Freedom can’t come soon enough after a long year-and-a-half of Covid restrictions.
But the Scottish Government’s cautious approach is much more welcome than Downing Street’s gung-ho attitude to public health.
The decision by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to continue with the mandatory wearing of face masks, even as restrictions are relaxed, might be marked by some as an attempt by Holyrood to differentiate itself from Westminster.
But it is the Tory Government which is out of step – with the rest of the world.
No other country has stopped using face masks and ended social distancing while infection rates are soaring.
Boris Johnson, apparently bored with the pandemic measures, has decided that enough is enough and has thrown responsibility for public safety back on to each individual.
In an ideologically-driven experiment to make a point, he wants to prove that people are best placed to look after their own interests.
But Johnson’s lack of leadership will come at a cost to those who are vulnerable and have no way of knowing if people they meet are infectious or not.
It may be frustrating, but, after the loss of so many lives and the damage which Covid has caused, a safety-first approach is the right way to steer the country back to normality.
Reverse the cut
As well as ensuring some of the world’s poorest people suffer as a result of a £4 billion cut to international aid, the UK Government is determined to impoverish people across the country by clawing back the £20 uplift to Universal Credit later this year.
The Tories will leave out-of-work families unable to meet their needs unless there is a rethink.
It is estimated that 20,000 children in Scotland alone could be left worse off by scrapping the uplift.
If Johnson was serious about “levelling up” then he would reverse the cut to Universal Credit which the Daily Record has called to be made permanent.
Devolved welfare powers have allowed the Scottish Government to set up a £10-a-week child payment which they have said they will double.
Campaigners have urged SNP ministers to fix a date for the increase to make sure it happens before the Universal Credit uplift is scrapped.
It is vital that Holyrood fulfils the promise to increase the payment in good time or vulnerable families will pay the price.
