56 Million Cases

Actually, another one-and-a-half million coronavirus cases have been added onto the global tally. According to the Worldometers website, as at today 00:00 GMT, total infections number 56,550,546 cases.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) has upset Scots when he said that giving governing powers to Scotland had been a “disaster”. 

British media reported Johnson had made the remarks during a video meeting with Conservative Party legislators on Monday, in which he also said Scottish devolution had been former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s “biggest mistake”. 

Scotland has an Edinburgh-based government and Parliament, set up in 1999, with broad powers in areas including health and education. Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own legislatures and regional administrations. 

The Scottish National Party, which wants Scotland to become an independent country, leads the government in Edinburgh. Scotland voted to remain in the UK in a 2014 independence referendum that was billed as a once-in-a-generation event. 

But the SNP claim Brexit has fundamentally changed the situation by dragging Scotland out of the EU against its will and is pushing for a new independence vote. I believe a majority of Scots now favor independence. 

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (left) tweeted the following day that Johnson’s remarks showed his government was “a threat to the powers of the Scottish Parliament”. 

“The only way to protect & strengthen @ScotParl is with independence”, she declared.

#independence4scotland