THE SNP have now been in power for 14 years – and for 13 of those, Scotland was not in the grip of a deadly pandemic.
But Nicola Sturgeon and her ministers have suggested the Covid crisis is responsible for the Scottish Government not meeting its aims, such as eliminating the poverty-related attainment gap in schools or slashing hospital waiting times.
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So, is blaming the pandemic justified? Or is it just an excuse for failure?
Political reporter DAN VEVERS stops the clock at when the Covid crisis hit — as we examine the SNP’s record up to that point, and whether they kept their promises to you.
SIX years ago Nicola Sturgeon insisted education was her top priority — as she vowed to get rid of the exam results chasm between rich and poor pupils.
But that hasn’t happened. In fact, Audit Scotland reported in March that the poverty gap “remains wide”.
The watchdog found that in 2018/19, the proportion of school leavers achieving five or more awards at National 5 was 82.7 in the least deprived areas, compared to 46.5…
