SNP must focus on the problem at hand

COVID vaccination is the key to ending lockdown – but progress is disappointingly slow. The average number of daily doses administered is around 13,400, down by more than 2,000 from the end of last week.

By contrast, the figure south of the Border over the same period is more than 750,000. The data could not be clearer: we are miles behind and we need to pick up the pace – urgently.

Rhetoric is in abundant supply, but too often the First Minister appears to be preparing the ground for failure.

As Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has said, there were 200,000 doses of vaccine in storage last week which should have been in the hands of GPs, and in the arms of patients.

Red tape is playing a part in holding up the recruitment of vaccinators – who are put off by reams of paperwork and hours of training.

Is it really necessary for those dedicated health professionals giving the injections to be coached on equality and diversity awareness before they can get to work?

The odd hiccup aside, inoculation in England is proceeding at pace, with the creation of mass vaccination hubs.

In Scotland, there’s a depressing pattern – ambitious pledges are made which rapidly give way to more equivocal commitments.

But even these come with caveats about potential supply problems: the SNP is strong on soundbites but, as always, weak on delivery.

For nearly 14 years, it has been focused on agitating for independence, a goal it continues to pursue in the midst of the deadly second wave of coronavirus.

Its assurances that it is firmly fixed on containing the pandemic sound hollow when at the same time ministers are lobbying for a second referendum later this year.

And Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, who will step down ahead of the election in May, has presided over a string of blunders, raising serious questions over her suitability for such an important role.

It’s a government that appears out of its depth at a critical moment in the fight against coronavirus.

But there are some positives: the involvement of the Army in the logistics of vaccine rollout should have come sooner, but now that it’s confirmed we can be cautiously optimistic of a rapid acceleration in the programme.

And the official data on Covid cases suggests the latest gruelling phase of lockdown may be turning the tide against the virus.

Now is the time for government to show it can set aside its preoccupation with breaking up Britain – and make a success of the most crucial task it will ever perform.