Thread by @DrMoragKerr

@liz6153 @suzybongoes @ABalharry62 It's fair to note that she didn't and doesn't have Jacinda Ardern's power to close borders completely. It's utterly unrealistic to ignore the fact that she did and does have a lot of scope within the devolved settlement to institute measure that could have massively mitigaged...

@liz6153 @suzybongoes @ABalharry62 ... the enormous death toll. Right now she tells us, almost helplessly, that "almost all travel between Scotland and England is currently illegal," and so it is. It could have been made illegal last spring and summer under exactly the same legislative powers, but she bottled it.

@liz6153 @suzybongoes @ABalharry62 But now that it is (technically) illegal, we're not in any better a situation because she refuses to police it. She allows Police Scotland to tell everyone not to worry, they won't be stopping cars, it will all be "light touch" and sensitive. We have a travel ban that isn't.

@liz6153 @suzybongoes @ABalharry62 Many, many countries have closed internal borders. Australia is particularly interesting in that respect with local residents helping to police the state borders and the state with the biggest problem at one time (NSW?) facing the fact that no matter how big its outbreak, ...

@liz6153 @suzybongoes @ABalharry62 ... it was absolutely going to have to eliminate the virus if it ever wanted travel between it and the rest of Australia to be resumed. Germany closed borders between the Lander several times. But bloody Sturgeon says (incorrectly) "this virus doesn't respect borders," and...

@liz6153 @suzybongoes @ABalharry62 ... simply allows anyone to come and go anywhere they like. That's what killed thousands after the summer suppression. Of course this virus respects borders. It can only travel in the bodies of human beings, and borders are designed to control movement of human beings.

@liz6153 @suzybongoes @ABalharry62 She seems to realise this more than she did last summer (what was she actually *smoking* last summer?) but even now her lack of resolve and continual deference to how WM wants to play it is going to screw us over again.