Violence erupts to fan flames of division
This week, unrest rocked Northern Ireland in the worst protests seen in the country in years ... as Prince Philip’s death leaves UK in mourning
Monday, April 5 Vaccine passports plan is branded ‘ludicrous’
SCOTLAND’S leading hospitality group has hit out at what it described as “ludicrous” plans for Covid-19 vaccine passports, saying ministers should spend more time helping pubs and restaurants survive in the coming months.
Its leaders reacted after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the Scottish Government was considering how a form of vaccine certification may be used in the future. The four nations of the UK have been in discussions about the so-called vaccine passports, with Ms Sturgeon saying they has said may be “possible” in the future.
The UK Government is also set to trial the reopening of large events in England to crowds amid conflicting reports over when a vaccine certification scheme could be introduced in the face of opposition from politicians of all colours.
But more than 70 MPs, including 40 Conservatives and as well as peers from the House of Lords, have signed a pledge against its introduction of “vaccine passports” south of the Border. They claim such a scheme would be “divisive and discriminatory”. The Scottish LibDems have also urged caution.
The Scottish Hospitality Group, which represents 2,000 businesses across Scotland and already has fears for the future after a lengthy Covid-19 lockdown, said it was “unimaginable” to live in a world where “hospitality operators are forced to discriminate against customers based on their health choices”.
Sturgeon criticised for comments as Alba rejoices at poll
NICOLA Sturgeon has suggested that the pandemic could be driving more Scots to support independence – with the crisis potentially making people think “about the benefit of self-government”.
The First Minister’s remarks come after a poll forecast that pro-independence parties could be on course for a “supermajority” which could pile more pressure on Boris Johnson to take seriously calls for a second referendum.
The Sunday Times poll predicted Alex Salmond’s Alba Party could secure six seats on the party list ballot – potentially toughening Ms Sturgeon’s stance on the constitution to ensure SNP supporters are not tempted to turn away to Scotland’s newest political party.
Mr Salmond labelled the Panelbase poll, which put support for his new party on 6% after little more than one week of existence as showing his new project is already “gaining ground” and has warned “the next five weeks shall be a political eternity” for unionist parties.
The study put support for independence holding up at 51% when undecided voters are excluded and 54% of those asked want another referendum to take place within the next five years.
But Ms Sturgeon, while insisting “there is no upside to Covid”, suggested a surge in support for Scottish independence could be a result of her Government’s response to the crisis and people taking a closer look at decisions being made in Scotland. She stressed that if she could “change things” so that the virus had never happened, and support for independence was lower, she would “trade any day”.
Tuesday, April 6
Joy as ‘dementia tax’ set to be scrapped in Scotland
A CONTROVERSIAL “dementia tax” that penalises self-funding care home residents in the final years of their lives is set to be axed following a campaign by The Herald and Alzheimer Scotland that has received cross-party support.
The SNP yesterday pledged, if it is re-elected to government, to take forward the recommendations of a major, independent review of adult social care which calls for an almost doubling in free personal and nursing allowances.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has also backed the move and with Labour, LibDems and the Greens adding their support, the increase is almost certainly expected to be ratified at Holyrood.
Alzheimer Scotland has said people with advanced dementia are facing one of the biggest existing health inequalities because they are forced to foot the bill for nursing costs that are “free at the point of delivery” on the NHS for others with life-limiting illnesses.
‘Give islanders a fair deal as lockdown rules eased’
A GUESTHOUSE owner who lost £40,000 in a year of lockdown disruption has now had a flood of summer cancellations as islanders
wait to hear when they can welcome visitors.Paula Smalley, who runs Tigh na Mara on Coll, says that by failing to confirm an opening date the Scottish Government is discriminating against the people the Islands Bill was meant to help.
As near-empty ferries ran to and from Oban and the Hebrides over the normally busy Easter break, Mrs Smalley said mainland competitors, who have a route map out of lockdown are set to cash in on island cancellations.
The Government announced last month that it would be consulting islanders before making any decisions. However, Mrs Smalley said a delay in setting an opening date was robbing fragile island communities of their lifeblood tourism. She said: “I have lost £40,000 this financial year.”
Wednesday, April 7 Children face long wait to have teeth out in backlog
THOUSANDS of Scottish children are on waiting lists for tooth extractions due to limited access to treatment during the pandemic – and the backlog may take years to clear, dentists have warned.
Prior to the onset of Covid, some boards already had waiting times of six months and the crisis is expected to have made “this terrible situation” worse, according to the British Dental Association.
The union, which acts as the “voice” of dentists and dental students in the UK, has now urged all candidates contesting the Holyrood election to pledge to commit to tackling the “shameful inequalities” in oral health set to go “into overdrive” as a result of the pandemic.
Tooth decay remains the number one reason for hospital admissions among children aged five to nine across all four UK nations, according to a Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health report.
Warning radical change needed to boost Scots economy
SCOTLAND needs bolder and more radical policy changes in order for the economy to grow significantly over the next 15 year, a new report has warned.
The stark analysis by Oxford Economics, commissioned by the Hunter Foundation, points to local taxes being rolled out to mitigate tax cuts needed to stimulate growth – while deregulation is needed alongside more investment in infrastructure and skilling up Scotland’s workforce.
The document warns that “it is not realistic to think that the current economic policies of either the UK or Scottish governments will produce a transformation of Scotland’s economic performance”.
The SNP said the report was further proof Scotland needs further powers in order to be more ambitious – stressing it is further proof of the benefits of an independent country.
The report aimed to address Scotland’s low productivity, lack of success in scaling up, and poor business birth rates leading to the country’s GDP per head being only 48% of Ireland’s, 68% of Norway’s and 75% of Denmark’s.
THE SNP remains on course for outright victory at May’s election as pro-independence parties are set for a large majority without the contribution of Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, a new poll has found.
A poll by Ipsos Mori in partnership with STV News found the SNP is forecast to secure an outright majority of its own with 70 out of 129 seats predicted to be won for Nicola Sturgeon’s party.
When combined with the Greens, who are predicted to see 11 MSPs returned to Holyrood – there would be a pro-independence majority of 16, according to the poll.
Holyrood would be set for the highest ever number of pro-independence MSPs returned, despite not a single one elected for the Alba Party.
Pollsters have suggested that a pro-independence supermajority is “well within the realms of possibility”.
The First Minister said the data was “great polling” for the SNP, cautiously adding that “it’s votes in ballot boxes that count”.
The poll found that support for the SNP on the constituency vote remained at very high levels at 53%. On the list ballot, the research found support for the ruling party has dropped by 9% since the middle of February – while support for the Greens on the list has surged by 4%.
The study found that only 3% of Scots are backing Alba on the party list ballot – suggesting Alex Salmond’s party is unlikely to have any MSPs elected in May.
Mr Salmond insisted that “as Alba’s name recognition gets across, we will gain further ground”.
Under-30s get alternative jab over AstraZeneca fears
PEOPLE under 30 in the UK are to be offered an alternative vaccine, after analysis revealed their risk of serious adverse side effects from the AstraZeneca jag outweighed the benefits.
It comes as the UK regulator confirmed there has been a total of 79 rare blood clots in people given the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, including 19 deaths.
Three of the deaths were in people aged under 30, with the vaccine more likely to cause serious harm in this age group when coronavirus rates are low than prevent an intensive care admission – although the risk of these adverse effects is still extremely small.
The regulators stressed that, while the benefits continued to outweigh the risks for the vast majority of the population, the risk-benefit ratio in younger people “is more finely balanced”. England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van Tam, said the UK is now on track to vaccinate all adults by the end of July – two weeks behind schedule – provided that expected supplies of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were delivered on time.
Friday, April 2 Sturgeon backtracks on timetable for referendum
NICOLA STURGEON has said she may delay her plan for a second referendum and backed off a previous claim that independence would be integral to Scotland’s economic recovery.
The First Minister said that although she wanted indyref2 held before the end of 2023, the timing would depend on the situation with Covid, and it could be later in the next five-year Parliament.
She also said that even if a new vote was held on her preferred timetable, independence itself would not be until 2026, by when much of the recovery could be over.
Just last month, Ms Sturgeon told her party: “Independence is not a distraction from recovery. It is essential to secure a recovery that is made here in Scotland.”
However, yesterday she said hers was “not a pitch that is strictly sequential in every sense”, and independence would be about shaping the recovery “long-term”.
Her comments drew a furious response from Alex Salmond, who said Yes independence supporters would be “taken aback by the apparent lack of urgency”.
Care home moves were ‘mistake’, says Freeman
JEANE FREEMAN has admitted potentially-infected patients were moved out of Scotland’s hospitals into care homes at the start of the Covid pandemic.
The Health Secretary confirmed the Scottish Government failed to stop the spread of the infection, and failed to understand the social care sector as a whole.
She told the BBC: “We didn’t take the right precautions to make sure that older people leaving hospital going into care homes were as safe as they could be and that was a mistake.”
More than 1,300 elderly Scots were discharged from hospitals to care homes at the start of the outbreak last year, before a testing regime was in place. Although untested patients were deemed fit to leave, the drive to free up hospital beds for Covid cases has been blamed for seeding the virus in multiple care homes.
Scotland had the highest care home death rate in the UK as the virus felled vulnerable residents.
One-third of the 10,000 known or suspected Covid deaths in Scotland have been in care homes.
Ms Freeman, who retires as an MSP in May with a £44,347 golden goodbye, made the admission in the BBC podcast, Political Thinking with Nick Robinson.
Saturday, April 3 Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip passes away aged 99
The Duke of Edinburgh has died, Buckingham Palace has announced. Philip, 99, was the longest-serving consort in British history.
The duke and the Queen were married for more than 70 years and Philip dedicated decades of his life to royal duty, serving the nation at the monarch’s side.
He officially retired from public engagements in the summer of 2017. The Palace said in a statement: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.
“Further announcements will made in due course.
“The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
The death of the duke comes in the midst of the worst public health crisis for generations as the UK and countries around the globe reel from the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
It has also taken place in the aftermath of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s bombshell Oprah interview which left the monarchy in crisis after Meghan accused an unnamed royal of racism and the institution of failing to help her when she was suicidal.
Philip had returned to Windsor Castle on March 16 to be reunited with the Queen after spending a month in hospital – his longest-ever stay.
He initially received care for an infection but then underwent heart surgery for a pre-existing condition.
The duke had looked gaunt as he was driven away from King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London, having been pushed in a wheelchair to the waiting car.
Philip – father of the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex – was just two months away from his 100th birthday in June.
He spent much of the Covid-19 crisis staying with the Queen at Windsor in HMS Bubble – the nickname given to the couple’s reduced household of devoted staff during lockdown.
Philip briefly stepped out of retirement in July 2020 when he carried out a rare official public engagement at Windsor.
The duke looked in fine form as he made his way down the steps to the Castle’s quadrangle for a socially distanced ceremony to hand over his Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles role to the Duchess of Cornwall, who was almost 100 miles away at Highgrove.
He showed he had lost none of his mischievous sense of humour when he joked with one of the soldiers about their fitness levels.
In April 2020, the duke released his first major statement since his retirement, praising key workers, including refuse and postal staff, for keeping essential services running during the pandemic.