So it looks like Scotland will be locked down longer than the rest of the uk

[frasersmummy]

Judging by Nicola Sturgeons remarks today Scotland will remain In lockdown as it is now till the end of May while England will start easing up

Given we have so many less deaths in Scotland does anyone else feel Nicola is just making an independence point now

@SurfnTerfFantasticmissfoxy I understand that and that is fantastic that it’s kept numbers low in some places but lockdown can’t go on forever and won’t once the furlough scheme ends

I am no fan of the SNP never have and never will support them. But she is doing the right thing by Scotland extending this here. If we are weeks behind other parts of the UK.

“What cost to education what cost to. Employment what cost to mental health”

The thing is, blaming government restrictions for those is a very simplistic way of looking at it.

There are no scenarios where they come out better now...

Well my DH has finally returned to work this week in agricultural engineering as farmers still need milking parlours etc. He was off for 6 weeks and the company should never have closed but had to as all the suppliers and concrete places closed these are now all open again, I’m relieved he still has a job to be honest. Getting a bit fed up of just existing at the minute though and can see people getting fed up very quickly when England starts easing and we are still in Groundhog Day

I was meant to say because Nicola demanded it when they can work and socially distance no problem

I can't survive more weeks with no work, income or human contact. My dc needs to go to school and see friends.

Yes. She always has to go different to the goverment. She doesn’t care about the people, if she did, she wouldn’t have sent people to care homes instead of putting them on ventilators in hospital. She sent them to die and if Boris had done that, this place would’ve imploded

I’m not a fan of Nicola in general, but I’m pretty impressed with her at the moment. I think Boris et al are bowing to public pressure by easing lockdown so soon. Nicola’s approach is more measured imo. However, I do agree that she’ll see this as a ticket to another Indy ref unfortunately.

I'm sick of hearing that Scottish schools end earlier than England! In Fife it is 3rd July so not that much earlier. There is no way my children will only be seeing us (ie their mum and dad for 5 straight months !)

She can forget getting votes for independence now - no chance !

No. It's not a political thing.

Low number of cases now?
She's got the brain to realise keeping lockdown until it's safer is what keeps it that way.

Mind you she'll have to keep out us less protected English. Hope for Scotland's sake she manages to that.

What's happening in Wales?

It doesn’t make sense that she would crash the economy for simple point scoring, she’s actually been really refreshing through the whole thing imo

Council here have put out a Facebook post saying they expect a peak in 2/3 weeks and then 23 WEEKS of sustained excessive deaths, and are considering scrapping funeral charges . God only knows what’s happening here - if the rest of the UK is past the peak it looks like it’s just us in NE Scotland that are hanging on to it . Very confusing . They keep telling us on TV we’re slowly going back to normal and then on fb, letters etc, we aren’t - and won’t be for months .

Totally pointless keeping Scotland in lockdown for longer than England, are they going to put a road block on the border? People will get fed up when they see it’s only Scotland unless there is evidence it is needed. At the moment there is plenty of room in the hospitals, little of the surge capacity was even used. NS wants to be cautious and nobody wants to see the NHS overwhelmed but the social cost to lockdown is huge.

@lesbihonest that was the point I was making, we’ve been told at work over and over again for the past 7 weeks we would get an influx of patients dying at home of covid. I’ve yet to visit a palliative with it yet (thankfully). Lots of things were put in place but now we are trying to revert back slightly so doing non essential visits again etc, we can’t continue indefinitely waiting for something that may not happen but we are prepared should it get bad

Exactly @hottoddy

Of course it's not political point scoring. I honestly feel she's trying to do what's best for Scotland. It must be a nightmare trying to balance safety and economic needs. I think we will see gradual changes, from next week onwards. She'll be only too aware lots of people will have had enough of lockdown. But lockdown is making a difference, and deaths could rocket if it ends too soon.

I think she is possibly trying to distinguish her position from England's
I can't agree with that

@Theeighthelephantwell exactly.

She’s doing what she sees best. I think the expectation of eased lockdown anywhere in the UK is ridiculous at this point.

Anyway. Health is a devolved matter. She decides and she was voted in just as BoJo was.

The UK government aren't expected to lift lockdown on Sunday people seem to think they are. I don't think on Monday it will be business as usual I think the UK will extend theirs to the 28th too like Nicola will.

She always has to go different to the goverment.

She is in charge of the government in Scotland.

Not a fan of Nicola. Sadly I think that she is using this situation to make political point scoring and show what a great leader she is and how independent she is from Westminster. I will be not be following Scottish lockdown guidelines in the next week if they diverge from Westminster ones.

I will be not be following Scottish lockdown guidelines in the next week if they diverge from Westminster ones.

Why not? You presumably live in Scotland, not England?

@PavlovaTescobar that's fine don't follow the rules set by the Scottish government. Then when the cases jump up again we can all stay in for even longer.

If anyone thinks that if Boris eases restrictions on Sunday and the bold Nicola says no Scotland is staying as is, that the majority of the general public in Scotland is going to go “ok, cool, we’ll just stay at home and watch everyone else get back to normal” then they are sorely mistaken. A quick turn about town today suggests that there is a large number of people already acting like normal again, out and about not a care in the world.

This will backfire on Nicola and quite rightly so. Everything is a points scoring exercise to her. Her eye is always on the prize. Anything to avoid doing her day job.

@PavlovaTescobar I agree. I’m a citizen of the United Kingdom and the buck stops at Westminster. I’ll be taking my instructions from there.

Nicola can pretend all she likes that coronavirus changed the goal posts overnight and we suddenly live in the Ununited State of Scotland but last I checked we were still part of the UK.