All in it together?

The new under-secretary of state for Scotland has been appointed. An English MP. Does this mean that he trusts no Scottish MPs, not even his own Tories?

Watching things play out in the USA this past week my other half commented that some of the scenes were reminiscent of events in the 50s and 60s. My comment was that things are not too different in the UK at the moment. Class, Race and how much money you have still separates us. These things still determine what kind of life you will have. At the moment they are determining whether you live or die.

Westminster has ceased (if indeed they ever started) to be concerned about the health of the people of the UK. Yes, their change of rules will affect us as the English will travel up here and bring the virus with them. Some already have done. We have enough Scots from our cities coming into the country without knowing whether they are carrying the virus. I cannot fathom why so many people have no fear of catching it.

To force people back to work while there are still hundreds dying is bad. To remove shielding support from our vulnerable is downright immoral. To insist that Scottish MPs return to Westminster to work when the Scottish First Minster is advising people to work from home is unbelievable. I saw a picture of MPs queuing to vote on Tuesday afternoon. They were snaked around Westminster hall and supervised by staff to maintain 2 metre distance so they could eventually approach a table to allow the person sitting their to physically record how they were voting. How long did this take? All could have been done safely and quicker by the press of a button. This is the 21st century, all the MPs have technology at home and the Government of Westminster should be making better use of it. The prime Minister and his team are quite frankly putting too many lives at risk. I am coming to the conclusion that because the Prime Minister can’t cope with changes everyone else has to suffer. 

It is becoming clear that too many people are not willing to change. Many folk I socialise with online on a personal basis seem to be in no hurry to get back out into the big bad world. In online groups however I see too many comments that show people see no problem getting back into crowds.

The demonstrations going on in the USA concern me greatly. Yes, they have the right to protest and it is disgusting that the authorities can be so racist, but they are all risking their lives. It is not really surprising that this has erupted. The things the President of the USA gets away with saying on a public platform are downright disgusting. Since he first became a candidate for The President, he has been inciting the white supremacists and degrading the people of colour and people who do not agree with his views. He is nothing more than a nasty bully and America should be ashamed to have this man as their leader. The Americans I know are deeply ashamed. I seem to have an instinct to stay away from racist, far right people. When they come into my social grouping, I feel very uncomfortable.

When this virus subsides enough to allow us to get back to some sort of normal life, I hope people will remember how they felt, what they learned and observed. I hope we will continue to be nicer to each other. When you look at the guidance from Westminster in dealing with covid19 the one thing that is clear is that we are not all in this together. There are rules for some but not for others.  I hope people will remember how the Scottish Government treated you and that you now see we are more than capable of running our own Independent country.