The party leaders have clashed over Labour's education plans.

The prime minister attempted to distinguish his ideas for freeing up schools with the Tories' "right to choose" reforms at the weekly session of prime minister's questions on Wednesday.

Conservative leader Michael Howard asked him how many schools had taken up previous government initiatives on expanding successful schools, having "the power to innovate" and gaining "earned autonomy".

He later told MPs that just four had benefited from the first two while none had done so from the latter.

"I thought the prime minister was in favour of providing a choice," the opposition leader said.

"Won't parents recognise that we have to judge this prime minister not by what he says but by what he does," Howard added.

"And what he does is never what he says."

The Tory leader also said that "one third" of 11-year-olds still cannot meet national standards on reading, writing and arithmetic.

Blair replied that standards have improved since Labour came to power and that this was a "scandal we are putting right".

The prime minister also argued that "under this government all schools have got greater freedoms".

Howard then leapt on Blair's use of the word "scandal".

"The prime minister has just admitted that the standard of education in this country is a 'scandal'," he said.

"And he has been in office for seven years."

Blair dismissed the Tory criticism by saying that Howard had opposed "every single penny piece" of Labour's investment in schools.

Two tiers

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy accused the government of planning to create a "two tier" education system.

Blair said he could "guarantee" this was not the case by promising not to return to selection by ability and to "carry on putting in the investment".

He added: "I don't accept that we don't have a two tier system now. Unfortunately we have a many tiered system."

But Kennedy argued that both Labour and the Conservatives were ignoring what voters want.

"What people actually want in this country are high quality local state schools," he said.

"What they don't want is a Labour government trying to out-bid the Tories when it comes to selection."

The prime minister said the Lib Dems should decide whether they support initiatives such as specialist schools and city academies or not.