Theresa May is still the odds on favourite to be kissing hands with the Queen on June 9, but her poll lead has been slashed over the course of the campaign and a hung parliament is becoming a possibility, if a still distant one.
A UK sovereign wealth fund — called "Future Britain Funds" in the manifesto — would boost investment in UK infrastructure and the economy, and would allow the government to tap capital markets in both an efficient and beneficial way to generate revenue on asset sales.
The sale of Bradford & Bingley's mortgage book this year was an example of a successful sale undertaken by the government following the financial crisis. It allowed the UK government to tap into capital markets and recoup taxpayer funds for state-owned assets.
However, this sale might have been even more productive if the revenues from such these asset sales were allocated into a dedicated sovereign wealth fund which could then direct investments into UK infrastructure or pensions and benefits, rather than just refunding some Treasury cash.
The fund could be a prudent global investor and could feasibly invest in capital markets products as any other pension fund or asset manager would, if those investments met a certain standard, and potentially raise money from the markets for infrastructure or other investment.
This could improve funding levels for state pensions — and, indeed, private sector pensions, if they wish to join the scheme — and secure the longer term liabilities associated with an aging population on the UK's infrastructure.
Alongside asset sales, the manifesto mentions shale gas extraction as a revenue generator for the funds. The Conservative manifesto commits the government to overriding local objections to push through UK fracking — but hydrocarbon extraction underpins most of the world's sovereign wealth funds, and if onshore gas is to be extracted in the UK, it's better to corral it in a fund than to squander it flattering year on year government finances.
Any UK sovereign wealth fund, however, comes with a substantial political risks. The point of the project is to invest for the long term — but safeguards would have to be in place to prevent politicians drawing from the fund for vanity projects or short term electoral benefit.
That's difficult, but achievable. Political parties have been known to borrow from each other when it suits them, and this is one occasion when it's justified. The UK sovereign wealth fund should go ahead regardless of who the long-term occupant of Number 10 Downing Street is after June 8.