Sturgeon speaks with forked tongue over poll

The SNP claim that if Scottish people vote for them in the May election, it will be because those voters want there to be another referendum. But Nicola Sturgeon, who increasingly seems to regard herself as some sort of presidential figure rather than a First Minister, says that the election is actually all about her, and that voters will be able to “decide whether you want me continuing to steer us through coronavirus or not”.

Can the election be about both of these things, given that there may be those who want her to continue to steer us during the pandemic but who are also absolutely resolute that they do not want another referendum?

A very mixed message is therefore at the heart of the SNP campaign, and as a result there is no way that the SNP can possibly claim that a majority for them in May will in any way be a mandate for them to proceed towards another referendum.

But wait! Didn't Sturgeon previously state that she should be judged on her record with respect to education? I believe that education standards have fallen during the period that Sturgeon has been FM, but because the Scottish government doesn't seem to want to publish the OECD report on education until after the election, I do not know by how much they have fallen. So how can I judge? This is surely deliberate.

Another referendum, steering through a pandemic or education? Which is it? Why does the SNP continue to sow confusion? What we need is a party in government that sends a clear message and not one that speaks with a forked tongue.

RODDY MACLEOD Windsor Place, Edinburgh