How should the Tories handle Nicola Sturgeon’s Covid devolution?

This week was meant to mark the moment the whole of the United Kingdom began to ease lockdown. Instead, it’s England that has become an outlier – moving to the slogan ‘Stay Alert’ while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland stick with ‘Stay Home’. With the devolved governments adopting different approaches to easing lockdown, Downing Street is facing a communication battle – and it’s the First Minister of Scotland who is leading the charge.

Before Boris Johnson even got to his desk on Sunday night to make his address to the nation on the roadmap out of lockdown, Sturgeon had taken to social media and the airwaves to criticise the Government’s new slogan. She suggested that now was the time for extra caution – and implied that Johnson’s approach was a risky one – suggesting a relaxation right now could be ‘catastrophic’.

Depending on which part of the UK you are in, you can now do different things. People