The political motives behind the SNP’s Covid strategy

What motivated the Scottish government to take a more cautious approach to lockdown? Deviations from the UK government’s approach meant that those living north of the border often had to live with harsher restrictions compared to those in England, decisions that were widely assumed to be made on the basis of scientific advice. But now the Covid Inquiry has disclosed conversations that took place at the heart of government — and revealed how top academics were left confused by the SNP’s strategy.

Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Edinburgh University, told the inquiry on Wednesday that he ‘did not understand’ the Scottish government’s ‘very, very cautious’ pandemic strategy during the summer months of 2020. Hinting that the Scottish government may have been more interested in politics than public health, Woolhouse remarked that the government didn’t quite manage to convey the health benefits of their tentative approach to easing restrictions, adding: ‘It seemed to be important to the politicians that it was more cautious than the one in England, so they were emphasising that.