Tom Harwood: Had we had our time again, a 'one UK' pandemic policy would have been better for everyone

Yesterday First Minister Nicola Sturgeon finally and begrudgingly caught up with England on reducing mandatory self isolation from ten days to seven.

Good news, albeit a little late to the uptake.Yet this decision was startling at odds with the views of one Nicola Sturgeon just a couple of weeks ago.

On 17th December, this is what she had to say to Scottish Mail political editor Mike Blackley after he asked the First Minister if the isolation period could be reduced.

She responded ‘that would really help because that would spread infection even further, and that would be not doing any favours to businesses. I don’t think you’ve been listening to a word I said'.

What an extraordinarily arrogant response. Can you imagine any UK Government Minister getting away with talking to the media like that? There would be uproar. Calls for resignation.

Guardian opinion pieces about how the UK had descended to dark 1930s style despotism.But Saint Nicola apparently gets away with it.

She can be atrociously dismissive and downright rude, all before delivering a humiliating U-turn, yet then somehow be praised to the rafters by much of our country's supine media.

I cant help but think that if the SNP received half as much scrutiny as the Tory Party they would be in a far weaker position.

This has been the story of the pandemic, Scottish policy not differing all that wildly to English policy, but far less scrutiny over the decisions of devolved administrations.

This is one reason why we should all welcome a comprehensive UK wide inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

I fear very much that one of its conclusions will inevitably be the she sheer folly of that haphazard and rushed decision to devolve all aspects of pandemic policy.

Had we had our time again a 'one UK' policy would have been better for everyone.