Coronavirus

Sorry for the late reply mate, had a few things to do after the game yesterday so didn't have time to get on here. I'll try my best to respond to each of your points without banging on too much. :LOL:(y)

My fundamental beef is that we have a government that is, in my opinion, using a genuine health emergency to push their own ideas.

See I don't believe the Scottish government have 'used' this public health emergency to push their own ideas, I believe they've had to step up as a government in a way they've never had to before because of the UK Government's utterly shambolic handling of this crisis! And if not their own ideas, who's ideas should they be pushing, Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson's? They and their party are the reason why the UK has the worst Covid fatality rate in the whole of Europe and one of the worst per capita in the entire world.

They don't have to pay for it just hold out their hands to london.

Scotland has always contributed more than it's fair share to the UK's coffers. If Scotland as a country and the Scottish Government are forced to hold their hands out to London then it's because the UK Government has been dipping Scotland's pockets since the Act of Union.

Since 2001 alone Scotland has sent £907bn+ south in tax receipts to the UK Treasury yet has only received £447bn back through its block grant. That means the UK Government has kept £460bn (over half) of all money raised through taxation in Scotland for itself for the last 19 years. Is it any wonder Scotland has to put it's hand out to London after nearly 20 years of seeing over half of it's wealth being funnelled into the UK Treasury's bank account!

Plus the UK Government doesn't pay for anything anyway, all of the money the UK Government spends is raised through taxation and borrowing. The money they spend is taxpayer's money and money they've borrowed from the financial sector and it's the taxpayer who will pay back what they've borrowed, Scottish taxpayers included!

If they had to deal with the whole picture including the economy they would be making different decisions. They are loving being in control without responsibility.

Does the first statement not cancel out the second statement a wee bit there? If the Scottish Government were truly in control then they WOULD have to deal with the whole picture and the whole economy, the fact that they are not having to means that the amount of control they actually have is limited and the UK Government still holds the bulk of it.

Truth is the Scottish Government controls what the UK Government allows it to and much of what it does control comes with a lot of responsibility and high operating costs but not with the necessary powers to operate and fund those responsibilities properly.

I agree if the Scottish Government did have to deal with the whole picture they would be making different decisions, but I reckon they'd be making better decisions than the ones they are now. Some of which they are forced into making because the UK Government still retains the bulk of control over Scotland's affairs.

I asked both Jason Leitch and my msp why can I not take an hours exercise when in quarantine. Response was basically here are the rules, follow them. Sorry for me that's dictating not engaging.

I agree with you on this one….finally we've found common ground Lmc! 😜 How they responded to your question is a disgrace. It's their job to engage and explain why these restrictions are necessary, to respond with 'here are the rules, follow them' is out of order and does come across as being dictatorial. What I would say though is that I don't think this has been the attitude displayed by Sturgeon herself or the Scottish Government as a whole during this.

At the start I did think Sturgeon was doing a good job but now the decisions are at best hap hazard. E.g. What a surprise they let students back and cases rise.Then after the horse has bolted they try to sort it.

Like I said in my response to Niall earlier if it were up to me Uni's and colleges wouldn't have been allowed back but it's not up to me and I'm not the one under political and societal pressure to bring them back. Personally I think it was a mistake for the very reasons we're seeing now, the same way I thought it was a mistake when she allowed schools back and we saw infection cases rise after that too!

The trouble is how long can she and her government reasonably delay these things because nobody has a clue how long this will go on. That's the balancing act they're having to perform and it can't be easy with limited powers and the pressure of rival politicians, press, media, schools, colleges, uni's, teachers, unions and everyone else and their granny having a different opinion on it and demanding airtight solutions when there are none.

Aye I accept that Sturgeon and her government have made mistakes, no doubt about that, but thank God for what powers they do have because if Boris Johnson and his toxic government had been in complete control then Scotland would be in a far worse state than it is now.

From herd immunity to delaying lockdown to PPE to ventilators to test, track and trace to the track and trace app and everything in-between all have been unmitigated disasters that have contributed to the deaths of thousands and has seen billions of £'s of taxpayer's money pissed away on failed projects. During this crisis they have awarded billions of £'s in PPE, ventilator, Covid testing etc. contracts to private companies ran by Tory party donors, corporate cronies and even members within their own party or people related to them who didn't even have the expertise in the required fields the contracts were related to meaning many of them failed to fulfil those contracts but got to keep the money.

Granted the Scottish Government are far from perfect and there's plenty to criticise them for but they're a million miles away from being the callous, crooked, incompetent and dangerous Tories!

Much respect to you Lmcbhoy for making your points and debating them in the way you have mate. Too often these discussions end up descending into a slagging match, good to know that people can still disagree without all that. All the best mate, stay safe and stay well. HH (y)
Shadow
Your comprehensive response is outstanding.
I am happy to agree to ( slightly) disagree
My only comment to conclude is that I would like the Scottish Government to give its citizens some belief in them taking personal responsibility ( you know I do understand social distancing) and not govern to the lowest common denominator, which I feel they are doing. Nanny state?
Maybe we can debate our respective views over a pint one day, obviously when the rules allow😉
Cheers mate
HH
 
We are IMHO heading into complete lock down with curfews. No fans at games for forseaable future, imo league will be postponed. Something drastic has to be taken to ensure all lives are saved. Restaurants and bars to be closed would help. We are all in this together all creeds all races. So the best thing to do is all follow government rules whether we like it or not. Case in point Dalmuir Station packed out no social distancing not a lot of facemasks on show either, all to watch Harry Potters hogwarts express. Irresponsible idiots, the are the same ones who will shout the loudest when lock down and curfews become normal. Apologies to anyone who finds my comments hurtful in any way. Stay safe God bless. 🙏🙏
 
We are IMHO heading into complete lock down with curfews. No fans at games for forseaable future, imo league will be postponed. Something drastic has to be taken to ensure all lives are saved. Restaurants and bars to be closed would help. We are all in this together all creeds all races. So the best thing to do is all follow government rules whether we like it or not. Case in point Dalmuir Station packed out no social distancing not a lot of facemasks on show either, all to watch Harry Potters hogwarts express. Irresponsible idiots, the are the same ones who will shout the loudest when lock down and curfews become normal. Apologies to anyone who finds my comments hurtful in any way. Stay safe God bless. 🙏🙏
Ahhh well that’s me cheered right up ffs🙈🙈🙈🙈
 
The last pandemic (Flu 1918) lasted 18 months. There was naebody jumpin aboot saying it wisna real though and pulling masks aff people like they were in the anti-mask protests in London at the weekend.
Any fucker tries that wi me I'll break their fuckin jaw, then bleed on them and tell them not to worry cos I don't believe in Hep C cos it's not real!!
 
We are IMHO heading into complete lock down with curfews. No fans at games for forseaable future, imo league will be postponed. Something drastic has to be taken to ensure all lives are saved. Restaurants and bars to be closed would help. We are all in this together all creeds all races. So the best thing to do is all follow government rules whether we like it or not. Case in point Dalmuir Station packed out no social distancing not a lot of facemasks on show either, all to watch Harry Potters hogwarts express. Irresponsible idiots, the are the same ones who will shout the loudest when lock down and curfews become normal. Apologies to anyone who finds my comments hurtful in any way. Stay safe God bless. 🙏🙏

A relative told me about that earlier this evening Ally. Crowds of folk and hardly any masks with the polis standing right beside them saying nowt.
 
The last pandemic (Flu 1918) lasted 18 months. There was naebody jumpin aboot saying it wisna real though and pulling masks aff people like they were in the anti-mask protests in London at the weekend.
Any fucker tries that wi me I'll break their fuckin jaw, then bleed on them and tell them not to worry cos I don't believe in Hep C cos it's not real!!
And I'll help you out
I'll haud yer jaiket
 
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