A SOCIALIST Labour MSP has described the Scottish government’s legislative plans for the year as a “failed opportunity” to transform the economy.

North East Scotland politician Mercedes Villalba said the programme for government, unveiled earlier this week by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, will struggle to tackle the climate emergency, end inequality and shift economic power into Scottish communities. 

Senior trade unionists in Scotland have raised issues with the SNP’s strategy to fight the climate emergency and support workers, with the STUC saying proposals on green investments were “not credible” and criticising its response to the Just Transition Commission’s recommendations. 

Ms Villalba has now warned that Scotland could be left reliant on overseas energy production and manufacturing, with the government failing to deliver on its promise to create 130,000 green jobs and develop a green industrial base. 

The MSP argued the country will now be dependent on turbine imports from Europe to drive the shift to renewable energy, with a key pledge to create a publicly owned energy company in Scotland also being abandoned this week. 

With Scotland having already lost industrial assets such as BiFab and the Caley railworks, Ms Villalba condemned ministers’ continued tinkering around the edges.

She said: “We have an economy built on declining public services, rising levels of inequality, an ever-shrinking manufacturing base and increasingly insecure work.

“Their failure is illustrated by the fact they’ve abandoned their key pledge to introduce a new publicly owned energy company, leaving consumers at the mercy of market forces and Scotland without a driving force for investment in green energy and technologies.”

The Scottish government was approached for comment.