Just in tiers with it all now ....

[dancemom]

New Thread, same old situation....

I wouldn't want her job. I feel she's just given up on any balance now, though, and the economy is just being sacrificed.

OMG, I must have missed re masks and SD going - SO excited to see the back of masks. I really thought they were a long-term thing.

God, me neither. I'd have quit at least 9 months ago. I just get massively tired of the 'she's got to be different to Boris' stuff. Nothing is that simplistic or one-dimensional.

Me too @Judystilldreamsofhorses

@WannaCapybara

Genuine question: why do you think she would want to keep restrictions longer?

Because she wants to go for an elimination strategy has done since the beginning and even last week said she agrees with the elimination aim.

Borris on the other hand has never aimed for this.

Early days people praised NS approach and Borris got slammed for herd immunity but then Borris took the risk with vaccination investment and given never aimed for elimination doesn't have to backstep.

NS on the other hand would have to back track to keep in line with England and people don't remember early days of pandemic they remember now being fed up after a year and no signs of normality!

SG announcement will definitely be interesting and it can potentially open up voting in May......

She is 100% game playing.

No real concern for the economy, or peoples MH.

Last week I heard about a friend of a friend over dosing, trying to HS 2 kids, WFH, exh useless. The criteria for getting kids into school is so high people are struggling.

I nearly lost it this morning, frustration, kid who's possibly dyslexic, mum is and who's shite at literacy, direct speech I can do, indirect speach .No wonder my great English achievement is a 3 at O Grade. How on earth are you meant to help without doing it for them??

I totally get what you're saying @Scottishskifun and you do acknowledge that the two have different aims. Which is their prerogative really.

It's the insistence that she can only make decisions with BEING NOT BORIS in mind that I find a bit obtuse.

@Lockdownbear

She is 100% game playing.

No real concern for the economy, or peoples MH.

Last week I heard about a friend of a friend over dosing, trying to HS 2 kids, WFH, exh useless. The criteria for getting kids into school is so high people are struggling.

I nearly lost it this morning, frustration, kid who's possibly dyslexic, mum is and who's shite at literacy, direct speech I can do, indirect speach .No wonder my great English achievement is a 3 at O Grade. How on earth are you meant to help without doing it for them??

It's awful.

A friend of mine (in England, I should say, as I don't know if the rules for self-employed people are different in Scotland) has had to close her business for almost the entire last year.

She gets Universal Credit which covers the rent on the tiny studio she had to move into, but doesn't extend to food. Her parents have to buy her food. She's in her fifties and her parents their 80s.

The whole thing is a nightmare for so many. I know four people who have died by suicide in the last year.

Boris is saying gyms could open in April!! Oh please let NS do the same, please. I’m a fucking broken record about it but I need to swim again.

The suicide rate must be through the roof.
But I can guarantee they'll do the same as they did with the drugs deaths keep it hidden as long as possible.

Will be interesting to compare the 4 nations at the end of the day

The NRS publishes the figures for the previous year in June so it'll be a while before we know.

I drove past a primary school today and it was so good to see kids back.

I cannot wait for my own return to the classroom. Even if it is 15th March. I just want to see my pupils.

Come on Nicola. Let me get back to school. Surely, surely 2 weeks of real live lessons before Easter is not too much to ask.

Yes that sounds legit. A working class woman goes through uni, does an exceptionally well in a difficult degree, turns her hand to politics where she goes from the very bottom to the very top. After all that she decides fuck it. I'm not interested in any of my well documented years of hard work and dedication. I now only exist to play games and annoy Boris Johnson.

Please give over.

You're allowed to dislike her but these bizarre accusations are ridiculous.

@kurtrussellsbeard

Yes that sounds legit. A working class woman goes through uni, does an exceptionally well in a difficult degree, turns her hand to politics where she goes from the very bottom to the very top. After all that she decides fuck it. I'm not interested in any of my well documented years of hard work and dedication. I now only exist to play games and annoy Boris Johnson.

Please give over.

You're allowed to dislike her but these bizarre accusations are ridiculous.

There goes my reasoned debating @kurtrussellsbeard

That doesn't make much sense: surely if she wants to expand her support (in pre-election months!) she would try to walk the middle ground and also appease those who feel the easing is too slow

You'd think but she was quite happy to see off droves of her female voters in appeasement of the presumably tiny trans vote.

Plus yes she seems very set on Zero Covid still.

Even successful politicians can lose their touch.

That is true, and the reason I resigned my membership. I think she's banking on that being on quite a niche issue that mostly lives in the Twittersphere.

Covid restrictions are definitely not that: every person's daily life is ruled by them.

@OldRailer

Even successful politicians can lose their touch.

True, but do they go from excellent political strategist to giving up on all independent thought altogether? I doubt it.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses

OMG, I must have missed re masks and SD going - SO excited to see the back of masks. I really thought they were a long-term thing.

Balls. I didn't mean to raise hopes. I just saw that the "review" of the data to conclude by the 4th step in June would look at the 1m plus rule, face coverings etc. As reported here. So not that they will definitely go, but there is the potential for them to go or at least only be used in limited cases. However, the roadmap also suggests "hands face space" may remain beyond step 4, but they can't tell to what extent. To protect eg children who won't be vaccinated, and anyone else who can't be. But obviously that will depend on how well transmission is prevented by lots of the population having been vaccinated, what happens in schools etc. Still, better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick and all that. If you live in England of course.

Lose their touch?

That's not losing your touch. That's losing your mind, your morals, your upbringing, your intelligence, years of building up a reputation and the respect of your loved ones and family.

Its not clear whether Boris said lifting all restrictions would include SD and face masks going. I do hope so though but as we won't all be jagged, it just doesn't make sense to me.

@WannaCapybara

I totally get what you're saying *@Scottishskifun* and you do acknowledge that the two have different aims. Which is their prerogative really.

It's the insistence that she can only make decisions with BEING NOT BORIS in mind that I find a bit obtuse.

Not saying she can only make decisions not being Borris. NS has always aimed for an elimination strategy and has been very vocal in this aim. But with an election in May and Englands Road map announcements today many people in Scotland will rightly ask big questions if the Scottish road map is a lot stricter and will ask questions of why the government is being so harsh in comparison to England which if following the expected aim for elimination it will be.

This leaves a tricky situation..... Do you ease up and abandon the elimination strategy in order to keep people happy and therefore more likely to get votes in May or do you stick with elimination strategies and risk peeinfg off lots of people which potentially reflect in votes......

NS has always said its not political its about public health except with the vaccination results today, initial refusal to accept military medics help with vaccinations etc its all started becoming political in a big way because the UK govt gamble paid off and Englands just announced aim of "normal" life. I think most Scots would abandon the elimination strategy if offered normality much much sooner especially since data today says the vulnerable are now 94% less likely to end up in hospital!

I want to move to England now (and I have never thought that before!)

@jabbathebutt I doubt he will. Like you say there are many many vulnerable people still waiting for vaccinations.

The public will accept the deaths of the elderly. They won't accept a spike in deaths of those in their forties and fifties waiting to be vaccinated.

He can't get rid of social distancing and face masks. Unless he's a sociopath.

"NS has always said its not political its about public health except with the vaccination results today, initial refusal to accept military medics help with vaccinations etc its all started becoming political in a big way "

In what way did it become political? Because the media said so in order to get hits on their website?

When all this stuff about the army/vaccine was kicking about, I posted here saying that the army had been helping out in my area since November, scoping out and standing up vaccinating sites etc. That was roundly ignored, as are all my posts which don't reflect utter doom and gloom.

And I think you'd struggle to claim that what the government said, about their vaccination strategy being targeted to the most vulnerable groups first, as per the JCVI recommendation, was untrue.

The strategy they pursued was quite brave, in that it made them look poor in comparison to other countries at first, but they held their nerve, and have been vindicated by today's report on decreasing hospitalisations and deaths.