Scottish Labour yesterday challenged the SNP to publish a full list of the 84 out of 94 “headline” manifesto commitments the party claims to have delivered in the last four years - something the SNP promised to do before the publication of their 2011 manifesto.
The claim was repeated as recently as last week in the SNP election broadcast in which Alex Salmond declared: "in four years we've met 84 out of 94 manifesto commitments." On 31 March an SNP spokesperson told journalists that the party "will be delighted to publish the 84 headline manifesto achievements and the 94 total in the run-up to our manifesto launch".
However, according to Scottish Labour, the SNP have now refused and it now appears unlikely to be published.
Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader, Johann Lamont, said:
"Refusing to publish a list they said they would is a desperate evasion technique.They can't even be up front about their own record.
"Alex Salmond has been caught out trying to conceal the truth about his tax plans that will hammer families and now he is refusing to publish their supposed list of achievements.
"He is twisting and turning to evade facing the uncomfortable facts that under the SNP youth unemployment and child poverty is up, but teachers and classroom assistants are down.
"For months they have refused to publish this mythical list - and now the cover-up continues."
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Other comments from Labour yesterday came from Scottish Labour's finance spokesperson, Andy Kerr. Commenting on the unemployment statistics released yesterday, Mr Kerr said: "Any signs of improvement are welcome but the reality is that there are 10,000 more Scots out of work now than this time last year. That makes grim reading for those families blighted by the indignity of not having work. "When the SNP came into power, Scotland had the lowest unemployment in the UK, as they leave office unemployment is higher than the rest of the UK. That is the legacy of the SNP’s hands-off approach and is damning indictment of their complacency." Labour leader Iain Gray attacked comments made by the First Minister during a leaders' debate, organised by the Federation of Small Businesses, when Mr Salmond told the audience that governments 'don't set a figure and say we're going to create these jobs'. In contrast, Mr Gray has vowed to make job creation his priority if he is the next First Minister by pledging to abolish youth unemployment in the next parliament and bring forward a concrete proposals to assist the private sector in creating 250,000 jobs by the end of the decade. The Labour leader said: "It is astonishing at a time when people are worried about their jobs that Alex Salmond is telling them that it is not the government's job to set targets for creating job opportunities. This shows a remarkable lack of ambition from the SNP and reveals his true colours. "When Scotland is facing tough times, jobs and economic growth should be the priorities of the next government in Scotland. Governments can make a difference - but obviously Alex Salmond doesn't believe so. "That's why he has to go. "Labour will bring forward ambitious plans to tackle youth unemployment and create 250,000 jobs and apprenticeships by the end of the decade."Related posts: