Government Advisers - Two Bites At The Cheery
Hands up!
Who thinks Prof Devi Sridhar would last more that two minutes as an official adviser, if she publicly criticised Nicola Sturgeon and/or the Scottish Government?
Prof Devi Sridhar loves the limelight, something she shares with Nicola Sturgeon, but her role is to advise the Scottish Government as a member of its Covid-19 advisory group.
Now the prof is in a very privileged position - she gets to have her say privately in the corridors of power which means she has an opportunity to help influence government policy in the battle against Covid.
But the professor is getting two bites at the cherry because as well as being a member of a ScotGov advisory group she spends lots of time promoting her own personal views on TV and social media.
I've been a member of an official Scottish Government advisory body - SLARC (Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee) which devised a new national scheme on councillors' salaries and expenses in Scotland back in 2006.
The committee reported initially to Tom McCabe (Labour) as the ScotGov finance minister, then John Swinney (SNP) and finally to Derek Mackay (SNP) who resigned in disgrace on the eve of presenting the Scottish Government's 2020 budget.
Yet I never once remember any SLARC members campaigning and politicking publicly after having had their say inside the committee itself.
So I can only surmise that standards inside the Scottish Government are being allowed to slide.
But the professor is getting two bites at the cherry because as well as being a member of a ScotGov advisory group she spends lots of time promoting her own personal views on TV and social media.
I've been a member of an official Scottish Government advisory body - SLARC (Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee) which devised a new national scheme on councillors' salaries and expenses in Scotland back in 2006.
The committee reported initially to Tom McCabe (Labour) as the ScotGov finance minister, then John Swinney (SNP) and finally to Derek Mackay (SNP) who resigned in disgrace on the eve of presenting the Scottish Government's 2020 budget.
Yet I never once remember any SLARC members campaigning and politicking publicly after having had their say inside the committee itself.
So I can only surmise that standards inside the Scottish Government are being allowed to slide.
Covid, Governments and Expert Advice (10/01/21)
I remember the good old days when government advisers advised and ministers decided whether to not to accept their advice after weighing up all the options.
If an adviser's advice was not accepted or, worse still, rejected out of hand, they have always enjoyed the honourable course of resigning.
I haven't seen Professor Chris Whitty or Sir Patrick Vallance in the media and social media promoting their own personal views on how best to deal with the ongoing public health emergency.
So I wonder if Professor Sridhar is speaking on her own behalf of floating an idea on behalf of the Scottish Government's Covid-19 advisory group.
