As general election day approaches the award for the most ludicrous manifesto claim goes to the SNP which reckons the UK should imitate a Scottish Government initiative that appears to be going nowhere.

Key pledges in the programme on which the SNP will go to the polls on Thursday include the call for the UK Government to match the £500m Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray. Team Swinney claims this will help build on Scotland’s world-renowned expertise, create jobs, foster innovation and deliver a fair and managed transition to net zero.

The claim refers to a ten-year programme that is a legacy of the co-operation agreement former first minister Nicola Sturgeon negotiated with the Scottish Greens in 2021, which ended amid acrimony in April. The promise of support for the North East was used to justify the SNP Government’s decision to turn its back on the oil and gas industry which Ms Sturgeon had claimed previously could bankroll an independent Scotland.

Environmental campaigners have long had reservations about the Just Transition fund. They claimed early awards seemed to benefit firms backed by the fossil fuel industry more than communities.

In March a report by MSPs highlighted major concerns about the fund after the SNP Government cut the amount allocated in the Budget for the current financial year to related programmes by 75%, to £12m.

The Economy and Fair Work committee said the Scottish Government had yet to provide realistic estimates of what was needed by way of investment for a just transition to be achieved.

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“The Scottish Government must urgently set out how just........

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