Scunnered SNP Supporters
While I was out for a walk on Friday evening I bumped into a friend who works in Glasgow's hospitality industry.
John told me he's been an enthusiastic supporter of the SNP for years and that he attended the Glasgow Hydro event back in 2014 to celebrate Nicola Sturgeon's election as Scotland's new First Minister.
But he went on to say that he's totally scunnered with the Scottish Government over its treatment of the hospitality industry during Covid and that he won't be voting for the SNP in May's election for the Scottish Parliament.
I can't say I'm surprised.
Covid's Big 'Losers' Deserve Better (23/02/21)
I read recently that in addition to paying a £500 bonus to the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the Scottish Government is planning to pay a £400 bonus to school teachers who will be asked to mark their pupils' course work now that the 2021 exams have been cancelled.
I haven't discovered, as yet, what the cost of this teachers Covid bonus scheme will, but the one for NHS and social care workers is estimated to cost around £200 million and covers lots of well paid staff including senior managers, of course.
What I object to is if Scottish Ministers have hundreds of millions of pounds (of public money) to give away, why don't they give a good chunk to people who have actually lost out during Covid - for example low paid workers in the hospitality sector?
But maybe this has nothing to do with fairness or equity - and everything to do with the Scottish Parliament elections in May.
ScotGov's Cockamamy Covid Bonus Scheme (08/02/21)
Scotland's health minister Jeanne Freeman insists the Scottish Government is right to consult the Scottish Parliament before announcing its new quarantine plan.
Now I agree with Jeanne Freeman's admirable insistence on 'parliament first', but how on earth does she explain the First Minister announcing a cockamamy Covid bonus scheme to an SNP conference on 30 November 2020 - without first putting her proposal to the Scottish Parliament?
Because scheme costing around £200 million of public money should surely have been debated by MSPs before being shared with delegates at an SNP conference.
Especially when lots of people have been very badly hit by Covid, in the hospitality sector for example, and there is a very good argument that at least some of this £200 million could have been put to a far better use.
So why pay the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde a £500 bonus when the CEO earns over £200,000 a year and haven't lost a penny piece from Covid?
Who Gets What and Why? 6 (24/12/20)
The Scottish Government's £500 bonus scheme has some major flaws which I am addressing one-at-a-time on the blog.
Patient Facing vs Non-Patient Facing Jobs
"A pro rated payment of £500 will be made as soon as is practicable to all NHS and social care workers employed since 17 March 2020 - including staff who have had to shield, or who have since retired."
Now the issue here is that not all NHS staff are in patient facing jobs - and not all NHS staff have been stretched to the limit and beyond, in the battle against Covid-19.
In fact, large parts of the NHS have been effectively closed down for months - NHS dental services, for example, which only began to come back on stream in August 2020.
On the other hand, there is a good argument that the NHS is a team and that the backroom staff who are not in the 'front line' are every bit as important as those dealing directly with patients.
But the same is true of other groups as well of course - support staff and teachers in schools, for example, who have been looking after the children of NHS workers because without them the whole system would break down.
As it would if the thousands of delivery drivers, supermarket staff or refuse workers all decided it would be safer to stay at home - instead of risking their own health and safety by going into work.
So where is the logic or fairness in singling out some key groups while excluding others whose contribution is just as important?
I've spoken to lots of people who are in line to receive a £500 bonus (or part thereof) and I'm pleased to report they all say they'd prefer other 'essential workers' to be recognised as well - even if this meant they would receive less themselves.
Scotland's Tartan Lockdown (25/02/21)
Nicola Sturgeon's road map out of lockdown has gone down like a lead balloon, so much so that the first minster has been forced into rapid reverse over tiers and loosening Covid restrictions.
But the Scottish Government's 'plan' still only goes up to the end of April which is astonishing.
Scotland's Tartan Lockdown Continues (24/02/21)
Scotland's 'tartan lockdown' is set to continue for months according to Nicola Sturgeon and even then life won't look anything like normal, if the Scottish Government gets its way.
By the end of April 2021, if all goes very well, parts of Scotland just 'might' go back into Tier 3 which means putting up with all the same travel and other restrictions (eg the early closing of restaurants, a continued alcohol ban etc) we've all been living with for months.
So the upshot is that the Covid vaccine is now doing all the heavy lifting and the efforts of the Scottish Government to suppress the virus since September 2020 have effectively come to naught, even though ministers keep patting themselves on their backs.
Apparently Groundhog Day is still in vogue in Scotland, perhaps with a few tweaks here and there - see post below dated 17 November 2020.
The only good news is that the Scottish Parliament elections are still scheduled to go ahead on 6th May 2021 despite so many other things being closed, restricted or banned altogether.
Groundhog Day in Glasgow (17/11/20)
Glasgow has been in lockdown lite for months - since early September, in fact, when the Scottish Government banned people from different households meeting-up indoors.
In the first week of October bars and restaurants were also shut down, across the central belt, for an initial period of two weeks - most remain closed to this day though some selling food stayed open on the basis that they were not allowed to sell alcohol.
Today the Scottish Government announced that these measures have not succeeded in slowing the spread of Covid-19 and that we are virtually back to where we started in March - with all non-essential shops being forced to close, again.
The result is, effectively, another full-scale lockdown plus a non-essential travel ban (to be enforced by the police) which will come into place on Friday and last for the three full weeks until 11 December 2020.
So although I didn't hear any words of apology from the politicians (they seem to expect a pat on the back) these new measures smack of real defeat.
Because the politicians have failed to get the 'careful and cautious' message across to the general public and they have clearly been unsuccessful in persuading people to change their behaviour.Instead we are back to a policy of trying to control the spread of the virus by a series of seemingly never ending shutdowns in the Covid equivalent of Groundhog Day.
Coronavirus in Scotland: Glasgow lockdown rules tightened as indoor gatherings banned
Nicola Sturgeon announced that the new restrictions are in place for the City of Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire. She warned that the Scottish Government has not ruled out that they "may have to go further" with the restrictions.
By Laura Ferguson - Glasgow Live
Nicola Sturgeon announces local lockdown restrictions in Glasgow, East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire
Indoor household gatherings within three local authorities in Greater Glasgow and Clyde will be banned from midnight.
In a statement, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that the new rules are in place in the City of Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire.
It comes as the areas all saw spikes in coronavirus cases, with the First Minister confirming, "transmission appears to mainly be happening inside people's homes and between households".
