Business frustration mounts over Sturgeon’s cautious pandemic approach

Over the past year, Nicola Sturgeon and her Scottish National party government have enjoyed high public approval ratings for their handling of the coronavirus crisis. But as hotel owner Stephen Montgomery puts it, many businesses see things a “wee bit differently”.

The Scottish government’s “ridiculous” bans on alcohol sales by bars and hotels have shown they “just have no understanding of the way hospitality works”, said Montgomery, whose hotel and restaurant-bar in south-west Scotland has been badly hit by the pandemic. “They have listened to us, but they haven’t implemented anything we say,” he said.

Such frustration, widely shared among businesses in Scotland’s travel, hospitality and retail sectors, stems in large part from the more cautious approach Sturgeon has taken to easing lockdown over the past year compared with that of the UK government for England.

On Friday the SNP government did implement an earlier-than-expected loosening of the restrictions on outdoor gatherings, with six adults from six households now allowed to meet at a time and travel outside the local council area permitted for recreation and exercise. However, the easing, which Sturgeon said was aimed particularly at boosting “mental health and wellbeing”, brought few direct benefits to business.

So far this does not appear to have dented the widespread support for the SNP and polls suggest the party is on course for a landslide in Scottish parliamentary elections on May 6 that Sturgeon hopes will provide a platform to push for a second referendum on independence from the UK.

Yet some political rivals believe public patience with Scottish first minister’s approach may be running out. The Scottish Conservatives have made a demand for a quicker exit from lockdown part of their campaign and accused the SNP of keeping Scotland “stuck in the slow lane”.

Dissatisfaction among companies in the hospitality, travel and retail sectors has been fuelled by the SNP’s reluctance to set out detailed plans for leaving lockdown despite rapidly falling Covid-19 cases and deaths.

“Businesses in Scotland are increasingly frustrated by what has been described as the abundance of caution deployed by the Scottish government when it comes to emerging from lockdown,” said Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.

Pubs and restaurants in England resumed serving customers outdoors on April 12. Scotland will not allow that until two weeks later on April 26.

There is anger in the travel sector at Sturgeon’s refusal to follow the UK government in exempting travellers from many countries from supervised quarantine or to give at least an indication, like in England, when foreign holidays might resume.

“We’ve lost sight of the overall value of travel both economically and socially and it is increasingly difficult to plan for a recovery without a clear road map or even indicative dates from the Scottish government,” said Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport.

A survey of Scottish voters by YouGov for The Times last month found marked declines in approval for the SNP government’s handling of lockdown compared with last August.

But the poll still found 70 per cent of Scottish voters thought Sturgeon was managing the coronavirus pandemic well overall, compared with just 19 per cent who said the same of UK prime minister Boris Johnson.

That gulf between the two leaders reflects in part what even her political rivals accept has been clearer communication of coronavirus policy by Sturgeon than Johnson.

The SNP can also point to overall coronavirus death rates that — while high by international standards — have been proportionally lower in Scotland than in England.

Comparisons between the two nations are complicated by differences of geography and demography but health experts said the data suggested Sturgeon’s earlier tightening of restrictions late last year helped ensure a lower second peak of deaths than in England.

The comparison with England has also helped soften the political impact of shortcomings in the Scottish government’s response to the crisis, such as initially insufficient stocks of personal protective equipment and the failure to protect care home residents.

But similar mistakes were made in England and excess death figures for care homes throughout the pandemic suggest a heavier coronavirus toll south of the Scottish border.

Opponents of Scottish independence have sought to highlight the success of the UK’s coronavirus vaccines programme.

The SNP was previously scathing about Johnson’s decision not to join an EU vaccine procurement effort, claiming last August that his “short-sighted and increasingly isolationist approach” would hinder efforts to control Covid-19.

Yet the UK scheme, which procured vaccines on behalf of all four nations, has so far been one of the most successful globally.

Sturgeon faced some criticism over the relatively slow initial vaccine rollout by Scottish health system. But its focus on giving care home residents the jabs first appears to have paid off in lower deaths and vaccination rates are now similar across the UK.

More significantly for the elections may be whether voters are persuaded by the SNP’s arguments that business would only be able to trade normally again if coronavirus was successfully suppressed.

“We have always said that if it is possible and safe to lift restrictions earlier we will do so,” Kate Forbes, SNP finance secretary, said in a statement.

Forbes rejected complaints that government support for business has been slow and incomplete, insisting Scottish funding for such assistance was actually more generous than in England.

Andrew McRae, Scotland policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said grant funding had been too slow both north and south of the border.

“The Scottish government have chosen to launch a slew of support schemes, which means the landscape is more complex than in England, but likely a smaller share of operators have lost out completely,” McRae said.

Conversely, companies have praised the Scottish government’s extension of full business rates relief for the current fiscal year for those operating in retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation.

But even if, as polls suggest, Sturgeon cruises back into power on May 6, her government will have much to do to repair relations with many in the private sector.

Cameron, of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said the next government should act quickly to cut business costs and boost trade. “Fundamentally businesses and Scottish government need a reset,” she said.