Togetherness

My idea is a simple one - to stop wasting time devising separate strategies for Scotland. Now is the time, more than ever, for all politicians and parties to work together. Firstly, having different rules in Scotland is going to lead to total confusion and secondly, people who are not, say pro SNP, will probably value and trust the Prime Minister more than a devolved government. There will be better and faster results if all parties stick together. I would also stop Ms Sturgeons daily briefings, again it’s causing confusion and seems no more than a case of “you heard it hear first” - almost a kind of one up man ship! It’s also not very credible that we should be locked down longer than say, London. Millions more in London than in the whole of Scotland, living much more closely together - if for example Ms Sturgeon decides to keep us locked down and businesses closed for longer than London, then shell totally need to justify this. Restrictions need to be lifted regionally. Eg, I live in Argyll which is so sparsely populated - would it not make sense for people from Argyll to be allowed to travel within Argyll initially. I’d also suggest that school teachers, who are sitting at home on full pay, saving money on fuel costs etc, and doing far less work than normal, should, like the rest of the country make some sacrifices and perhaps give up some of their 170 days off this year to get schools open. Either holidays should be shortened or they should not be on full pay - even if they were onFurloughed wages, they are not doing anything like 80% of the work - they’re simply firing a couple of worksheets on line each day and getting full pay for the privilege.

Why the contribution is important

With regards to Ms Sturgeon it’s important because firstly, we’re in this together as one country (UK) whether people like it or not and remember, unless you voted SNP (which was less than half the Scottish electorate), then ms sturgeon, and her party) have no, or very little, credibility amongst the people.
With regards to regional restrictions, it’s impossible to compare say, Inveraray in Argyll to Glasgow : no comparison.
With regard to teachers - either get the schools open for teachers where they have resources to properly teach on line properly, or get the majority of them furloughed - there is no need for them all to be on full pay - what a waste of money. Also, write it into law about reduced school holidays - they hardly deserve a 7 week summer break

by Argyll1975 on May 06, 2020 at 09:08AM

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Comments

  • Posted by crofterbecca May 06, 2020 at 09:38

    If it's impossible to compare say Inveraray in Argyll to Glasgow, why on earth do you think it's possible to compare Scotland to England, or Glasgow to London? There are HUGE geographic and population differences which mean it cannot be a blanket rule and there must be differences between the two countries and within those countries!!

    Also, you obviously don't know any teachers and how hard they're working at the moment.

  • Posted by L May 06, 2020 at 09:44

    For one they are working together but we do need separate plans as you clearly contradicted yourself In your post somewhere such as argyle being sparsely populated should have separate plans same as Scotland and England should have separate plans to allow for this for one parts of England are hotter than us if they’re temperatures exceed the living conditions for the virus they’re infection rate will go down likewise Scotland has more rural areas than England that need to be accounted for and thought about.

    As for teachers you clearly have no respect or understanding of what the job entails majority of teachers most of their work incurs at home and not within the school planning for lessons, marking, learning to keep up records in order to meet license requirements to teach. Their pay is reflected on the fact that they are not sitting at home doing nothing. They are working from home liaising with colleagues pupils and bosses to create lessons for children now and for the future in preparation for going back as well as marking and writing reports. Some are also volunteering and teaching their own children from home on top of working. Teachers need that 6-7 week holiday as they use it to plan for the year ahead and exam students for any updates on the curriculum. Now especially planning for easing of lockdown to catch up pupils and what learning may look like in best to support pupils. I don’t see everybody else’s holidays who actually get to take all of their holidays without having to work and plan during them being removed from them so why should teachers be punished when still working 60+ hours a week working non stop to try make sure the pupils don’t miss out and desperately want to return to work for a job they love.

  • Posted by Tomscore May 06, 2020 at 09:49

    I am afraid i do not agree, when we see what has happened on the contintent, many countries closed Borders very early on to reduce risks of cross border infections. This in general worked well and each country had its own policies surrounding the Pandemic. We cannot just blindly follow the decisions of Westminster, Scotland is responsible for itself in terms of Health Issues and if the evidence suggests that Scotland should diverge from the Westminster route then that should always be the case, this of course applies to all devolved Nations within the UK.

    Some areas that are not devolved are a major concern within Scotland , unfortunately the Scottish Government has no powers to alter this, one major example being incoming flights to the UK. Almost every Country in the EU enforced a 14 day quarantine for anyone coming off incoming flights. This has been a major factor in some areas in keeping supressing the infection rate, for example Malta, very early on had impossed a 14 day isolation for anyone coming off an incoming flight, this had proved very succesful for them with much lower infection rates.

    As far as stopping Ms Sturgeons daily briefings, i have not found them confusing in the slightest, it would appear this proposal has a more political motive than anything else. This is not what the ideas site is for surely?

  • Posted by Lindaj May 06, 2020 at 10:00

    I think our FM has really stepped up and is showing true leadership in this crisis. I’m not sure where you get this idea that teachers are not working. They are either at hub schools working and/or providing online lessons and support for their pupils for several hours a day. This combined with looking after their own children and home-schooling them. Also I’m not sure they get paid for their summer holidays. Their pay may well be annualised but regardless I know many of them spend their own time in the holidays preparing lessons or setting up their classes for the new term. All of us are working from home where possible due to this crisis and I’m sure everyone’s workload is affected by having to look after families too.

  • Posted by Frances May 06, 2020 at 12:52

    The First Minister has shown leadership , compassion and honesty since this began . Scotland is a devolved nation so has the right to do certain things differently. I agree you can’t compare Argyll or other sparsely populated areas to Glasgow and inner cities so how can we compare parts of Scotland to London . All decisions re exit from or changes to lockdown will be based on science and evidence and I trust the FM and Scottish govt more than a Prime Minister who wanted ‘ herd immunity’ and to take it on the chin !

  • Posted by CHill May 08, 2020 at 23:14

    This post highlights the dangers of speculation.

    If you check out the stats for the 32 Local Authority areas in Scotland, which compare deaths due to Covid-19 per 10,000 population, you will find some very surprising results. The national figure for Scotland as at 6th May 2020 is 5.2. Argyll & Bute comes in at 6.3 and is in the top 10 worst areas for deaths.
    Comparisons are fraught with difficulties of course but it's perhaps less dangerous than making assumptions that rural areas are "safer" than cities. E.g. under the same stats the Local Authority area for Stirling (which has a broadly similar population to Argyll & Bute) is 18th on the list with a less than average result of 4.7 deaths per 10,000.

    Best to proceed with caution wherever you live in Scotland.

    Boris Johnson is the UK Prime Minister, but the First Ministers for NI, Wales and Scotland under their devolved powers are responsible for determining the timings / strategies for easing Lockdown as appropriate to the prevailing circumstances there. And all 4 governments involved should be working together.
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