THE Scottish Government’s regular televised coronavirus briefings have been happening for the best part of a year. During that time, Nicola Sturgeon has led the overwhelming majority of the briefings with the Health Secretary filling in on occasion.

The First Minister is always flanked by experts and the technical and scientific questions are answered by them. After a statement which includes an update on new cases, hospitalisations and deaths, Sturgeon takes questions from journalists. The whole thing lasts about an hour, though it sometimes goes on a bit longer.

If you watch the daily briefings you will already be familiar with the format. I’m stating the obvious for people like the Tories’ Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, who clearly don’t tune in very often. Last week, he argued Nicola Sturgeon should be removed from the daily briefing and replaced with an expert. This isn’t the first time his party – as well as some Scottish Labour figures – have made such a demand.

So let’s break it down, shall we? Because this nonsense needs to stop. No, Nicola Sturgeon should not be taken off-air purely to soothe the damaged egos of mediocre politicians such as Alister Jack.

His claim that the daily briefing is nothing more than “The Nicola Sturgeon Show” is, frankly, an insult to the intelligence of the public.

We are in the middle of a pandemic. Across the UK, more than 100,000 people have died. People are worried, anxious and mentally exhausted.

The daily briefings are not perfect. Journalists would prefer to have follow-up questions. I’m sure Nicola Sturgeon being front and centre every week probably has contributed to her high-approval ratings and the polls that show the public think she has done a good job in her response to the pandemic. Maybe, some people might even vote for her party at the next election because they have seen more of her and like what they see.

That is not, as Alister Jack suggests, a reason to take her off air. He openly admitted in his interview with The Herald that his demands are not based on serving the public or finding a way to better communicate information to them. He said that if she continues to front the daily briefings then the SNP would gain an unfair electoral advantage ahead of the May election.

That is Mr Jack’s only concern. I suppose we should give him some credit for at least being honest about it.

READ MORE: Alister Jack complains BBC's 'Nicola Sturgeon Show' should be cut before election

For as used to we have become to hearing the phrase “led by the science” – scientists and chief medical officers are not making the decisions here. What restrictions are in place, who is affected by them, whether schools open or close, the vaccine deployment plan: all of those are the Scottish Government’s responsibility.

The public deserves to hear from the people who are making the decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods so enormously. They deserve to see Nicola Sturgeon scrutinised for her Government’s decisions and to hear her explain the rationale behind the sacrifices she is asking us all to make.

And while we’re at it: the people of England deserve that, too. Boris Johnson dodges as many of his own briefings as he can, punting them to people like his Housing Secretary or (when he wants to put the frighteners on) Priti Patel.

His appearances are so infrequent and sporadic that when he does decide to hold one it provokes a breaking news alert. That’s not good enough. Accountability is key in times of crisis. Some politicians handle it better than others. But you don’t punish the public because you are worried that your opponent is good in front of a camera.

I expect we will hear more about this manufactured row in the coming weeks. Rather than focusing on offering a positive vision or displaying a level of competence to try to win votes, the Scottish Tories are wasting everybody’s time with petty politics.

Nicola Sturgeon isn’t standing in front of a camera offering everybody free gin and ice cream. The daily briefings aren’t fun. It is not good telly. She’s not doing stand-up or tap dancing for feck sake.

The First Minister is answering for her Government’s policies, successes and failures. She is more often than not the bearer of bad news. And the Scottish Tories are worried that in doing this, she’s becoming too likable? If that is what they fear then I suggest their problems run far deeper than Nicola Sturgeon.

The BBC should not capitulate to this selfish and self-centred party politics. It is not its job to provide “balance” in trying to curb the popularity of a politician ahead of an election. As we saw the last time this idea was floated, nobody beyond the ultra-Unionist fringes would support such a move.

Some things matter so much more than party politics. Keeping the public informed and providing a continuity of messaging and format during a pandemic is one such thing.