Close the border with England

Three countries that have seen some of the best outcomes in dealing the coronavirus pandemic are New Zealand, Australia and Finland.

In all three cases they restricted intra-state/intra-provincial travel to restrict the spread of the coronavirus. In the case of the United Kingdom, the differences in timeframe for infection between Scotland and England mean that there is a possibility that people travelling from England to Scotland may 're-import' cases and un do much of the good work we are doing in Scotland.

Therefore I would suggest that travel between England and Scotland is banned apart from goods and essential services to prevent the diveregent approach the UK government is now pursuing impacting on Scotland.

As there are only two railway lines and three major roads it would be very simple to impose police checkpoints to prevent non essential visitors from England coming to Scotland until the pandemic is under control in both countries.

Why the contribution is important

The divergent approaches now being taken by the Scottish and UK government's mean that the good work being done in Scotland at suppressing the coronavirus risks being undone by the dangerous UK approach. Therefore, we must ensure that travel from England to Scotland is restricted until this coronavirus is brought under control.

by DaveinEdinburgh on May 11, 2020 at 10:22AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 3.6
Based on: 16 votes

Comments

  • Posted by MikeJohnston May 11, 2020 at 10:30

    Main benefit would be the publicity and psychological effect - go furrit!

    About 18 drivable roads between the two countries - just shut the minor ones for a few hours a day at random to keep the transgressors guessing.

  • Posted by KMR May 11, 2020 at 10:30

    Wholeheartedly agree with this. First Minister would have to argue it on health grounds (devolved power) . Closing borders reserved power. If the Westminster Government respect Scotland's legal right to protect the health of the Scottish nation; and Wales and Northern Ireland's right to protect the health of their residents , then it would be difficult to see how they could justifiably refuse to close the borders.

  • Posted by KMR May 11, 2020 at 10:31

    Of course if we had Independence then this would be our own decision.

  • Posted by Scotland_is_flatlining May 11, 2020 at 10:42

    Crazy! It is drivcen by ant-English sentiment reather than the science.

    Why not close off Inverclyde while you are at it as we are told it has the highest incidence in Scotland.

    In line with the Prime Minister's announcement you can prepare for localised lockdowns in areas like Inverclyde but no borders.

  • Posted by tdonaldson May 11, 2020 at 10:45

    I strongly disagree, this would divert resource and expertise away from the real work necessary to get us through this. It would be better to work together on a single Covid19 tracking system and make it work for all of us, irrespective of the side of the border on which we live.

  • Posted by Jonny May 11, 2020 at 11:11

    This is a very valid idea. Case in point, as soon as the lockdown was introduced, hordes of people from the South got in their camper vans and headed for the highlands, potentially spreading the virus to local communities across Scotland. As the Scottish and Westminster governments continue to adopt different lockdown approaches, free travel between the two nations could cause a second spike in Scotland where the lockdown approach continues to be based on caution. Enough good Scottish folk have already lost their lives to this dreadful virus. Let's not give it any further opportunity.

  • Posted by Cathol May 11, 2020 at 12:19

    Those countries that closed there borders earlier enough are seeing
    Significantly lower cases. The UK has missed this boat on this one.
    United Kingdom should act like it, rather than using this as another excuse to try and seperate the country.

  • Posted by DrAngelaMaxwell May 11, 2020 at 16:50

    We need to control our borders. Here is an excerpt from an article in The Times that demonstrates why.
    "Coronavirus infection rates of up to 73% are emerging in Scottish care homes, where large numbers of workers have unwittingly had Covid-19, amid fresh criticism of the government’s handling of the pandemic. The disclosure coincides with an apology from one of Britain’s largest care home chains over shortcomings at a Highland home where six residents have died from Covid-19.
    The chain admitted that it had brought in workers from as far as Kent — 645 miles away — after the lockdown, to plug staff shortages.
    HC-One, which owns Home Farm on Skye — where Covid-19 has killed six elderly residents — said: “We know that we have not always got things right at Home Farm, and that despite our best efforts the home has fallenshort of the standards we want and that residents and their loved ones expect. We are sorry for this.”
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