UK election latest: Keir Starmer insists green transition will ‘bring more jobs to Scotland’

Sir Patrick Vallance, the former chief scientific adviser who rose to prominence during the pandemic, has backed Labour’s green energy plans, which Keir Starmer is promoting today in Scotland. 

Vallance, who helped spearhead the country’s vaccine rollout, wrote in The Times that climate change requires an urgent “vaccine-style approach”. He said Labour’s plans were achievable and could be “done fast”. 

Labour’s plans include a pledge to set up a state-owned energy company, headquartered in Scotland, which it said would “cut energy bills for good”. The Scottish National party say the proposal would “destroy Scottish jobs and investment”.