SNP 41%, Conservatives 27%, Labour 21%, Liberal Democrats 6%, Greens 4%, Brexit Party 1%
So it’s not totally implausible that the Scottish subsample is broadly right and that a small percentage of voters have drifted from the SNP to Labour now that Starmer is leader. However, even if that’s right (a very big “if”, I must stress), there’s a good reason for thinking it may not be a cause for concern at this stage. The next electoral test in Scotland is the Holyrood vote, and Starmer will only be playing a supporting role in the Labour campaign. In the leaders’ debates Nicola Sturgeon will be up against Richard Leonard. I must admit Leonard wasn’t quite as bad as I expected in the debates last year, but when people are weighing up who they want to be First Minister, a choice between Sturgeon and Leonard is a no-brainer. So I’m not sure Starmer’s election has really changed anything as far as the 2021 election is concerned. The 2024 Westminster election may be a slightly different matter, but that’s a long way off, and Plan A still ought to be that Scotland will have voted to become an independent country by then.
* * *
Buck-passing, obviously, but there’s no doubt that Whitty amd Vallance must accept a large share of the blame for this catastrophe. Their advice was based on the bogus assumption this was a mild infection, even when there was clear evidence it wasn’t.https://t.co/fV7Hz5zSFw— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) April 19, 2020
Oh, so now there’s “no single science”. But in February, the words “the science” were spoken in a hushed, reverential tone and were synonymous with “Whitty and Vallance’s opinion”. It was the one true path. No-one could question it, not even *the WHO*.https://t.co/fV7Hz5zSFw— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) April 19, 2020
I cannot believe what I am hearing at the press conference. Deputy CMO Jenny Harries still believes that testing policy in the UK has been correct. And she doesn’t understand links between tests and #COVID death rates. Is this #CMO policy? If so, they should resign.— Anthony Costello (@globalhlthtwit) April 19, 2020
The key lesson to learn is that after our lockdown suppresses virus transmission (8-10 weeks?) we must find, test, trace and isolate all cases and contacts in every street, village and town across the UK. A new normal of snuffing out outbreaks will allow us to wait for a vaccine.— Anthony Costello (@globalhlthtwit) April 19, 2020
Pity I missed this, because the question I would have asked Leitch is: “Knowing what you know now, would you still have gone to a concert on the 14th/15th March, and if so, what would you say to the loved ones of those who might have died as a result?”https://t.co/yPa0g0F7fs— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) April 19, 2020
It strikes me that if Whitty, Vallance, Harries etc were Cabinet ministers, the media would have scented blood, forced them to resign, and we’d have started afresh. Instead we have the absurd spectacle of Harries pretending the original plan was fine and we’re still following it.— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) April 19, 2020
Thank heavens Jenny Harries is here to explain what the WHO’s comments really mean, because otherwise there’d be major misunderstandings. Some naive souls would assume “all countries must test, test, test” means “all countries must test, test, test”.https://t.co/0ZBjidkKE1— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) April 19, 2020
When you see supposedly independent medical advisors to government tell what are manifest untruths to shore up a political regime whose credibility is rapidly collapsing, you have to say that those advisors have lost their integrity and our trust.— richard horton (@richardhorton1) April 19, 2020
“We’re following the science” is the new “Jesus told me to do it”.https://t.co/6QmSQgSlO7— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) April 20, 2020
NZ has less than 20 deaths. Strong leadership with: aggressive containment of virus (test, trace, isolate), early border closure, early lockdown & widespread trust that @jacindaardern‘s government is looking out for best interests of NZ people. https://t.co/ZlJ8HcWYUx— Devi Sridhar (@devisridhar) April 20, 2020
I’m really glad @joannaccherry has raised the issue of airport checks, because the UK has got to break out of this silly trance of “airport checks make no difference”. That’s what we were previously told about mass gatherings, and testing, and contact tracing, and face-masks.— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) April 20, 2020
The Department of Health were caught out running fake accounts astroturfing for ‘herd immunity’ and later for ‘opening up the country’. Anyone who points this fact out is being greeted with the creepy reply below, worthy of a communist dictatorship.https://t.co/yH7BDBPAqK— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) April 20, 2020
“So-called lockdowns can help to take the heat out of a country’s epidemic, but they cannot end it alone.Countries must now ensure they can detect, test, isolate and care for every case, and trace every contact”-@DrTedros #COVID19
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 20, 2020
