THE Scottish Tories manufacturing a row over Nicola Sturgeon forgetting to put a face mask on for a few seconds is part of a cynical bid to distract voters from partygate.
It’s no coincidence that a police report was lodged against the FM after a difficult week of campaigning for Douglas Ross - where disgusted voters trashed Tory pamphlets during a botched leafleting session in Edinburgh.
Add to that the numerous Tory council candidates The National have exposed, polling predicting the Tories vote share falling behind Labour in the local elections and the Prime Minister and Chancellor being fined, with reportedly more on the way, for lockdown breaches and boozy partying during the height of lockdown - it has not been the best week to be a Scottish Tory.
Yet instead of campaigning on policies, they have opted for petty politicking instead.
READ MORE: Orange walk marches to ramp up as sixfold increase planned in Scotland this year
First Minister face mask ‘breach’ does not equate to partygate
THERE was one person in Scotland given a fixed penalty notice by police for refusing to wear a face covering in the last six months of 2021, the most recent data available shows.
The rule which made this a legal requirement moved into legal guidance on Monday, just two days after the First Minister was filmed in a barbershop in East Kilbride on the campaign trail.
A minor slip is not the same as a Prime Minister enforcing strict lockdown rules on the public whilst not abiding by them himself, and presiding over a systemic culture of drinking, boozing and rule-breaking in Downing Street whilst hundreds of people were dying every day during the height of the pandemic.
The Scottish Tories know this - otherwise they wouldn’t have en-masse called for the PM’s resignation before a convenient pre-election U-turn - but they will still take any opportunity to take a dig at the FM to distract from their own woes.
On top of that, one of those who complained to the police was former Scots Tory treasurer Moray Jane Lax - who was suspended from the party in 2019 after a vile tweet about the FM’s miscarriage.
Us for Them, an anti-Covid rules campaign which describes itself as a parents group and is against masks in schools, also picked up on the row by sharing more images of a maskless FM in a bid to stoke further fury.
This is not about public safety - this is point scoring in its simplest form.
READ MORE: ‘Rogue’ Prime Minister Prime Minister faces Commons vote on partygate fines
Scottish Tories do not understand irony
THROUGHOUT the pandemic the Scottish Tories have positioned themselves as the party against lockdown - despite Boris Johnson imposing similar rules in England, and other devolved nations keeping rules in place longer than Westminster.
They were furious when the First Minister extended the mask mandate by a few weeks when cases were still relatively high earlier this year, but were quick to criticise when the barber's video emerged.
That they are also trying to claim that the FM set the rules for the public and didn't abide by them, but are currently refusing to criticise the PM for doing exactly that, but worse, is clearly lost on them.
And that wasn’t the only attempt the Tories had this week at attacking the FM - with numerous MSPs sharing the same image of a Volvo saloon in the background of a promotional shoot for an election campaign event, claiming the FM was a hypocrite for her “life of luxury”.
This is what entitlement looks like. Next time Nicola Sturgeon starts attacking others, remember the life of luxury she lives as First Minister at our expense - photographer, chauffeur and a limo at her beck and call. pic.twitter.com/oEfHv0dLC5
— Craig Hoy MSP (@CraigWHoy1) April 15, 2022
When that fell flat, the Tories took a different tact instead.
But they’ve backed themselves into a corner, the MSP group eerily silent as the news of the PM’s fixed penalty notice emerged, but evidently happy to co-ordinate social media attacks against the FM.
If the Scottish Tories truly believe the public will be easily duped into forgetting the biggest political scandals of our lifetime - or that Ross has any backbone after his U-turn on calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation - then they are in for a surprise on May 6.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel