A Failure of Her Leadership; Glasgow lockdown to be extended by inept SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, her failure to diversify the public health message simply turned people off, Sturgeon can close businesses but clearly the public aren’t buying into her, her party or message on health, you don’t have a negative person lead campaign to fundamentally change people’s lifestyles

Dear All

As much as Nicola Sturgeon wants to keep peddling the myth of competence when it comes to her handling of Coronavirus, one thing we can say with confidence is that she has failed. The real failure is how she and her cohorts micromanage everything, which is why I want to in part talk about how the public message is so weak. The number of corona virus cases is rising, even prior to Sturgeon being taken off the air by the BBC. The message isn’t delivered well because having Sturgeon as the sole voice with a few bit players turns people off. And re-running cheesy Jason Leitch ads on social media platforms isn’t much better. Sturgeon wants to be the only official voice of government on corona, this is down to electioneering. Her and her rabble thought if they did a Joan of Arc scenario that it would hoover up the votes for her in the upcoming election in 2021.

Nicola Sturgeon didn’t, hasn’t; and won’t save Scotland from coronavirus, quite simply she is such a negative that she has no place in promoting what should be a positive health message. Not enough messaging is coming from different voices across civic Scotland, this is because Sturgeon although not a leader is also not a team player. As to the bit players who popped up on her broadcasts, they had the look for people who didn’t want to be there, because they knew they were roped in to be party of a party political broadcast. I wasn’t impressed by The Daily Sturgeon Show because Sturgeon came across as an old faded diva that couldn’t bear the spotlight to be shone on anyone else.

As cases of the virus rise, the last six months have been about the failure to communicate properly and effectively. I see that a new message is needed, and needs to come from a wider civic Scotland base. And it has to be said without anyone who carries political baggage being included. Whether we like it or not coronavirus needs to be stamped so we can live normally, and that means lifestyle changes to enact that strategy. Everyone is keen to have business up and running, but how we need to change and interact when at a business isn’t getting through. When I walk about Glasgow and I see groups of people huddled to close together, kids walking about in packs; who really haven’t digested the message on health.

People haven’t been taught to be mindful of what they do when outside enough; clearly this is the case as number of cases rise up. Lockdown restrictions for Greater Glasgow are to continue for at least one more week it has been decided but clearly people aren’t buying into the message. Sturgeon can close businesses but what she cannot do is take the will of the people with her.

That is gone!

Sturgeon and her crew can preach but really, the message is falling on deaf ears now, meetings deciding strategy from National Incident Management Team chaired by Public Health Scotland are rapidly becoming ass covering talking shops. Seen to be doing the right thing over the air but to people who changed the channel long ago, and they didn’t realise it. How many people who normally would go to the pub to meet up are now home boozing with their mates and god knows who else! Number 6 is the magic number being touted for safety, but that hasn’t truck a chord.   

Nicola Sturgeon said it was “clearly regrettable that these restrictions need to continue”. The downsize of making herself the face of the fight against the virus is that when she is losing and numbers climb she can’t offset the blame.

She added:

“I understand that this will not be welcome news for people living in these areas but given the continued worrying increase in cases we continue to see, we must act to get more control over the virus in these areas. But while cases remain on the rise, early indications show these measures are working. I would ask everyone in the affected areas to continue being extra vigilant, to follow all guidance and to isolate and book a test if they have any symptoms. Do not lose ground now. Above all, I want to emphasise that getting a test – and even getting a negative result – is not a substitute for self-isolating. If you have symptoms, or if you are contacted by our Test and Protect team and told to do so, you will need to self-isolate. Over 900,000 people have already downloaded the Protect Scotland app, which is a really important way to support Test and Protect and also to keep our communities safe. In the face of Covid, we can all feel a bit powerless but, if you have the means, using the app is a way of doing something positive that helps the collective effort.”

Anyone think that Sturgeon is limiting her daily contact to 6 people?

I think most people would say no, and if she isn’t why the hell should she expect other others too? Either you lead by example or you don’t, clearly Sturgeon as she globe trots around from one PR stunt to another thinks she is special. At a Scottish Government’s daily briefing, chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith said:

“What is coming through from the data we have been charting, particularly over the last week, is that there may begin to be a slowing down in the rise of cases, but it is still too early to tell whether these measures are having a full effect yet. You have got to remember the incubation cycle for this virus is up to 14 days and therefore it can be quite a significant length of time before you actually see the effects of any intervention starting to play through.”

Is it just me or does Smith come across as ‘pub expert’, his statement that Covid-19 was being spread in “household and social settings” isn’t exactly news! Scotland is a country in need of total covid testing, new public health message and presentations, and repeated deep cleans. Sturgeon and co seem to opt for the line of least resistance and whatever puts her and them at the centre of continual drama.

Finally, as to the contact and trace app, well not everyone has a smart phone or indeed a phone. Although 500,000 people had the app downloaded to their phones, one section of the population hs been flagged up as being let down by it, the elderly. Through-out coronavirus, Nicola Sturgeon and her inept Health Sec Jeane Freeman haven’t covered themselves in glory regarding how the elderly were treated, especially in care homes. You would think you were living in a third world country the way these people have been abandoned to their fate. As the virus comes back, what opinion do you have of how the last 6 months have been managed by Sturgeon? Certainly, you can’t call it a success, but what the hell would you call it?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University