The Conservatives’ 2010 manifesto for Scotland was launched by Annabel Goldie, with a pledge to continue the freeze on council tax and protect the NHS from budget cuts.

The document, Invitation to join the Government of Britain, is described as “work in progress” for the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections, and includes several policies on which the Scottish Conservatives would campaign from opposition in Holyrood.

Ms Goldie claimed that the manifesto is a credible plan to get Britain working again and is “brimming with ideas, policies and visions for the future”.

Key pledges are as follows:

• Campaign to freeze the council tax for a further two years
• Increase health spending to protect the NHS from budget cuts
• Create a national high speed rail network between Scotland and London
• Pilot walk-in GP centres so people can see a doctor when it suits them
• Introduce “Second Chance Centres” for unruly school pupils
• Cut the cost of running the Scottish Parliament
• Minimum sentence of two years for anyone caught carrying a knife without a reasonable excuse