A QUESTION Time audience member who said he is not the First Minister’s biggest fan praised the Scottish Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic while slamming UK ministers.
The man spoke to Health and Social Care minister Helen Whately, who was on the “Glasgow” panel last night, telling her the “trust has gone” from her government.
The new socially distanced Question Time was able to take questions from audience members digitally last night, with all of those quizzing the panel members based in the city of Glasgow.
READ MORE: Question Time: Helen Whately shocks viewers with 'move on' claim
Whately’s performance on the episode was widely criticised online, while she was pulled up for suggesting the public needs to “move on” from mourning coronavirus victims.
She told viewers: “The important thing is every life lost is somebody we mourn with sadness but we also need to make sure we can move on and keep the infection under control and try to begin to get life more in the direction of normal.”
Whatever your politics, this man perfectly sums it up in 1 minute.@NicolaSturgeon's and @scotgov clarity, transparency and honest communication has been remarkable in this pandemic. It's tragic that Boris Johnson has failed on that front. #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/yM3jJ3lYTK
— Olaf Stando (@olafdoesstuff) May 28, 2020
She also struggled to explain self-isolation guidelines in the wake of the Dominic Cummings incident. The Prime Minister’s top adviser has been urged to resign after travelling 260 miles to Durham while sick with Covid-19 during lockdown.
The audience member was clearly frustrated with the minister. He told the panel: “THE First Minister today of Scotland, she said she was reticent to announce the move from lockdown that we’re moving into in Scotland now.
“I may not be her biggest fan, but from her coming out at half past 12 every day and talking to us personally, and giving us the brief she’s giving us, and then for the Westminster Parliament to do what’s happened over the last few weeks, say what they’ve said, and give that mistrust.
“Nobody’s going to tell me – and we’re going back to Cummings – that the height of government, the power they’ve got, things they can do, that people can get things done. It’s not like anything else that’s ever happened this pandemic is hitting us all hard. The trust is gone.
“And I don’t understand how you can sit there Helen and turn around and say to us that we’ve got to get the pandemic in control. Well to get the pandemic in control you need the public on your side. And that’s not what we’ve seen from the Westminster Government.”
Trust in the UK Government following the Cummings row was one of the main subjects discussed during last night’s programme
New polling figures this week, following the scandal, showed support for Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government during the crisis – while Boris Johnson and the UK Government’s approval ratings fell dramatically.
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