A year in lockdown: 'It's been very hard not to have all the answers'

Cabinet secretaries and ministers are amongst those to share how they’ve coped with the year of heartache and struggle affecting their communities.

And they’ve told of the personal and professional pressures they’ve faced as soaring numbers of calls for help reached their offices.

Stuart McMillan’s Greenock and Inverclyde constituency was badly affected in the early weeks of the outbreak, with the region suffering the country’s highest death rate in the first wave.

“There has been a dramatic increase in enquires and casework,” he says, noting that the area now has amongst the lowest infection rates. “There have been occasions where my caseload has increased fourfold.

“My constituents adapted to the new way of life for us all and have, by and large, stuck to the Covid guidance. We are better for it today but we shall never forget those people we have lost from our community.

“We in Inverclyde are resilient,” he goes on. “We have had to be over the decades and we will come out of Covid more together.”

Labour’s Pauline McNeill found many of those seeking help from her team had “never contacted an MSP before”, including business owners seeking financial support.

She’s often worked 14-hour shifts, while Fulton MacGregor of the SNP says juggling work and childcare was a “challenge”.

“Being a member of parliament with a four and seven-year -old is a challenge at the best of times,” he says. “It’s even more difficult sitting in meetings over video call. There’s been a lot of iPad time for them.”

One minister, speaking anonymously, says he’s seen a “massive increase in work-related stress”. “I’ve become much more aware of my own mental health and the need to take a break,” he says. “Even a few hours fresh air makes a difference.”

Michael Russell, the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs Secretary, says the long hours he “has always worked” have gotten longer, “particularly since last autumn as the Brexit situation came to a conclusion” amidst the health crisis.

“I think all of us have felt the pressure,” he says. “I am full of admiration for all those who have worked so hard to help through the NHS, providing financial help, support through the local authority,” he goes on.

“Everyone has wanted to do their best and has tried to do so.”

While most MSPs have spent little time in the parliament building over the pandemic – Alasdair Allan describes travelling through Glasgow Airport en route to Lewis as “a ghostly and at times almost solitary experience – her role as deputy presiding officer has taken Linda Fabiani there more than most. Parliament, she says, is “a strange place without the public milling about”.

Fellow deputy presiding officer Christine Grahame says the period has seen “a lot of tough stuff happening because of lockdown”. “There has been no break at all since March last year,” she says. “Most folk are considerate. A very few are selfish.”

Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson says the community response in her area has “been outstanding”. “This is the type of community spirit and care for each other,” she says. “We don’t want to lose going forward.”

Paisley MSP George Adam says that’s true of his town. “For me, Paisley has always had a very positive and vibrant spirit but the last 12 months have only highlighted the sense of family and togetherness we are very lucky to have here,” the SNP chief whip says.

Covid-19 has been, according to Midlothian North and Musselburgh’s Colin Beattie, “the biggest challenge for our country since World War 2”.

The “uncertainty and fear” was hard to deal with, Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley says.

“The early deaths in the care homes were horrendous for families and it was very difficult when there was little any individual politician could do.”

“It’s been hard not to have all the answers,” says Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin. “People get into politics because they want to fix things – and when you can’t, it’s tough-going.”

Central Scotland MSP Monica Lennon says Covid has “exposed and exacerbated inequalities in our society and the next parliament must urgently take bold anti-poverty measures” , while Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) agrees too many people are “falling through the cracks for funding”.

Richard Lyle of the SNP says he’s seen “heartbreaking” cases of hardship, including “constituents who had a good lifestyle but now have no work or not able to work”.

“They want answers that even I can’t give,” he went on.

Miles Briggs of the Tories says issues like differing health guidance from London and Edinburgh have “demonstrated the need for closer working between both of Scotland’s governments”.

For Rhoda Grant of Labour, “frustration” has been the hardest part. “As a country, we were completely and utterly unprepared,” she says.

“There are people who have received no support whatsoever and are having to shed jobs and these are people who could have easily been helped without creating a huge amount of extra work.

“People could easily be helped with a more responsive system.”

“There have been huge mistakes made, especially with the lack of planning, despite warnings,” says her party colleague Neil Findlay MSP. “The school exams fiasco was very difficult, and the impact on people’s mental health.”

MSPs are not “immune” to such issues themselves, the SNP's Ruth Maguire says. “I 'attended' a friend's funeral sitting at my desk watching it on a screen," she goes on.

“Knowing that there would have been a big turnout that would have provided some comfort to his family, and not having the opportunity to have a cuppa and a catch up and reminisce with friends, was painful.

“I have at various times throughout the year felt sad, worried, exhausted and stressed - sometimes all at once.

“In some ways, what we’ve faced this last year has provided perspective. I no longer feel stressed or worried about smaller things.”