First Minister John Swinney has launched a new SNP campaign calling on the UK Labour Government to cut fuel prices, as pressure grows on household costs ahead of the Holyrood election.

The announcement was made in Leith, where the SNP leader set out a series of demands on fuel duty and taxation, placing energy costs at the centre of the election debate.

The party is urging the UK Government to scrap the planned fuel duty increase and remove VAT from fuel duty during the current energy crisis.

The move comes as rising costs at the pumps continue to impact households and businesses across Scotland, particularly in rural areas where car travel is essential.

John Swinney said:

“Scotland is an energy superpower, but as part of the UK we are facing soaring costs every time we fill up our cars.

“Whether Labour like it or not, their failures on energy will be the defining issue of this election campaign.

“While other governments across Europe have taken swift and decisive action, Keir Starmer has done nothing, he is like a rabbit in the headlights and it is the people of Scotland who are paying the price.

“Every time people in Scotland go to the petrol pumps, they are seeing first-hand the consequences of a deeply incompetent Labour Prime Minister who is asleep at the wheel and refusing to act.

“Labour simply cannot be trusted with Scotland’s energy wealth.

“Westminster control means we pay some of the highest energy bills in Europe, face soaring petrol prices while jobs in our energy sector are lost.

“With the fresh start of independence, Scotland’s vast energy wealth will work for the people of Scotland and be used to bring down bills, that is what the SNP is offering at this election.

“And our message to the UK Labour Government in the face of the energy crisis is clear, cut fuel prices now.”

The campaign places fuel costs alongside wider energy policy as a key dividing line in the election, with the SNP framing the issue around control of resources and long term economic direction.

With campaigning now intensifying, energy prices are expected to remain a central issue as parties set out competing approaches to easing pressure on households.