The Headless SNP Horseman; Clueless SNP Education Minister John Swinney delivers 'Bad Santa' Nicola Sturgeon's xmas message, if she can't get covid virus under control, the student population of Scotland in halls of residence are to be locked up, the SNP are going to be your jailers, halls of residence are going to be your prisons, isn't it time SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon took a leaf out of the people of Thailand's book on virus control and stopped making a pig's ear out of handling Covid?

Dear All 

SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon has put imprisonment back on the academic agenda for Scottish University students. As the tidal wave of coronavirus infections sweeps across the land, some students will be coped up in little better than a 'prison cell'. Scotland’s Education Secretary says it is a “realistic possibility” if 'Bad Santa' Nicola Sturgeon cannot get the virus under control. John Swinney was trotted out to front the news from Nicola Sturgeon in a mealy mouth announcement, Swinney also held out the fake 'fig leaf' of possible access to other university accommodation at Christmas. One has to laugh at that 'offer' of other university accommodation, what are we talking about here? The Principal's house opened up and everyone getting wrecked in his liquor cabinet? Bedded down in the Chemistry labs brewing your own wine, quiet night in at the university morgue, or is it, hanging out on the wall bars in the uni gym? 

I am unsure where John Swinney gets this notion of other accommodation available as if there are empty purpose built blocks of luxury flats just lying vacant. So, should not someone ask him what does he mean by "other university accommodation"? Previously, there was a great student exodus from university accommodation, this was due to students not willing to submit to threats by universities using their disciplinary code. If 'forced imprisonment' goes ahead such a measure will ripple down the line for years, future students will opt for private flats. Clearly Education Acts need to be changed to stop Universities being able to act in a threatening manner as bad landlords and de facto jailers. 

If you have watched the news, or just looked out the window, you will have seen crowds of people not obeying the 'rule of six'. You will see them also ignore the two metre rule, and finally, people who clearly not from the same household gathered together in packs. The virus is being spread because the SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon and her team of 'balloons' have lost the public confidence. Nicola Sturgeon opted to make herself the 'face of fighting the virus' in Scotland, and just as she was the 'face of independence', she has categorically failed to deliver that too. The real problems of Nicola Sturgeon fronting coronavirus in Scotland are many, but the key one is that campaigns fronted by negative people don't work. Nicola Sturgeon is a negative person who turns people off. She can stand at her podium playing 'Caesar' all day long but the audience has left long ago. Another problem of Sturgeon's 'me,me,me' approach is the lack of diversity aptly summed up by her sister who called her a 'total control freak'. Campaigns of this nature need many voices, while it is true there are 'bit players' Leitch, Smith and Freeman, and some other sidekicks kicking around, there is a lack of diversity in leadership. 

Actually the reality is there is no diversity in leadership! 

Nicola Sturgeon is like an old faded movie star from the silent era who can't make the transition to the 'talkies'. People want to hear from others, people want to hear different opinions. They want more than just death numbers and the 'noise' of padded out junk to fill an hour in her bland broadcasts. If you analyse her whole show, it is far too long, its partisan in nature and its hardly entertaining. Nicola Sturgeon may think her one woman stand up show has traction, the infection rate in Scotland paints a different picture. If you missed the last episode, don't worry, the format hasn't changed, except some data. If you had to watch your fav movie, how many times could you do so before you wanted to watch something else? The 'Nicola Sturgeon Show', the party political broadcast under the guise of covid briefing is bland, it's bad TV and arguably doesn't fill the need for public broadcasting. 

I mean.... ffs.... Alex Salmond produces a better show and has better props and guests! 

In the chaotic attempts to fight the virus, the fact that John Swinney said there is a “realistic possibility” students could be asked to stay in halls is damning. His 'olive branch' of stressing that SNP Government “want to avoid that at all possible cost” is just risible. It's just a joke, surely to 'lock' students up there must be a localised infection in a student hall? But what about those students and everyone else who live in private flats, where is their lockdown? Do you know of any TV interviews of neighbours in block of flats who found out someone in the block was covid infected and everyone couldn't go out? 

Think about that for a second. 

There is a noticeably lack of brains here on her show, instead of 'solving the problem', it means that Nicola Sturgeon would rather 'manage the problem', even if that means non infected are caught in her net. 

So, is there is a solution to this problem, how do you limit further infections by the movement of “substantial” numbers of students around the country. The answer is simple, mass testing by block, mass testing by halls, those who pass on the prescribed testing day, get their kit and leave for the holidays, those who fail, well they're staying. It would be simple to have mobile units in place and get results back quickly, there isn't any logistical reason to prevent this happening.  

You might ask why this solution is in place, well in a democracy taken over by the 'cult of personality', people like Nicola Sturgeon have to take credit for everything. The bulk of the time in 'new ideas' is the discussion of how would this make Nicola look good in the press and on TV. Already Sturgeon's team will be working hard on how to spin this university story to make her look good. One way is to use a 'fall guy', the comic relief, in this case, Education Sec John Swinney is the big 'clueless oaf', then at the eleventh hour Nicola Sturgeon swoops in and saves the day. The 'fall guy' technique is not uncommon in modern politics, in the event that there is more mileage for Sturgeon politically locking students up, then she will go that route without a second thought. If you ask why, this is her building on her wider developed theme of 'Saviour of Scotland' nonsense. So, what about Swinney if he is being set to play the oaf, will he will act out his part, yes, he will but as you can see by his recent facial expressions around Sturgeon, he doesn't want to be there. And I can't say I don't blame him! 

Swinney said of xmas lockdown: 

“We want to avoid that at all possible cost because we want students to return home. But I have to be realistic that, if we have a situation where the virus has not been controlled, then we will have to look at other scenarios and other plans.” 

Swinney added: 

“There is a lot of thinking and work going on within the Scottish Government, with Universities Scotland, the institutions, with the National Union of Students, and also with the governments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to try to make sure this can be undertaken as safely as possible. But there obviously is a risk that if the virus is not contained, then we may not be able to support the return of students to their homes. We want to avoid that but it is a realistic possibility.” 

As if not enough misery is being spread by the Scottish Nationalists, Swinney offered guidance on how to avoid door-to-door guising this Halloween. Swinney urged families not to leave sweets outside their homes as they could enable the transmission of Covid-19. He said: 

“The interaction of humans is how the virus is spread and that can also be spread by the touching of items like bags of sweeties. So quite conceivably, without anybody knowing that they were doing any harm to anybody else, somebody could give a child an assembled bag of sweeties – my son went out guising last year and from our very kind neighbours he got little bags of sweeties – those bags could be the purveyors of coronavirus.” 

You see what I mean by mealy mouthed? 

What John Swinney should be saying is that Halloween is cancelled. 

What we are seeing here is a weasel tongued explanation about how bags of sweeties could pass the virus on. What about apples, a staple of halloween, oranges off limits, what is safe to pass on? The fact of the matter is that Nicola Sturgeon and the 'headless horseman' John Swinney are out of their depth regarding coronavirus. This is the legacy of their part-time approach to government, their insular mentality and inability to build consensus in the wider community. What is incredible is that we are told there is a 'team of experts' behind Nicola Sturgeon, we get told how qualified people like Jason Leitch and Gregor Smith are, but look where we are now, well and truly in the shit. The coronavirus is raging out of control in Scotland and we are no better or further forward in our quality of life since we started lockdown back in early March. 

9 months have been wasted. 

Finally, I have selected a video from a youtube vlogger who walk around Bangkok, Thailand, this country has one of the lowest death rates from coronavirus, 59 deaths so far. The reason, I keep coming back to this vlogger is that the Thai people have responded to their government health message. You will notice that a lot of people are wearing masks outside, especially in urban areas, this is a measure that I think will have to be adopted in Scotland for people normally moving about day to day. Although some people in the video don't wear a mask, what is interesting is the message that many do. I want you to watch this video as it gives a good cross section of people from different levels of society that you make encounter on the street. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyGiVyA5oeI 

There are 70 million people in Thailand, they have experienced 59 deaths, population of Scotland is circa 5.454 million, corona death rate stands at 2,701 according to a google search. If Scotland had a population the same as Thailand this could roughly translate to circa 37,814, still think Nicola Sturgeon is doing a good job? To give you some perspective here is a grasp on reality. 

70 million Thailand = 59 deaths

70 million Scotland = 37,814 deaths

Yours sincerely

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University