Sarwar’s red card for Sturgeon over mixed messaging and penalty kicks

By Bill Heaney

Confusion is writ large across Covid-19 government communications dealing with the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and the restrictions that go with it .

Labour leader Anas Sarwar told First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today that the Government had previously communicated well during the pandemic, “but that has started to slip, risking public trust and confidence”.

He added: “In recent weeks, we have allowed 3,000 football fans to attend a fan zone, but parents cannot attend an outdoor sports day. Trampoline centres can open, but soft play centres cannot.

“Hospitality venues can open late for penalties [football games failing to finish before closing time] but the Government says that it is not safe for them to do so on other days.

“We have had an avoidable public argument between the Scottish Government and the mayor of greater Manchester [Andy Burnham].

“If we are to navigate the coming months, communications have to be clear and decisions consistent.

“The Government’s own polling said that one in five people did not know what was expected of them, and that was before those recent decisions were announced.

“Now the hospitality sector, the aviation sector, the wedding industry, retailers, children’s play centres and more are speaking out to express their frustration.”

He pleaded with Ms Sturgeon to change her approach to restrictions, engage and listen to the public and adopt a can-do approach to this new stage of our pandemic response?

Labour leader Anas Sarwar received sharp edge of Sturgeon’s tongue.

The First Minister scolded Mr Sarwar: “What I will do is avoid easy slogans such as ‘can-do approach’. It is really important that we continue to move forward cautiously.

“We all want to get back to normal. We have a greater degree of normality than we have had at almost any time in the past 15 months, but there is a further distance to travel. However, we have to do that carefully.

“Reported case numbers for yesterday another rise of just short of 3,000 cases, and there is a positivity rate of, I believe, 7.7 per cent. Case numbers are rising and we have to be cautious.

“Communication is very important. As we come out of restrictions, things—we hope—will get easier in many ways, but they will also get more complicated, so communication will be more challenging.

“Nobody knows that better than I do. I will continue to do my level best to communicate clearly with people the reasons why certain decisions have been taken and why some things can happen and other things cannot, even though that appears to be inconsistent.

“As I make use of the media briefings over the summer recess—I think they have stood the country in good stead over the past 15 months—I hope that I will not hear any further criticism for that from Anas Sarwar’s deputy [Jackie Baillie MSP, Dumbarton], as I have at many points over the past few months. I agree that communication to the public is important.

“Many of the decisions that Anas Sarwar has talked about were reached for pragmatic reasons. The change regarding opening times during football matches that might go to penalties is meant to prevent people from crowding out of pubs at the same time while they are still wanting to watch football.

“It is about trying to avert a risk in a pragmatic way. Similarly, the fan zone decision is about trying to ensure that there is a relatively safe environment for fans, given the regulations, because we recognise that, no matter what I say, people want to watch the football.

“I understand that those things can be difficult for people to accept. This is possibly one of the most difficult phases of the pandemic, as we try to navigate our way from here back to normality, while knowing that there are still a lot of risks that we have to avoid or get around.

“Lastly, although the decisions are the Government’s and I take responsibility for them, every single decision that is taken is informed by clinical advice, so that we get those decisions right as far as we possibly can.”

In other words, Ms Sturgeon pointed out to one and all present that she IS the government and that what she says goes.

Anas Sarwar told her: “The First Minister misses the point—the can-do approach is not about a slogan. She should speak to individual businesses. Every single member who has walked down the Royal Mile to come into the Parliament will have seen how frustrated the businesses there are. They are what I mean by ‘a can-do approach’. Behind every business, there are people trying their best to get by.

“I accept that we have to be cautious and careful. I am not saying that the Scottish Government needs to defend the decisions, and I am not saying that the decisions are deliberate. The First Minister can say that she is listening, but businesses do not believe that she is listening; they think that she is telling them what to do rather than engaging with them. She gave the example of the Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance, which today said that the decisions do not go far enough and that the Government is still not communicating effectively with it.

“The issue is about more than financial support. These businesses and individuals have spent 15 months working out how to operate safely. It would be different if it was just one sector, but it is more than just one sector—sector after sector is speaking out publicly about the Government’s poor communication and inconsistent decision making. The Government’s current approach is not working for this stage of the pandemic and it needs to change.”