous Holyrood contests, it would have been laughable
:01:35. > :01:44.for a Conservative leader to talk seriously of overtaking Labour.
:01:45. > :01:47.Opinion polls suggest the Tories are still the third-placed party.
:01:48. > :01:50.But the gap between them and Labour has never been narrower.
:01:51. > :01:53.In his address, the Prime Minister challenged his party
:01:54. > :02:03.Today, we are the effective opposition and for the next 62
:02:04. > :02:04.Today, we are the effective we will fight to become the official
:02:05. > :02:04.opposition. We have worked so
:02:05. > :02:16.on the EU referendum. We have worked so
:02:17. > :02:21.economy growing, to get our people into work, to see living standards
:02:22. > :02:22.rise, leaving the EU could put so much of that at risk.
:02:23. > :02:26.But on the conference fringe, the alternative view.
:02:27. > :02:35.I think that we as a country should be able to make our own laws and
:02:36. > :02:36.control our own borders, which we can't do while we are in the
:02:37. > :02:41.European Union. Here, the Tories have a Holyrood
:02:42. > :02:48.election to focus on, College lecturers across Scotland
:02:49. > :02:54.are to go on strike. They've voted overwhelmingly
:02:55. > :02:55.for action in a long-running Their union says there will be
:02:56. > :02:59.a national one-day strike the week after next and that the action
:03:00. > :03:02.could quickly escalate. Here's our education
:03:03. > :03:15.correspondent Jamie McIvor. Well, this is a complex pay dispute
:03:16. > :03:20.and it is linked to the return of national pay bargaining. At issue is
:03:21. > :03:24.the planned 1% national pay rise along with the differences between
:03:25. > :03:25.what lecturers earn an different colleges, despite doing similar
:03:26. > :03:32.jobs. colleges, despite doing similar
:03:33. > :03:37.Lecturers' Association so they are dashed say there are discrepancies
:03:38. > :03:41.of thousands of pounds a year. There is going to be a one-day strike on
:03:42. > :03:45.Thursday but the dispute could escalate quickly if the dispute is
:03:46. > :03:48.not resolved. There could be one escalate quickly if the dispute is
:03:49. > :03:52.strike a week every day escalate quickly if the dispute is
:03:53. > :03:56.Easter holidays. This could become a major issue in the run-up to the
:03:57. > :03:58.elections. There has been a shake-up in this area in
:03:59. > :04:04.elections. There has been a shake-up have been cut and there are a large
:04:05. > :04:05.number of cuts in the number of part-time students. These are
:04:06. > :04:10.controversial issues for some in part-time students. These are
:04:11. > :04:16.sector and we expect to hear them raised on strike today although the
:04:17. > :04:20.disputed Saab is strictly over pay. The body that represents colleges in
:04:21. > :04:26.Scotland says that the pay deal is the best on offer in the current
:04:27. > :04:30.difficult financial circumstances. The Scottish Government says that a
:04:31. > :04:32.strike would be in nobody's interest and it calls on both sides to get
:04:33. > :04:35.together to find a solution. The operators of Inverness Airport
:04:36. > :04:38.have announced plans for a ?900,000 The investment will almost double
:04:39. > :04:41.the size of the departure lounge, and create a new arrivals hall
:04:42. > :04:44.for international passengers. The airport has seen
:04:45. > :04:46.a steady increase in flights to and from other European cities,
:04:47. > :04:53.and wants to maintain that growth. Demolition on the St James centre
:04:54. > :05:00.in Edinburgh will begin in May. of an ?850 million retail,
:05:01. > :05:04.restaurant, hotel, housing Edinburgh Council is setting up
:05:05. > :05:10.a special squad to tackle It is to spend ?180,000
:05:11. > :05:16.on an intensive programme of repairs It is a full-time job,
:05:17. > :05:25.but a temporary solution. These teams are out
:05:26. > :05:28.with a quick fix to a problem For regular users, the state
:05:29. > :05:35.of the roads is a constant concern. One minute you are
:05:36. > :05:37.driving and the next minute, Then you are driving away,
:05:38. > :05:44.so you don't really take heed I ride a bicycle in
:05:45. > :05:54.town a lot, and there are a lot of serious potholes that
:05:55. > :05:59.could really crush a wheel. One of the most rattling
:06:00. > :06:08.rides I have had Up and down the country,
:06:09. > :06:13.it seems the streets Here in Edinburgh,
:06:14. > :06:30.councils acknowledge there has been an increase this
:06:31. > :06:33.year, which is why they have set up The council says it will also invest
:06:34. > :06:37.in permanent repairs We are looking at rolling out
:06:38. > :06:41.a new surface, so we can do more roads and it means they will not get
:06:42. > :06:44.into that condition. We are looking at a particular
:06:45. > :06:47.problem at bus stops and reinforcing bus stops in certain areas
:06:48. > :06:49.with heavy numbers of buses We are looking at every way
:06:50. > :06:53.we can to prevent us getting to the situation
:06:54. > :06:55.where the roads are in It is also encouraging residents
:06:56. > :06:58.to report defects Cyclists want
:06:59. > :07:05.a long-term improvement. Riding to work should be
:07:06. > :07:09.pleasant and enjoyable, but going with the potholes,
:07:10. > :07:13.it is rough and not as safe, because you have to
:07:14. > :07:15.keep avoiding them. If you go into them,
:07:16. > :07:19.you might come off. In Edinburgh, the council say
:07:20. > :07:21.that the pothole patrol is part of a ?50 million
:07:22. > :07:31.investment in the roads. Rugby now - and in tonight's Pro12
:07:32. > :07:38.match Edinburgh were unlucky not to capitalise after a Hidalgo-Clyne
:07:39. > :07:48.kick in the 69th minute took -- they add a fifth place -- the
:07:49. > :07:54.fifth suicide and a bonus point. Let's get the weather
:07:55. > :08:11.outlook for the weekend The weather front is still in place.
:08:12. > :08:16.North of the border, we are in this north, north-easterly airflow which
:08:17. > :08:23.will drive wintry air flows into eastern Scotland. Increasingly
:08:24. > :08:27.wintry into low levels. We could see some significant at the relations of
:08:28. > :08:34.a high-level roads particularly from Murray and Aberdeenshire. But also
:08:35. > :08:42.the Highlands and the Lothians. There could be a frost and tricky
:08:43. > :08:50.conditions on the road first thing. But a fine weather for western
:08:51. > :08:54.Scotland. A a dry, bright start and spells of sunshine. Cloud building
:08:55. > :09:01.up as the day goes on. If similar story from Northern Ireland, western
:09:02. > :09:04.England and Wales. But for other parts, a different story, cloudy
:09:05. > :09:08.with frequent showers which are given in on brisk northerly winds.
:09:09. > :09:15.Across the country, those wins were lent a chilly feel tomorrow. Even in
:09:16. > :09:17.the sunshine, temperatures only five or 63 is at best. Tomorrow evening,
:09:18. > :09:24.that weather front -- five or 6 or 63 is at best. Tomorrow evening,
:09:25. > :09:28.degrees. North of the border, it becomes mainly dry and high pressure
:09:29. > :09:33.builds on from the West. It cold night and the widespread frost
:09:34. > :09:38.taking us into Sunday. Sunday is a cracking day. Some wintry showers
:09:39. > :09:39.for the Northern Isles and the Highlands, Murray and Aberdeenshire,
:09:40. > :09:43.and perhaps some coming into the Highlands, Murray and Aberdeenshire,
:09:44. > :09:52.East Coast, but most places will be dry and bright with sunshine. Light
:09:53. > :09:54.winds. On Monday, we are so pulling in air from the Arctic, so it is
:09:55. > :09:56.cold, but still drive. From the late team here
:09:57. > :10:01.in Glasgow and around