'Tiers of an SNP Clown'; 'Absolute Control Freak' Nicola Sturgeon facing serious questions over the lack of details in her all singing, all dancing Covid strategy, Citizens of Scotland are dying as the SNP uses 'media manipulation' and a sick depraved form of one-upmanship to allow Nicola Sturgeon to 'hog the limelight' during Covid, how many times does it need to be said that the SNP Government are trying to 'rig' the Holyrood 2021 election by creating an uneven playing field?

Dear All 

It seems there is no end to the stupidity of SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the 3 tier coronavirus lockdown system, Sturgeon rushes out her version 'Tier 5.0'. So, what is all this in aid of? Are extra tiers needed and if so, why hasn't England came up with extra tiers? The reality of Sturgeon 'Tier 5.0' is all about one-upmanship as she continues Holyrood election campaigning propaganda. This is all done in the open and under the guise of covid briefings. The extra levels are designed to do one thing, get press coverage, to focus the media on her and her alone as the 'Saviour of Scotland'. Well, the truth is, corona deaths are rising in Scotland, the virus is spreading in Scotland and Nicola Sturgeon hasn't done a good job. To me, and others, more effort is being ploughed into her mad 'control freak' campaigning than actually turn things around on the nation's health. 

The greatest health crisis facing Scotland in decades should have been an united from by an all parties, it wasn't, right from the start, the SNP setup to politicise everything to do with handling of the pandemic. You might have thought that in a time of nation crisis, Sturgeon would have rallied the country, she didn't, she didn't rally the political parties either. It gets worse, when you realise that the health secretary and the public health minister were effectively sidelined. The health Sec became a bit player, and the public health minister, Joe Fitzpatrick, he might as well be dead or on permanent holiday. The only recorded evidence of his existence is he is still drawing his ministerial salary, as long as the ATM's work, we know Joe is 'alive', either that or someone else has his pin number! 

The first thing about the 'Tier 5.0' plan to note is there is a lack of details, so why is this, why is 'Tier 5.0' so educational lite? 

It's a bit like designing a single storey bungalow with a lift in it. The details or the finer details don't matter, what is important is the 'design', the concept, the idea that the broad brush stroke is more important than the details of functionality. 'Tier 5.0' is just a version of the 'square wheel' which someone else will have to redesign for the production model. But for reference, the redesign will incorporate some element of the square so that Nicola Sturgeon can claim what is termed 'ownership'. The prototype will be conveniently forgotten about as the production model is Sturgeon 'customised'. 

Having announced the 'launch' of 'Tier 5.0', the opposition is less than impressed after it was laid out to Holyrood leaders, the Scottish Tories and Liberal Democrats both said they were concerned and frustrated at the lack of details. Like all things that Nicola Sturgeon has control of, or a hand in the view around is to be skeptical. Sturgeon's career in government is one of failure to manage, the health brief stands out particularly as a catastrophic failure. She was moved to another brief just as the SNP PR machine couldn't hold back the tide of her failings. In her next government post, it was a nonsense because she was abandoning her desk to the run and be the face of the indyref campaign. Two solid years of non achievement in the brief, and at the referendum, and all of that wasn't unexpected. 

No matter how many tiers that Nicola Sturgeon is bring in, the people have moved away from her and her delusional ravings at the podium. You can walk down Glasgow streets and see people bunched up together in groups larger than six. Just as she has failed to control the virus, the expensive PR campaign is now just 'background' noise. There is a total disconnect between her and the people, yes, she can force businesses to close, she can disrupt social and civic life, but in the wake of all that, people are finding new ways to meet up and socialise. Nicola Sturgeon isn't seen as being part of their lives, or as an influencer, despite her cramming our television screens at every opportunity. She is like an old faded movie star who has lived beyond her shelve life and couldn't adapt, clear signs of this are evident in a number of ways such as the SNP attempting to rig candidate selection to try and market her as a star. The growing disquiet of ardent Nationalists on pro indy sites, and the 'late to the party' press coverage of anti Sturgeon stories breaking through. 

If you announce a plan, and there is little clarity on exactly what the public could expect in each tier, or the support to people and business from limited Scottish Government funds, it isn't a plan. When you can define what the tiers are, and how they differ from the rest of the UK, that isn't a plan. When you conceal the broad framework that isn't a plan, it is a sounding exercise to 'test the water' of the concept, nothing more. Will the 'plan' from this date be altered before it gets to the Holyrood chamber, I think many will suspect it will, there seems to be a lot of blanks, deliberately kept hidden or perhaps not fleshed out. 

Sturgeon has said clearly that her government, rather than MSPs or councils, would make the final call on which tier applied in which area, saying "the bucks stops here". Reading between the lines, you could presumably come to the conclusion this is more to do with politics than health. The Aberdeen lockdown was denounced as political, whether SNP controlled areas weren't subject to the same restrictions. As history shows, the SNP government doesn't engage or collaborate with councils, the council tax issue highlights that, the SNP operate by threats and diktat, they're not interested in opinion unless it confirms their own. Sturgeon effectively says this by her own mouth. 

"ultimately we (meaning her) have to be able to take the decisions". 

There isn't much in the Sturgeon plan going forward, everything appears designed for press conferences such as the quarantine system for international travel, the tiers would be reviewed weekly. You see the hour long Sturgeon party political broadcasts need what is called 'fillers'. This is a well known approach used in television, when a news broadcast puts on a clip which has no significant value other than amusement or passing interest. You know the type, 80 year old granny does parachuting, or the cat catches golf balls like a goalie. My personal 'filler' is the six year old Irish girl that wants to go to the pub. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uiEHHGXmEU 

Her own mother won't let her go to the pub, life is tough! 

As Nicola Sturgeon continues to wreck the hospitality trade, hinting the current circuit breaker restrictions could be extended, you are seeing what political interference can do when passive interest of governance is employed. In times of trouble, the Romans' would appoint someone to deal with crisis, their job was to get on with the job full time. In 2020 Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon refuses to appoint someone to manage that task, she thinks her part time method is sufficient, you could add in that as her cabinet is so weak, who could she appoint to do the job anyway. The weakest of the Sturgeon regime is the cult of personality, everything must be about her, the spotlight must never be taken off her. She is the paint as I have mentioned covering the rottenness of the SNP structure she runs. 

Although officially the Scottish Cabinet will decide whether to roll-over the rules today, it is Sturgeon and her advisors who will decide. Cabinet government ceased a lot time ago in Scotland, it is kept to give an air of collective responsibility. You see Nicola Sturgeon has to be able to say that she has a team behind her all pulling in the same direction. 

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: 

"While we will scrutinise the proposals closely when they are published, we are concerned about any proposed extension to the current temporary restrictions with no consultation and before businesses have seen a penny of the funding that they were promised." 

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: 

"People are making big sacrifices, and for them to keep doing that, they must be persuaded by evidence: much better evidence than provided at the moment. For any new strategy to work we need to see the establishment of a much better relationship between central and local government, the full involvement of Parliament and the consent of the people." 

Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie called for mass testing for Covid. 

He said: 

"I am very concerned with where this is going. People made great sacrifices for months and are frustrated the government did not keep its part of the bargain on testing, quarantine checks and planning for the return of schools and universities. The public need to be treated like adults which means sharing the science and the modelling so they can see whether the new sacrifices they are expected to make have a good chance of working." 

Once the SNP see that 'Tier 5.0' has lost it marketable value, they will come up with 'Tier 5.5' or  'Tier 6.0'. This would be handing councils the ability to make local decisions in a prescribed area, but with a backdoor to remove or revert those powers back to her. You see giving powers away lets her claim openness which generates a story, and taking powers back also generates a story, no doubt padded out with extra cash help to councils. If you can what Sturgeon and her clique are doing, they are using media manipulation which I subject they have already modeled on how they can use this to win the next Holyrood election. If they can curtail political campaigning on the ground in certain areas, it could boost their chances. 

Finally; Nicola Sturgeon isn't interested in people getting elected unless she can control them, she has no interest in assisting those who stand under the indy banner. You should take a keen interest in what is happening around mid February because it may give you an indication of what the future of political campaign will look like. Political parties have already cried 'foul' over the covid briefings by Sturgeon which she hijacked as SNP party political broadcasts, they will resume their objections in due course next year. Can the BBC allow Sturgeon to continue in an election doing what she is doing, no way, they should have taken over the daily briefings but that was their mistake. If they do freeze Sturgeon out, then you will see a change in the 'Tier 5.0' rules as if by a miracle.

Yours sincerely

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University