The greatest power in our political system is the power to set the bounds of what politics can achieve. Devolution is a 'disaster' – because it shows exactly how different things can be. At a time when Boris Johnson is under pressure for his chaotic handling of the COVID-19 crisis, it must be frustrating to have a devolved administration dealing with the pandemic in a way that inspires public confidence. The Scottish government’s approach hasn’t been flawless, of course. But compared to the UK government’s response it looks impeccable.
Where the UK government seemed most interested in giving huge contracts to well-connected friends in a ‘chumocracy’, the Scottish government sounded more interested in the health of the Scottish people. As Alex Massie points out in the Spectator, the latest Scottish Social Attitudes Survey shows 61% of Scottish people trust the Scottish government to act in the national interest, just 15% of trust the UK government to do so. And Nicola Sturgeon is more trusted in England than England’s own prime minister.
When it emerged early on in the pandemic that the Scottish chief medical officer had broken lockdown rules by visiting her second home, she was removed within 48 hours. Dominic Cummings – who’d travelled the length of England with coronavirus symptoms – was indulged with months more in post, until being ousted in a bizarre soap opera.
