John Birkett of St Andrews, serial letter writer and apparently reliant on the long-past-it, Prof Pennington as a source, insists that we cannot yet compare the pandemic management performance of the four UK governments.
I can see why he might want to do that:
Those bare facts are probably enough but we also know that NHS Scotland was never overwhelmed in the way that several English hospitals were, because we have far more beds and staff thanks to SNP Government, and we know from academics that Scottish Government messaging was more consistent and effective than that of the Johnson regime leading to greater compliance.
As for his argument that the English data might be explained by greater overall population density, he misses the essential fact that the population in Central Scotland, where most infection and death occurred, is one of the most densely populated in Europe. That we have a large hinterland where few live, skews and makes meaningless, the average.
Finally Birkett seems to have a thing about claiming the left are as bad as the right. In September 2021, he wrote in the Herald, bemoaning the failure of school education to educate freshers buying posters of Che, Mao, Stalin and Castro:
that such leaders were just as brutally fascist as their German counterparts from 1933-45 were, and incarcerated, tortured, starved and murdered far more of their opponents and other innocent victims than even the Nazis did.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19578108.letters-todays-students-need-educated-revolutionary-monsters-left/
No one with half a brain would defend Stalin or Mao, though neither systematically murdered women and children on racial grounds but Che and Castro? Don’t be daft.
Talking-up Scotland 
I think what the Herald and many of its letter writers would like is that the investigating panel for the Covid enquiry for Scotland would comprise Murdo Fraser, Ian Murray and Alex Cole-Hamilton. In fact, they have probably written the report already: “Guilty as charged. String the bastards up.”
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Mr Birkett opened his letter describing how the FM when she was Health Secretary reduced the number of student nurses in training by 300 in 2012 but he does not say that the numbers have increased each academic year since then. For the academic year 2021-22 the intake is 4449. In 2012 it was 2400. The reason the numbers were cut in that year was that there were a record number of student nurses in training – 10,300 – and it was felt that there might not be jobs for them when they graduated hence the cut in numbers that year.
Here is a breakdown of the numbers for 2021-22
https://www.gov.scot/news/nursing-and-midwifery-student-numbers-to-increase/
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Did he point out that the Scottish government have kept the student nurses bursary, unlike in England where their government are happy to see student nurses using foodbanks, didn’t think so.
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As a certain detective
would have said
“My Dear Mr.Brikett it is elementary”
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worth checking this link –
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/08/haphazard-covid-jab-rollout-teenagers-england
One sentence stood out..
“Prof Christina Pagel, director of UCL’s Clinical Operational Research Unit blamed poor organisation. “In the week to 3 October, we vaccinated 70,000 children (2.4%) in England. In the three days from 1-3 October, we gave 470,000 booster doses. This is an organisational issue, not a supply issue. Scotland has already vaccinated 30% of its 12- to 15-year olds compared to our 9%.”
So a health professional is stating that the Scottish NHS and government is more than 3 times as efficient as their English counterparts…
I wonder why the BBC Scotland website isn’t trumpeting this…
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Thanks
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Alexi Cauld-Ham has predicted that Sturgeon will be gone by 2026, and her party will “crumble” when she leaves.
He isnt will to bet on his prediction, however.
There is more likelihood of him being gone by then, along with DRossie.
As for crumbling.
The SNP would be destroyed by devolution.
The SNP would be destroyed by losing in 2014.
The SNP would be destroyed by being in office too long.
The SNP would be destroyed by its record (though its record is never compared in context).
The SNP would be destroyed by Ruthie or DRossie or Mayism or Borisism.
The SNP would be destroyed by any of the dozen or so, “Scottish” Labour dumplings elected as leader.
Finally, the SNP would be destroyed by Rennie or Caul-Ham.
Ask yourself—where are these people now?
I hope Sturgeon is long retired by 2026, and we have Chancellor Kate Forbes as leader of a free, self-governing Scotland.
Cauld-Ham will be President of the Edinburgh Co-operative of garden hut-renters by then, and leader of the “Wee Wullie preservation society”!
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I am proposing that the “Chancellor” would be the highest political office in Scotland, and “First Minister” would be in abolished.
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