Tag: Nicola Sturgeon

Campaign group urges tactical vote to oust Nicola Sturgeon

Campaign group Scotland Matters has erected another billboard calling for voters to vote tactically for Anas Sarwar and oust Nicola Sturgeon from her Glasgow Southside constituency.

The billboard is part of a wider tactical voting campaign backing Anas Sarwar in Ms Sturgeon’s seat. Thousands of voters in the Southside constituency have also been reached with paid-for social media posts.

The new image is entitled “Education not Separation” and focuses on the SNP’s ‘failed education policies’.

Scotland Matters, the Electoral Commission-registered campaign group, was also instrumental in the #ResignSturgeon billboards along with The Majority and UK Union Voice, and additional billboards in Inverclyde calling for the SNP to concentrate on “Vaccination and not Separation”.

Allan Sutherland, Scotland Matters Director and spokesman, said: “This is the second in a series of billboards we will be erecting across Scotland in support of pro-UK parties and their candidates.

“Scotland needs to focus on what matters: health, jobs, education, and housing; not separation and we urge people to vote tactically for the pro-UK candidates most likely to best the SNP/Green candidate and avoid splitting the vote.”

This is the first time in British history that two party political leaders have gone head-to-head in a constituency in a major election. Scotland Matters are working to encourage and help pro-UK parties to get the SNP/Greens out of Government in the 2021 Holyrood elections and are advocates of tactical voting to achieve this.

Scotland Matters believes that many ‘No’ voters will back Anas following a YouGov survey showing 550,000 voters across Scotland are considering voting tactically against the SNP. That is around 22% of the Scottish electorate.

According to research by the Electoral Commission, 24% of Scots tactically voted in the 2017 General Election resulting in 21 SNP MPs losing their seats.

Mr Sutherland added: “If we can persuade five percent of voters to vote tactically in the constituency part of the Holyrood Elections there is every chance many SNP constituency seats will fall. As our YouGov poll showed, there is a growing determination among pro-UK people to tactically vote against the SNP.”

It’s early days, but it does seem that this Holyrood election – just like the last – is being turned into one-issue Union vs Independence choice all over again …

First Minister: Blackpool’s aff!

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House yesterday (Wednesday 14 October):

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us . I will give the daily of statistics for COVID. I can report that the total number of new positive cases reported yesterday was 1,429.

That represents 16.4% of people newly tested, the total number of positive cases is now 42,685. 537 of the new cases are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 327 in Lanarkshire, 239 in Lothian and 92 in Ayrshire and Arran. 

The remaining cases were spread across 8 other health board regions. Only Orkney and the Western Isles did not have new cases reported yesterday.

I can also confirm that 570 people are currently in hospital – that is an increase of 43 on the number I reported yesterday.

49 people are currently in intensive care, that’s 14 more than yesterday.

I’m also very sad to report that in the past 24 hours, 15 deaths were registered of patients who first tested positive over the previous 28 days.

That means that the total number of deaths, under the measurement we use for the daily figures, is now 2,572.

Now confidentiality means that I can’t ever go in to detail about the people behind the statistics I report every day but I do want to point out this to you today, half of the 15 deaths that I’ve just reported are of people under the age of 80 – a small number of them are of people under the age of 60.

Please do not ever think that this virus only poses a risk to the lives of the very elderly – it poses a risk to all of us and I’m asking everybody again to take and treat that risk extremely seriously.

I can also report that National Records of Scotland has just published its weekly update, that as you will recall includes cases where COVID is a suspected or contributory cause of death.

Today’s update shows that by last Sunday, the total number of registered deaths linked to COVID, under that wider definition, was 4,301.

25 of those were registered last week, which is 5 more than in the week previously. 17 of the 25 deaths were in hospital, 7 in care homes, and 1 in a home or in an other non-institutional setting.

Once again, I want to send my deepest condolences to all those who have lost a loved one to this virus throughout the course of the pandemic and of course that is particularly the case to those who have recently lost someone and who are currently in that very acute stage of grieving.

Now tomorrow, Parliament has to review the restrictions we imposed on household visits three weeks ago. I will cover that issue and others in a video statement to a virtual meeting of the Scottish Parliament tomorrow.

As you might expect, we are unlikely, very unlikely to announce any changes or easing of the current rules on household gatherings.

I will however say a bit more to parliament tomorrow about new rules on face coverings, and about our options once the current two-week period of additional restrictions ends on 25 October.

For today though, the main issue I want to highlight relates to travel.

For many people, the October half term is approaching, and indeed in some parts of Scotland, it has already begun.

So I want to highlight some general guidance on travel, and I’m also going to provide one much more specific recommendation.

The first piece of general guidance relates to the five health board areas in Scotland that currently have additional restrictions on hospitality, because they have especially high rates of COVID just now.

And to remind you these areas are Lothian, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Ayrshire and Arran, and Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

If you live in one of these five health board areas, we have already asked you not to travel unless you very need to – and not to leave your health board area unless it is really necessary.

And we’ve also asked people from the rest of Scotland, not to travel to any of these five central belt areas unless they really need to.

As I said last week, this guidance does not stop you from taking an October half-term break if you have already booked it and you don’t want to cancel. If you are taking such a break or if you are already on such a break, please be very careful and please follow all of the rules whilst you are there.

But this guidance is intended, very firmly intended, which is why I’m putting so much stress on it today, to minimise travel as much as possible between the central belt, and other areas of Scotland. So please ask yourself how necessary your journey is, before deciding – for example – to go on a day trip to another part of the country.

In fact, my general advice for everyone at the moment across the country is to think very carefully about whether you need to travel at all. And if you must travel, if your trip is necessary then travel carefully and safely.

For example make sure you wear a face covering on public transport, that is the law at the moment and also remember to physically distance from other passengers as much as you can. And avoid car sharing if possible.

The advice to think carefully before travelling is especially important in relation to areas with high rates of infection.

And so of course that advice applies – not just to travel to and from the central belt of Scotland and the more general advice I’ve just given to everybody but it applies to travel to and from parts of England with high levels of infection.

We are currently advising against non-essential travel to the parts of England which are classed as very high or high alert areas under England’s new three tier system. And I’m asking people from these areas not to travel to Scotland either.

Several of these areas are seeing even higher levels of infection than we are currently seeing in central Scotland and we will make sure we keep the information on which areas are covered by this guidance updated on the Scottish Government website.

But in addition to that general advice, there is a specific issue I want to cover today and I take no pleasure in doing this but it’s important that I give this advice and make a very specific recommendation to you.

Blackpool, a place that many Scots love and like to visit, particularly at this time of year, many of us have happy childhood memories of going to see the Blackpool illuminations – this is one of the places currently classed by the UK Government as a high risk area.

And I need to advise you that trips to Blackpool are now associated with a large and growing number of COVID cases in Scotland.

We indeed now have an Incident Management Team in Scotland that has been set up to look specifically at cases associated with Blackpool.

And I can tell you that in total, in the last month, and these figures are rising right now so the figure I’m about to give you will undoubtedly already be out of date – the most up to date figure I can give you is that in the last month around 180 people in Scotland with COVID, reported that they had recently been in Blackpool.

Now let me be clear, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they got COVID during their trip, as you heard us talk about in relation to hospitality it’s not possible to be absolutely certain where someone actually picked up the virus but Blackpool is being mentioned in Test and Protect conversations, far more than any other location outside of Scotland.

And to take the past week in more detail, 344 people who have spoken to Test and Protect teams after contracting COVID, reported some sort of travel outside of Scotland. 252 of those had travelled somewhere else in the UK. Of those 252, now remember this is in the last week alone, well over a third – 94 in total – had been in Blackpool.

So my specific advice is this. If you were thinking about going to Blackpool and you haven’t booked yet, then please do not go this year.

Even more specifically – because we know this is an issue – and I want to be very clear about this – do not travel to Blackpool this weekend to watch the Old Firm match in a pub. If you do that you will be putting yourself and you will be putting other people at risk, please do not do that this weekend.

And if you otherwise, not related to the football have already booked a trip; and you cannot cancel it without cost; and are determined to go – then please, please think very carefully indeed about how you travel, and what you do when you get there.

For example quite a lot of people who have contracted COVID, and who have also been to Blackpool, have travelled by coach. We understand that is very common, particularly at this time of year. Now again, that does not mean that they absolutely necessarily got the virus on the coach because we can’t be certain about that.

But if you have to travel to Blackpool by coach – or if you travel by any form of public transport – then try to maintain physical distancing, and make sure that you wear your face covering throughout the journey.

And once you arrive and I know this is really difficult, don’t spend too much time indoors – and don’t, if you can avoid it, spend much time in pubs and bars and other hospitality venues. Because doing that significantly increases your chances of getting the virus.

I know that many people look forward to trips generally but to Blackpool in particular in the autumn, and that for some of you – and I know that many people fall in this category it’s almost an annual ritual. But I’m asking you, if you can avoid it, please do so this October and if you do go there, if you have to go there – please be very careful.

My last point on travel relates to a letter I received yesterday from the First Minister of Wales and is very relevant to what I’ve already been talking about.

The First Minister of Wales is seeking agreement between the four UK nations on travel restrictions where necessary from high prevalence areas in one UK nation to lower prevalence in others. I want to be clear today, that I back the calls from the First Minister of Wales and I’ll be writing to the Prime Minister today to seek urgent talks on that issue.

I also support the First Minister of Wales call for another COBRA meeting in early course to discuss collectively between the four nations what further steps we can all take at this stage to suppress the virus.

Now, I’ve spoken at some length today about our guidance and recommendations on travel and that is for reason because it is important and restricting travel right now as much as we possibly can is another I know unwelcome but very important way in which we can all try to reduce and minimise the spread of the virus.

But of course there are other important steps we must all take to reduce our own personal risk of getting the virus or of passing it on to others. Including if we are in the younger healthier age groups ourselves, potentially passing it on to others who are much more vulnerable.

So please do not visit each other’s homes at the moment – except for the very specific exemptions for childcare or looking after a vulnerable person, stay out of the homes of other families right now, this is our single most important way of stopping the virus jumping from one household to another. I know it is incredibly hard but it is incredibly important.

When you do meet – outdoors, or in a café for example, which are allowed to stay open during the day to allow people somewhere that they can have contact with other – remember that the maximum group size is 6 and that should be from no more than two households. And that’s the rule that applies outdoors or in any indoor public place.

Only car-share if it is essential as I said earlier on. And if you must car-share, wear a face covering and try and keep the windows open.

Work from home if you can. That advice has never changed in Scotland – this is an important moment to underline it. If it is at all possible to, work from home. And employers across the country, please allow your workers to do that.

Download the Protect Scotland app, if you haven’t already done so.

And finally, remember the rules are encapsulated in FACTS – the difficult but fundamentally quite simple things we can all do to minimise the risk of transmission.

  • Wear face coverings whenever you’re out and about but particularly in any enclosed spaces.
  • Avoid places where crowds of places come together.
  • Clean your hands obsessively if necessary and clean hard surfaces after you touch them.
  • Keep a two metre distance from people in other households when you are coming in to contact with them.
  • And self-isolate, and book a test, if you have any of the symptoms of COVID and remember yesterday all of the information we gave yesterday about support for self-isolation – you can find that on the NHS inform and Scottish Government websites.

It is by following all of this advice and following of these rules however hard that it is and I know that it is hard, that we will collectively help to suppress the virus again.

We are, as I said yesterday, at a really critical moment again – many countries across the world are; we see more and more countries now dealing with a second wave and having to impose new restrictions – we will not shy away as the Scottish Government from doing what we think is necessary to keep the people of Scotland as safe as possible … but every single one of us can play a part in this, please follow all of these rules; don’t think it’s okay just to breach them on the odd occasion because the time you breach them may be the time the virus is close to you and may spread from you to somebody else or from somebody else to you.

And the chain of transmission that could set off could result in you becoming like the too many families across Scotland right now that are grieving the loss of a loved one.

So I’m sorry to be so blunt with you but I think it is important at this juncture not to shy away from these messages and to ask everybody right now to rededicate themselves to this collective effort to keep COVID under control and to stop it taking lives unnecessarily or making people ill unnecessarily.

So thank you once again to everyone who is doing that.

Commenting on the First Minister’s statement, Kirsty Licence, Chair of the Incident Management Team looking into cases associated with Blackpool, and led by Public Health Scotland said: “We are seeing a high number of cases of COVID-19 amongst residents of Scotland who have recently travelled between Scotland and Blackpool. 

“We know Blackpool is a popular destination, especially for holidaymakers from the west of Scotland. Many of these cases have travelled using group transport, especially coach, but also private transport, and many are of middle and older ages with increased risk of suffering from very severe COVID-19 illness.

“Our data shows the numbers of Scottish cases who visited Blackpool shortly before their illnesses substantially exceeds those having visited any other place in the UK. Over the past month, since 14th September, when Blackpool was first noted on a case there have been 286 cases in Scotland whose records note recent travel to Blackpool.

“These cases highlight the risk associated with travelling to areas with high rates of infection. People in Scotland should not be travelling to or from the health board areas under local restrictions except for essential reasons.  

“If you have to travel, follow all local guidance and restrictions, both where you live and where you are travelling to.  You should avoid close contact with others, keep away from crowded places and observe FACTS. 

“Those falling into a group that is at an increased risk of more severe illness, should in particular consider carefully where and how they travel.

“Anyone who has one or more symptoms of COVID-19 should immediately self-isolate and book a test. Those who are required to be in self-isolation either as a case or as a close contact of a known case must not travel – which may mean those visiting other areas of the UK are unable to travel out or return home for a significant period of time.”

First Minister: remember the FACTS

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the media briefing in St Andrew’s House on Monday 22 June:

Good afternoon, and welcome to today’s briefing. I want to start by giving the usual update on the COVID-19 statistics.

An additional 14 positive cases were confirmed yesterday – that takes the total now in Scotland to 18,170.

A total of 867 patients are currently in hospital with the virus either confirmed or suspected. That is 66 more than yesterday, but the increase is all in suspected cases. The number of confirmed cases has reduced by 3.

A total of 15 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That is 1 fewer than yesterday.

Since 5 March, a total of 3,978 patients who had tested positive and needed hospital treatment have now been discharged.

And in the last 24 hours, I’m pleased to say that no deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having COVID-19. That figure is of course extremely welcome, but we must bear in mind that fewer deaths tend to be registered on Sundays.

The total number of deaths in Scotland – under that measurement of people confirmed by a test as having the virus – is therefore still 2,472.

I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone behind these statistics who has lost a loved one as a result of this illness.

I also want to express my thanks once again to our health and care workers, and indeed to all our key workers – the entire country is grateful to you for everything you are doing.

Our progress in suppressing this virus continues to be good as these statistics bear out – though we must not be complacent.

That progress, however, does allow us to consider now whether and to what extent we can give more clarity in terms of indicative dates for the next steps in our routemap out of lockdown – and, as a heads up today, I intend to set out more detail on that later this week.

However, as we do so, we must remember, all of us, that the virus hasn’t gone away. There are already countries – China and Germany for example – that are right now dealing with spikes in cases as a result of significant outbreaks.

And health officials in South Korea have said today that they think the country is now experiencing a second wave.

So I know that when numbers of cases and deaths here are continuing to fall, it’s very tempting for all of us to think it’s all over and we should just now quickly get back to normal.

We are trying to get back to normal and we want to do that as quickly as possible, but let me reiterate my strong view that acting recklessly now would be a serious mistake – we must continue to be cautious and all of us must continue to adhere strictly to the public health advice.

That will help us continue progress and avoid a resurgence of the virus now – and it will also hopefully put us in a stronger position ahead of the winter months to come.

So please stick to the rules – and when you are out and about, as all of us are able to be more now, remember FACTS:

  • Face coverings in enclosed spaces – these are mandatory from today on public transport
  • Avoid crowded places, even outdoors
  • Clean your hands regularly, as well as surfaces
  • Maintain two metres distance from people in other households
  • Self-isolate and book a test immediately if you have COVID symptoms

Today’s news conference is  following a slightly different format from usual. I’ve got one significant item that I want to update you on today and it relates to the economy.

Once I have finished my remarks, I’m going to hand over to Benny Higgins, who joins me today. Benny is the chair of our Advisory Group on Economic Recovery.

The Scottish Government appointed the advisory group back in April, to provide recommendations on how best to restore the economy to sustainable and inclusive growth as we bring the Covid pandemic under greater control.

We did so because we knew then, that the pandemic and what we had to do to tackle it would cause significant economic harm. Our initial focus has had to be on protecting people’s lives, and on providing immediate lifeline support to keep businesses afloat and people employed.

But as the pandemic does comes under more control, our efforts must increasingly focus on how our economy recovers and renews itself for the long term.

I am very grateful to Benny and the advisory group members for their efforts. I’m also grateful to all of the businesses, business organisations and others who engaged so fully in the group’s work – and to Lord Robert Smith who facilitated much of that business engagement.

The advisory group’s report, which I have received today, includes 25 substantial recommendations. These are wide-ranging in scope – alongside areas such as investment, employment and skills, they cover areas such as the relationship between government and business, the future of the care sector, the importance of culture,  and the role of the third sector.

The Scottish Government will produce a detailed response to the report before the end of July, so I will not comment in detail today on all 25 of the report’s recommendations – although Benny will expand on some of its key points.

What I do want to do this morning, however, is be very clear that the Scottish Government sees the report as a serious and substantive piece of work – and that we agree with its basic principles.

Many of its themes – for example the importance of education, employment and tackling inequalities – are clearly going to be critical to our economic recovery. The report is also very strong in highlighting the regional dimension to growth.

And its specific recommendations are significant and constructive. For example the importance of digital infrastructure investment has been emphasised once again by this crisis, and is rightly a major issue in the report.

In addition, the Scottish Government agrees with the advisory group about the importance of working with the UK Government, so that our fiscal framework has enough flexibility to enable us to support investment for recovery.

We also support the advisory group’s prioritisation of a green recovery, and its recognition of the vital importance of the new Scottish National Investment Bank.

And the report’s recommendations for youth employment and a Jobs Guarantee – including the essential contribution that business can make- are potentially very significant, as we seek to ensure that young people get the opportunities they deserve in the wake of this pandemic.

Finally, the report highlights the fact that Scotland’s economic recovery must be a collaborative partnership.

The recommendations in this report are not just for the Scottish Government, though many of them of course are.  They are for the business sector, the third sector, our higher and further education sector and the UK government as well.

The Scottish Government already works well with these organisations in many areas – but the Covid crisis has reinforced the crucial importance of those relationships, and of ensuring that recovery is a true partnership effort.

Above all else, the report is clear-sighted about the scale – the vast scale – of the challenge that our economy faces as we come out of this crisis.

However it sets out practical measures, founded on values, which can help us to address that challenge.

It provides recommendations which can help us to help businesses and individuals get back on their feet.

And in doing so, I think it potentially lays the foundations for a much more resilient, more sustainable and fairer economy in the years to come. I therefore warmly welcome it, and once again want to thank everyone who has contributed to it and particularly Benny for chairing the group.

towards-robust-resilient-wellbeing-economy-scotland

I’m going to hand over to Benny in a moment or two, but I want to end by reiterating our key public health messages. If we want to get into a recovery phase, it is crucial that we continue efforts to suppress this virus.

Since Friday, any household has been able to meet with up to two other households – but let me remind you those meetings right now must be outdoors unless you have formed an extended household group. You should only go indoors to use the toilet, or to get through to a garden, and you should clean any surfaces you touch as you do that.

I know as I indicated at the outset of my remarks, that when you hear me report relatively low numbers of daily cases, and thankfully reducing numbers of people dying, many might wonder whether these rules still matter.

But it is important to stress that as we start to go out and about more, these rules actually matter more not less. And it is important to remember that COVID-19 has not gone away. It remains highly infectious and highly dangerous.

As I said earlier, we have seen reports in recent days from many other countries of increases in the virus and that should remind us of the risk that it still poses. And it should remind all of us that it doesn’t take much for the virus to take off again. It is only by sticking to the rules that we have made the progress that I report now on a daily basis. By continuing to stick with them, and by suppressing the virus further, we will all be able to move more quickly out of lockdown in the weeks ahead.

That is why the decisions all of us are taking now as individuals more than ever directly affect the health, the wellbeing and indeed the economic prosperity for all of us.

The public health campaign we launched on Friday – Facts – which I’ve already mentioned today summarises the key points you need to remember and apply. So let me end just by reiterating those 5 crucial, key pieces of advice.

  • Face coverings should be worn in enclosed spaces;
  • Avoid crowded places;
  • Clean your hands and hard surfaces regularly;
  • Two metre distancing is important and
  • Self-isolate and book a test – if you have symptoms.

By remembering and abiding by those 5 basic requirements, all of us can stay safe, protect others and we will all save lives.

So please continue to do the right thing, and to stick with these rules. Thank you once again, to everyone who is doing exactly that.

First Minister: making life-saving progress

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House yesterday (Thursday 11 June):

Introduction

Good afternoon, I will start with the usual update on some of the key statistics in relation to Covid-19.

As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 15,682 positive cases confirmed through our NHS labs – that’s an increase of 17 from yesterday.

A total of 909 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19. That represents a total decrease of 78 since yesterday, including a decrease of 10 in the number of confirmed cases.

A total of 21 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected Covid 19. That is an increase of 3 since yesterday – but all of the increase I should say is in suspected cases.

I am also able to confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 3,858 patients who had tested positive and needed hospital treatment for the virus have been able to leave hospital – and I wish all of them well.

And in the past 24 hours, 5 deaths were registered of patients confirmed through a test as having the virus  – the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, is now therefore 2,439.

As always, it’s important to stress that the figures I have just read out are not just statistics. They all represent individuals who right now are being mourned by their families and friends. So – again – I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this illness.

I also want to express my thanks – as always – to our health and care workers for the extraordinary work that they continue to do in very difficult and testing circumstances.

R Number

Now I want to highlight three issues today – firstly I will cover our latest report, which has just been published, on the “R” number”; I will update on some developments in the construction industry; and talk about support that we are making available for students over the summer.

I’ll then also close by reflecting on the importance of our Test and Protect system, which was launched two weeks ago, and our wider public health guidance.

Let me start though with today’s report on the “R” number.

As you will recall, the R number shows the rate at which this virus is reproducing. So in summary if R is above 1, every person with the virus will infect more than 1 other person, and the virus will then spread exponentially. If R though is below 1, the number of people with the virus will fall.

We estimate that the R number in Scotland, as of last Friday – 5 June – was between 0.6 and 0.8. That is a lower estimate than for two weeks ago, when we calculated that the number was likely to be between 0.7 and 0.9. So, under that estimate, we expect that the virus will continue to decline.

In addition, we estimate that last Friday, 4,500 people in Scotland had the virus and were infectious. Our previous estimate, for 29 May, had been that 11,500 people were likely to be infectious.

Now that, of course, sounds like a very big decline, so it’s worth me stressing, that we don’t actually think the number of infectious people has more than halved in just one week. What has been happening is that we have been reassessing our estimates for previous weeks, based on the latest figures available to us. So, in short, it is likely that the 11,500 was an overestimate, not that the number has halved in a single week.

However, notwithstanding that, these latest estimates reflect the encouraging data that we have seen in the last couple of weeks, and there is no doubt looking at all of this data, that we are making very real progress in combatting and suppressing the virus in Scotland.

However as always, it is important that I inject a note of caution. Firstly, the estimates I have reported to you today, of course don’t yet take account of the phase 1 changes that we made to begin the easing out of lockdown, and we need to continue to monitor any impact from that carefully.

Secondly, the number of people who we estimate will be infectious is certainly smaller than it was, but it is also still large enough to make the virus take off rapidly again if the R number was to go much above 1. So for these reasons we need to celebrate the progress but continue to be careful and cautious.

Next week, in fact a week today, we will have a further review of the lockdown restrictions.

I am currently very hopeful that at that point we will be able to lift some further restrictions. We may not be able to do everything in phase 2,  but I hope that we can do certainly, at least, some of that. Of course it is also possible that some of these changes will be phased over a three week period, but I’m hopeful that we will be able to take some further important steps forward when we report on the review next week.

But it is important again to stress that we must do that cautiously and proportionately. And I will also make the point I frequently make, but it is not just an obvious point, it is a very important point, we will be in a better position to lift more restrictions if all of us continue to stick with the current guidelines and further suppress the virus to lower levels than it is even now.

Construction sector

Now one area where we judge we can make some further progress now, is in the construction industry. I can confirm today that the sector will be able to move to the next step of its restart plan – which is something that was always envisaged as part of phase 1 of our route map. So it is not a change to phase 1.

Earlier steps have allowed for health and safety planning, followed by preparatory work at construction sites.

And moving to the next step of the industry plan will now allow workers to return to construction sites gradually, while using measures such as physical distancing and hand hygiene to ensure that they can do so safely.

I am very grateful to the sector and trade unions for the very responsible approach that they have taken during an incredibly difficult time.

It’s important to be very clear though, that we still have a long way to go before construction will be working at full capacity, but there is no doubt this is a significant step in allowing an important industry to return safely to work.

I can also confirm today that we are extending our Help to Buy scheme – which was due to come to an end next March – we are extending that to March 2022.

Under that scheme, the Government provides up to 15% of the cost of buying a new-build home, and recovers its share of the funding when the property is sold, or when the share is bought out.

In recent years, this scheme has helped 17,000 people – more than ¾ of them aged 35 or under – to buy new-build homes. It has also, of course, been a valuable support for house builders. At present, of course, the pandemic means that the scheme is not being used.

So by confirming that it is being extended, I hope we can ensure that more people – who may otherwise have missed out on this scheme – are able to move into new homes in the future, and also that we are to provide a bit more confidence for the construction sector.

Student support

The third issue I want to talk about is support for students.

We know that many students rely on income from seasonal or part-time jobs – especially over the summer months – and that the economic impact of Covid will therefore cause them particular difficulties.

And that can be especially important for higher education students, who, unlike further education students, can’t usually claim benefits over the summer.

We have already provided additional support for students, and we have also suspended debt recovery action by the Student Awards Agency. And today, we are bringing forward more than £11 million of further support.

This funding will be administered by colleges and universities to help higher education students who most need it. And it is a further way in which we are trying to support students, at a time when many of them are still facing potential hardship.

Test and Protect

Now the final issue I want to cover today relates to my earlier discussion of the R number, and how we hope next week to announce some further changes to lockdown restrictions.

As we do that – as we gradually, and I emphasise gradually, return to meeting more people, and living a bit more freely, which all of us are of course keen to do – our test and protect system will become ever more important in helping us all to live a less restricted life, while still being able to suppress the virus.

Now yesterday, we published the first data from the system, which started two weeks ago today.

And that data shows, that in the period up to 7 June, 681 people who reported symptoms had tested positive for Covid. As of yesterday, contact tracing had been completed for 481 of those, and was in progress for a further 50.

Amongst those 531 cases, a total of 741 contacts had been traced – that’s just under 1½ people per case. And of course people’s contacts right now will be lower than normal because of the lockdown restrictions that are in place.

Now there’s two points that I think that are important for me to note about this data – and it is very initial data.

The first is that the number of people who have tested positive is higher than is suggested by our daily figures – the ones I report on new cases here each day.

That is because our daily figures do not yet cover tests from labs run by the UK Government – such as those for regional test centres and mobile units – although we will be able to include that information very soon.

In addition, the current figures slightly overstate the number of cases where no tracing has been carried out so far. One reason for that is that some historic cases – from the time when the system was being piloted – still feature in the data. If that historic data is removed, the proportion of completed cases increases from 71% to 86%.

We will publish more detailed data on test and protect in the weeks ahead because it is important not just that government understands how well it is working but you the public can see that too. But I want to be very clear that our preliminary indications are that test and protect is already working well. And of course we will identify areas for improvement as and when they arise and as the system becomes ever more established.

Fundamentally though, I want to stress to everyone watching just how important test and protect is and how important is it going to continue to be in the weeks and potentially the months that lie ahead.

I guess it essentially represents for all of us a kind of social bargain.

If you have symptoms, or – and in some ways actually this is the much more difficult bit, if you have been in contact with someone who has symptoms, even if you don’t have symptoms yourself – we will ask you to isolate completely.

We will support you in doing that, if you need that support – but it is still a very tough thing to ask people to do.

However, and this is the social bargain bit, if all of us agree to do that when necessary, it means that all of us together collectively will be able to continue to emerge from lockdown while keeping the virus under control.

At any one time, some of us will have to self-isolate for a period, so that together, all of us can start to lead a less restricted life.

So please, if you have symptoms of Covid-19 – remember that’s a new continuous cough, or a fever, or a loss of or change in your sense of taste or smell – please do not wait for a few hours or a day or two to see if you feel better. Start self-isolating immediately that you experience these symptoms, and ask for a test immediately.

To remind you, you can do that by going to the NHS inform website, or by phoning NHS 24 on 0800 028 2816 – that’s 0800 028 2816. If we all do that, when we experience symptoms and if any of us are contacted to say we have been in close contact with someone who has the virus, and we agree to self-isolate, then all of us are going to help enable the whole country to get out of lockdown, not just a bit more quickly, but more safely as well.

Conclusion

The final point I’d like to make before we move on to questions is that your best way of reducing, the best way of all of us to reduce our chance of being a close contact with somebody with the virus – and of being asked to self-isolate as a result – is by continuing to stick to our key public health guidance. And of course, that is also our best way of avoiding and getting and transmitting the virus.

So just to remind everybody what that guidance is, you should still be staying home most of the time right now, and you should still be meeting fewer people than you normally would. If your life feels like it is getting back to normal right now, please ask yourself why that is – because it shouldn’t yet be feeling as if it is getting back to normal.

When you do meet people from another household, you absolutely must stay outdoors, do not go indoors, and you must stay 2 metres apart from members of the other household.

Please, do not meet up with more than one other household at a time, don’t meet more than one in the course of any single day – and please keep to a maximum, I stress a maximum, of 8 people in any group.

Wash your hands often, make sure you’re doing it thoroughly. If you are out of your home take hand sanitiser with you.

Wear a face covering if you are in an enclose space, where physical distancing may be more difficult, for example in a shop or on public transport. Again I want to stress that. We know that one of us wearing a face covering helps reduce the risk of us transmitting the virus to somebody else. And somebody else wearing a face covering reduces the risk of them transmitting the virus to us.

It’s another way in which we can all act to protect each other.

Avoid touching hard surfaces – and any you do touch make sure you are cleaning them thoroughly.

And as I have already covered today, if you have symptoms of Covid-19 – ask for a test immediately, and please follow the advice on self-isolation.

Above all else, all of us right now should remember that in every single individual decision we take, we are potentially affecting the health and the wellbeing of others, and indeed the wellbeing of the whole country.

So if all of us continue to do the right thing, if all of us continue to stick to these rules, then we will continue to see the progress that I have been reporting in recent days, and we will be able to come out of lockdown, hopefully even more quickly, but much more importantly than that, we will be able to do that sustainably, because we will come out of lockdown and continue to suppress this virus, which is our overall aim.

So thank you for everything you have been doing. Please keep doing it, so that together we can continue to make this life saving progress.

FM reminds Scotland: lockdown restrictions remain in place until Thursday

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House yesterday (Friday 22 May):

Good afternoon. I’m joined today by Iain Livingstone, Chief Constable of Police Scotland and Professor Jason Leitch, our National Clinical Director. I want to start – as I always do – by updating you on some of the key statistics in relation to COVID-19 in Scotland.

As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 14,969 positive cases confirmed – which is an increase of 113 from yesterday.

A total of 1,257 patients are in hospital with COVID-19 – 874 of them have been confirmed as having Covid, and 383 who are suspected of having it. That represents a total decrease of 61 from yesterday and that includes a decrease of 35 in the number of confirmed cases.

A total of 50 people last night were in intensive care with either confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That is a decrease of one since yesterday.

I am also able to confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 3,508 patients who had tested positive and been hospitalised with the virus have been able to leave hospital. Which is, of course, very good news.

And unfortunately though I also have to report that in the last 24 hours, 24 deaths have been registered of patients who have been confirmed through a test as having COVID-19 – that takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 2,245.

Let me emphasise once again that these numbers are not simply statistics. They represent individuals who are being mourned by friends, family and loved ones. I want to send my deepest and heartfelt condolences to everyone who has suffered a loss to this virus.

I also want to thank – as I always do – our health and care workers for the extraordinary, incredible work that you continue to do each and every day.

There are two items I want to briefly cover today.

The first is about the routemap we published yesterday, on how and when we might ease the current lockdown restrictions, while continuing to suppress the virus which is so, so vital.

As of 10 o’clock this morning, I can tell you, more than 100,000 of you have viewed that document on our website.  My apologies to those who tried to do so yesterday and found that the demand had made the website struggle. I’m glad that so many people have managed to do so and my thanks to you for doing that.

And I would encourage those of you who haven’t yet had the opportunity, to go online and read it – and if you have any views about it you want us to know please feel free to send them to us.

The document set out the different phases in which we will aim to ease lockdown.

The steps it sets out are by necessity gradual and incremental.  And we will monitor them carefully as they do take effect.

And our plans will change if the data, evidence or our knowledge of the virus changes.

Let me stress though that that could include lifting restrictions more quickly than we otherwise think we can do.

I want to stress – and this is a really important point – that none of the changes are yet in place.  During this Bank Holiday weekend – and into next week – the current lockdown restrictions are still in place.

That’s important for me to stress. The one thing that will slow down the lifting of lockdown is us taking our foot off the brake too quickly and allowing the virus to spread rapidly again.

However, on a more optimistic note, as things stand, we intend to enter the first phase of easing restrictions, from next Thursday 28 May – now less than one week away.

By then, I hope we will still be seeing progress against the virus, but also by then we will also be ready to start with our Test, Trace and Isolate programme – Test and Protect we’re calling it – as  you’ve heard me say before, that is a key tool for us in continuing to keep the virus suppressed as we start gradually easing these restrictions.

As I said yesterday, not all of the Phase 1 measures will necessarily be introduced immediately next Thursday  – though I hope most will be. But we’ll have to make a judgement at the time.

But I want to reiterate some of the changes that I hope we will see from next week so that you know what you’re able to look forward to.

As the document sets out, more outdoor activity will be permitted. There is a strong emphasis in the first phase on outdoor activity because one of the things we are learning about this virus is that the risks of transmission outdoors, although not zero, absolutely not zero, are nevertheless lower than the risks of transmission indoors.

So You will be able in this first phase to sit or sunbathe in parks and open areas.  And as long as you stay two metres apart, you will be able to meet outside, with people from another household, including in private gardens.

Let me be clear because I know it is a question that has been asked, that doesn’t limit you to seeing just one specific household during this phase – you can see different households, but we are asking you only to meet one at a time.

We’re also not intending to put a five mile limit on the distance you can travel to, for example, sit with your parents in their garden.

But we are asking you to use judgement. And increasingly as we come out of lockdown, I’m going to be relying more and more on you to exercise the good judgement that I know you will.

If, for example you travel a long distance to see a relative outside, you’ll be more likely to go inside the house to use the bathroom, for example.

And we don’t want you to go inside others’ houses in this phase because if you are infectious, maybe without knowing it, you risk leaving the virus on surfaces inside the house and that would pose a risk to other people, particularly if you’re visiting elderly relatives – that is a risk we don’t want you to take.

So please use your judgement and have uppermost in your mind the need to protect those you care about – even if that might mean staying apart from them for just a little a bit longer.

As well as those changes, some non-contact outdoor leisure activities will be allowed to restart from the end of next week – such as golf, tennis, bowls and fishing – croquet as well, as I was asked about in Parliament – subject to appropriate hygiene and physical distancing.

People will be able to travel – preferably by walking or cycling – to a location near their local community for recreation. But here we are asking you to stay fairly local. Five miles will not be a strict limit but it is a guide. We don’t want, in this phase, people congregating at tourist hot spots – because crowds of people – even if they’re trying to socially distance – brings more risk than we judge is safe to take at this time.

Waste and recycling services will resume, as will many outdoor businesses.

The construction industry will be able to carefully implement the first steps in its restart plan.

Other industries, that might not resume straight away but in the next phase, will be permitted in phase 1 to start to prepare workplaces.

Outdoor retail outlets such as garden centres will be allowed to reopen.

And, very importantly, we will also start, albeit gradually and carefully, to resume NHS services which were paused as a result of the pandemic.

Schools will not reopen until 11 August.  But, during June, teachers will return to prepare for the new term and for a different model of learning. 

Over the summer, an increased number of children will have access to critical childcare.

And we intend to provide, where possible, transition support for children going into primary 1 or moving from primary 7 to secondary school.

Childminders can re-open during phase 1. And over the summer all early years childcare providers will open again subject to necessary health measures.

The routemap provides more detail on these steps – and on each subsequent phase.  It also outlines how they will work alongside our ‘Test and Protect’ approach – which as I said a moment ago, will be vital, in helping to control the virus.

In the days ahead we will publish more detailed advice and information for you the public, as well as guidance covering key sectors of our economy, travel and transport. That’s a really important part of preparing for the move to phase 1. So that there is as much clarity as possible about what we are saying and what we are asking you not to do at this stage.

However, I want to emphasise a key point.  None of the changes I’ve talked about today, are yet in place.  We can only begin to implement them if we continue to suppress this virus. And that’s why – for the moment – the current lockdown restrictions remain in place.

That brings me to the final item I want to cover.  It’s about our support for people, in dealing with the lockdown.  And it has particular relevance, as we mark the end of mental health awareness week.

We know this crisis is causing increased anxiety and stress for probably everybody in the population.  We also know that – because of the lockdown – many people are cut off from their usual support networks – be that family, friends, or the wider community. That problem is – of course – particularly acute for those of you who are isolating or shielding.

The Scottish Government has been trying to take action throughout this, to address this issue.  Today, I can tell you that – since the lockdown began – we have provided more than £8 million to projects aimed at tackling social isolation.

That money comes from our Wellbeing Fund.  And it is now supporting around 350 projects, in every part of the country.

The services they are providing include phone calls for older people who are self-isolating; food parcels and special packs for families; help with digital technology for those who need it; and respite care for parents of children with additional support needs.

So I want to take the opportunity today to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone working across the third sector organisations and volunteers who are involved in providing these services. Your willingness to help others – at what will also be a difficult time for you, as well as for others – is hugely appreciated.

And I want to stress one of the key messages of mental health awareness week is that it’s okay not to feel okay – and that help is available if you need it.

I would encourage any of you to look for help if you do feel you need it

The Clear Your Head website – clearyourhead.scot – brings together all of the different information about support that is available.

I want to close today by just emphasising the point I’ve made a couple of times already, that for the time being, the current lockdown restrictions remain in place.

The Chief Constable will say a few words in a moment, for now I just want to reiterate – once again – what those restrictions are.

Except for essential purposes – exercise, going to essential work that can’t be done at home, or getting food or medicine you should stay at home.

You can now exercise more than once a day – but please stay more than 2 metres from other people. And don’t yet meet up with people from other households.

Please wear a face covering if you are in an enclosed space like a shop or on public transport. And you should wash your hands thoroughly and regularly.

Finally, if you have symptoms, or someone else in your household has symptoms of COVID-19, isolate completely.

I know how hard these restrictions are.  And I know that hearing me talk about easing them as we head into a bank holiday weekend, will make all of this seem even tougher.

But we need to stick with it for a few more days.  And if we do, I really hope that this time next week when I’m standing here telling you all to have I nice weekend, I’ll also be telling you to enjoy, for the first time in a long while, seeing some family or friends over the weekend – as long as you do it outdoors and remember to stay physically distanced.

Everybody’s been magnificent so far, please stick with it for a few more days and we can take that first step on the road back to some kind of normality.

Thank you all very much for your co-operation and I’ll now hand over to the chief constable to say a few words before handing over to Professor Leitch.

The routemap has been welcomed by SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon MacDonald. He said: “We all know that we can’t live this way forever and we all want to get back some sense of normality. 

“While we need to move carefully and gradually, the route map laid out today by the First Minister clearly sets out the steps that will take us there. 

“Too many people in Edinburgh and across Scotland have lost their lives to this disease and we can’t risk another peak – so we must move in line with our own circumstances. 

“We will get through this by working together by sticking to the advice to suppress the virus further and get back a way of life that is as close to normal as possible.”

Changes to advice on going outdoors in Scotland

The advice on how often people can venture outdoors changes today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

From today, Monday 11 May, the advice is now that people can go outside more than once a day to exercise. This activity should continue to be undertaken close to home. Those going out to exercise should either go alone or with members of their household.

The change does not allow people to mix with people from different households, to gather in groups, or to go out to relax outdoors. 

The First Minister agreed the change following scientific advice using the framework set out by the Scottish Government last month. It was agreed that the timing was right to make the change because the impact on the vital R number – the rate of reinfection of COVID-19 – would be very limited.

Announcing the change yesterday, The First Minister said: “The core principles of lockdown in Scotland remain the same, people should stay at home to help save lives and protect the NHS.

“We do not underestimate how difficult these measures are, particularly for those living alone, or living in smaller accommodation with children or without access to a garden or outdoor home space.

“The hard work which people across Scotland have put in to follow the guidance and stay at home means we are now able to change our advice for people to exercise outdoors more than once a day.

“It is vitally important that anyone going out maintains physical distancing and strict hygiene measures in order to ensure we don’t lose ground. We have also encouraged the public to consider wearing a facial covering in enclosed spaces, where physical distancing is more difficult and where there is a risk of close contact people outwith their household.

“It also remains vitally important that anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 – a new and continuous cough or a high temperature – isolates themselves for seven days, and that anyone else in a household where someone has symptoms, isolates for 14 days.

“This change on going outside will be monitored carefully and reviewed in order to assess the effects on physical distancing and infection spread.”

LOCKDOWN

The First Minister has tonight called for an immediate stop to public gatherings of more than two people in Scotland in a bid to flatten the curve of Covid-19 spread and protect the NHS.

Following a meeting of the UK Government’s COBR committee, an effective ban is in place on gatherings in public places, excluding household groups or in a work-related capacity.

In addition – as the First Minister set out earlier – all non-essential shops should be closed, as well as public spaces such as libraries, communal parks and playgrounds, and places of worship.

“The ban extends to ceremonial social events, such as weddings and christenings, with the exception of funerals which will be restricted to immediate family only. The First Minister was clear that these decisions are not taken lightly ‘but are essential for the protection of all of us.’

From tonight the only permissible reasons to leave your home are as follows:

  • To shop for basic necessities and that should be limited to once a day
  • To take exercise once a day – but alone or with your own household, not in groups
  • For medical reasons or to care for a vulnerable person
  • To travel to essential work if that cannot be done at home. Further guidance to employers is pending.

In agreement with Police Scotland, officers will be permitted to deploy ‘soft enforcement’ of these measures, prior to the Scottish Government taking legal powers from Thursday.

The First Minister reiterated guidance of the Scottish Government for people to stay home and only venture outside when absolutely necessary. In line with existing advice, non-essential retail units are now required to close and shopping for basic necessities kept to a minimum.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Some of what is being outlined is already active advice in Scotland. But I want to ensure that the latest position is set out clearly and comprehensively.

“Let me be blunt: these stringent restrictions on our normal day to day lives are difficult and unprecedented but they are essential for the protection of all of us. What I am telling people across Scotland that they now must do to help us fight this virus is stay at home.

“Gatherings of more than two people in public will be prohibited – unless it is a household group or work related. Social events must not take place. That includes weddings and christenings. The exception is funerals but we are asking – in what is undoubtedly the hardest thing I will say tonight – that they are restricted to immediate family only.

“I fully expect the vast majority of people will do the right thing and for that, we thank you. Later this week emergency legislation will give us powers of enforcement and we will use them if necessary.

“But from tonight, if the police find people or premises flouting these rules they will give strong advice to cease and do the right thing. Within days they will be able to follow that up with enforcement.

“All of this will take effect immediately. It is effectively what some have described as a lockdown. So please do not think any of this is being done lightly – it is not. They are essential to slow down the spread of this virus, to reduce the peak impact of it, to prevent our NHS being overwhelmed – they are essential to save lives.”

Scots advised to limit social contact

Those most at risk strongly advised to reduce unnecessary contact

To slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) the general public are being asked to stay at home as much as possible and avoid unnecessary social contact.

People over 70 and those who have high risk and underlying health conditions are being strongly advised to stay at home as much as possible and significantly reduce unnecessary social contact.

The advice is that people should:

  • minimise social contact by avoiding crowded areas and large gatherings, including religious congregations and smaller gatherings such as restaurants, pubs, bars, clubs, cinemas and gyms
  • avoid using public transport as much as possible
  • work from home when possible
  • follow the latest health and travel advice, and follow basic hygiene precautions, such as washing hands frequently, not touching their face and covering their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing

People showing symptoms suggestive of coronavirus should stay at home for seven days and only contact NHS 111 or their local GP if their symptoms worsen during that period.

Members of a household where someone has suspected symptoms should stay at home for 14 days.

This package of necessary measures comes into force with immediate effect.

Schools will remain open for the time being, however this decision will be consistently monitored and reviewed depending on the spread of the infection.

Those who cannot work from home should continue to go to work unless advised by their employer or if they display symptoms.

These measures will be kept under constant review as we try to slow down the spread of the infection.

The First Minister said: “Life as we know it will change in the coming weeks and months, but our goal is to protect lives.

“We are facing an unprecedented situation that will require major societal change if we are to protect people, especially those most at risk and our NHS.

“The package of measures we are announcing today is based on scientific and clinical advice. While it will cause some disruption and be difficult for us all, it will help us to prepare for the virus and to protect ourselves and each other in the long run.

“We need your help to slow the spread of the infection. That is why we are advising everyone in Scotland to restrict their social contact and to stay at home as much as possible. We are strongly advising those who are over 70 or have an underlying health condition to stay at home.

“People have a vital role to play in helping us contain this infection and I urge everyone in Scotland to follow the latest health and travel advice, and follow basic hygiene precautions, such as washing hands frequently, not touching their face and covering their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

“This has not been an easy decision but it is vital if we are to stop the spread of the infection.”

For those under 70 underlying health conditions refers to all those eligible for the flu vaccine. Those who have compromised immune systems will be contacted with specific advice in the coming days.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman will update the Scottish Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday 17 March) on the Scottish Government’s plans to build up and scale up capacity in Scotland’s National Health Service.

Nicola Sturgeon: “a brighter, better future is possible”

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday:

Tomorrow we go to the polls in an election which could determine Scotland’s future path for many years to come.

Brexit, the NHS, and the very future of Scotland are at stake – and the nightmare scenario is surely the possibility of 5 years of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Chaos, confusion and a rallying of his right wing Brexiteers have been the hallmarks of Boris Johnson’s time in Downing Street. All of that – coupled with the damage of austerity and welfare cuts – means that this us the the time to end the Tories’ ruinous reign.

This election campaign has certainly flown by – and for those of us pounding the streets, it’s fair to say that the month of December wouldn’t be our first choice to be out knocking doors.

I’ve been out and about all over Scotland speaking to people, and although the weather may have been cold, the reception for the SNP’s message in this campaign has been warm.

But while I’ve been out and about speaking to people, Boris Johnson seems to be going to all sorts of lengths to avoid scrutiny. He has dodged TV interviews and debates left, right and centre – and has done his level best to avoid speaking to ordinary voters in Scotland.

It is little wonder he refuses to be challenged on his policies when all the evidence is that they will cause such deep and lasting damage to our NHS, workers’ rights, the economy and to living standards for this and generations to come.

Boris Johnson’s repeated claim that Brexit will effectively be wrapped up by Christmas is the biggest con since the one painted on the side of the Vote Leave bus – and it demonstrates why people are right not to trust him.

The truth is that Brexit will not be ‘done’ any time soon – even if Boris Johnson succeeds in dragging Scotland out of the EU with the UK. What follows will be years – potentially decades – of arguing over trade deals and future relationships. Let’s remember that leaving was supposed to be the easy part.

This brings me to another issue that is on the line in this election – the NHS. Although health is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, meaning the Scottish Government has responsibility for running Scotland’s NHS, we don’t have control over things like trade negotiations – and these could have a fundamental effect on our health service.

Notwithstanding all the panicky denials during the campaign, we know that Boris Johnson is desperate to do a trade deal with Donald Trump. We also know that US drug firms want ‘full market access’ to the NHS, and we know that Donald Trump would jump at the chance to charge our NHS more for drugs.

All of that could be devastating for our NHS budget. Even a 20% increase in drug prices would take hundreds of millions of pounds out of the frontline NHS budget.

Putting the NHS up for negotiation in any such talks would threaten the founding principles of the health service. In short, a re-elected Boris Johnson government poses perhaps the biggest threat to the NHS in its 70-plus year history.

I believe people in Scotland deserve a lot better than this as their future – and in tomorrow’s election we have a chance to aim higher than Boris Johnson and the sorry mess of Brexit.

SNP MPs will demand an end to austerity, an extra £4 billion for Scotland’s NHS, as well as guaranteed protection for the NHS from a Trump trade deal. We will push for fairer pensions, enhanced maternity and parental leave, stronger action on climate change and an end to the misery of Universal two, the child cap on tax credits and the shameful rape clause.

And for Scotland, we can ensure that decisions about our future are made by the people who live here – not by Westminster.

That is the fundamental point of independence.

Scotland has so much potential. From our successful industries of renewables, tourism, financial services and life sciences, to our highly educated workforce – many countries can only dream of having the resources that we so often take for granted.

Independence would unlock all of this potential, and build a better and brighter future for the people living here.

But whatever your views on Scotland’s constitutional future, surely we can all agree that our future should be decided by people living here, and not imposed on us by the likes of Boris Johnson.

This election will not decide the question of independence – but it does give us a chance to protect Scotland’s right to choose our own future.

So I am asking people to look ahead – not just to the next few weeks, but towards the future we all want to see for Scotland.

Do we want 5 years of Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and the Brexit extremists, imposing draconian policies on Scotland and dragging us out of the EU against our will?

Or do we want Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands?

I think the choice is clear. And that brighter, better future is possible if Scotland votes SNP tomorrow.

First Minister refers herself to standards panel over Salmond investigation

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that she has referred herself to the panel of independent advisers on the Ministerial Code. 

The panel will look at the First Minister’s actions during an investigation into Alex Salmond.

Nicola Sturgeon made phone calls and had meetings with Mr Salmond while claims of sexual harassment – which he strongly denies – were being investigated.

Continue reading First Minister refers herself to standards panel over Salmond investigation