Politicians look forward to better times in 2022

Scots can look forward to a “better and brighter new year ahead”, Nicola Sturgeon has said, despite the “very significant threat” posed by Omicron.

The First Minister accepted that coronavirus restrictions mean that this is “not the Hogmanay we all wanted and hoped for”. 

But in her New Year message she reflected on the progress made against the virus, as well as Glasgow’s hosting of the Cop26 climate summit in November, saying it was “the most important international gathering ever held in this country”. 

The First Minister described 2021 as being a year which was “dominated by the challenges of Covid” as she praised health and care staff and those working to administer vaccines, who she said had “provided all of us with an incredible service”. 

Scotland has made “so much progress” in tackling the virus – but Ms Sturgeon said while this was a “real achievement” it made the renewed threat posed by the Omicron variant “all the more cruel”. 

She said: “The Omicron variant is a very significant threat. It means that at the moment, we need above all to keep each other safe. 

“We all need to stay at home, far more than we would want to at this time of year. And we have asked that you minimise new year socialising as much as you can. 

“So this is not the Hogmanay we all wanted and hoped for. 

“But I believe that we can still look ahead to 2022 with optimism.” 

That in part is down to vaccination, she said, thanking those who had come forward for booster doses. 

“In the coming year, our vaccination programme will continue to enable us to make our way back to greater normality,” Ms Sturgeon said. 

And while she warned there could be “setbacks” as Scotland seeks to recover from the pandemic, she added: “As we look back on the challenges we have faced this year, I believe we can also look forward to a much better and brighter new year ahead.” 

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said he too was “optimistic for 2022” after a “challenging” year. 

Despite the emergence of Omicron, he told Scots: “We shouldn’t forget that we are in a much better place than we were 12 months ago. 

“This time last year, the vaccination programme was in its infancy and results uncertain. 

“Now the UK is to the fore in the global struggle against the virus, with the vast majority of us safer thanks to vaccines and, after the Herculean efforts of the NHS over the past couple of weeks, booster jabs too.” 

He paid tribute to the scientists who developed the vaccines, as well as all NHS staff, volunteers and military personnel who “toiled tirelessly amid the greatest national effort of peacetime” to deliver them 

Mr Jack also thanked the public for their efforts, praising people for “looking out for your neighbours, and putting up with huge restrictions on your lives” as well as “rolling up your sleeves for injections that might well have saved your life and those of others around you”. 

Recovering from the pandemic is the UK’s priority, he added, as he recalled the “unprecedented” support given to businesses and individuals during the pandemic. 

Going forward he pledged the UK Government would work to bring freeports “which offer the conditions in which high-tech, high-end jobs can flourish, to Scotland”. 

He also said the Union Connectivity Review would “transform” the country’s transport network, adding: “By smoothing the flow of people and goods by road, rail, sea and air, we can deliver a better connected and therefore more prosperous UK.” 

Mr Jack said Scotland could “lead the world” in a green revolution, as he too spoke out about the Cop26 summit which “brought together the world in a spirit of joint endeavour to tackle the other great crisis of our times – the climate emergency”. 

He concluded: “Though no-one can be precise about when the misery of Covid will pass, I am sure that, together as one United Kingdom, better times are ahead for all.” 

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said that coronavirus had meant it had been “another challenging and difficult year”, saying 2021 would be “remembered not just for the global fight against Covid, but for the individual sacrifices and acts of kindness everyone made”. 

He said taking over the leadership of his party in February had been “the greatest honour of my life” as he pledged to continue his efforts to rebuild Labour. 

“I am determined to continue doing the hard work necessary to build the alternative and be worthy of your support,” Mr Sarwar said. 

“Scotland deserves better than two governments playing off each other and attempting to pull us apart. 

“As we enter 2022, let’s resolve this year to not just accept that this is the way it is, but pledge to change it – to build a different country based on unity, empathy and hope.” 

Meanwhile, just over a year on from the first vaccines being given, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said it was “miraculous” that so many Scots had now received booster doses. 

That vaccination means “2021 has allowed us to see real progress both in Scotland and across the world in our fight against the pandemic and allowed us to get back to some kind of normality”. 

While he said the the emergence of Omicron “feels like a setback” he insisted: “We are better prepared now than we’ve ever been to face the challenges it presents.” 

But he also noted this new strain of the virus “should remind us however, that for as long as big parts of the world remain unvaccinated then the emergence of new variants will keep happening”. 

He pledged the Scottish Lib Dems would work with others to “help find our way out of this pandemic” but also made clear that “where it matters, we will challenge the government too”. 

He insisted: “It’s vital for opposition parties to challenge the Government when they are suspending rights and freedoms, if there is not a demonstrable need to do so”. 

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie 2021 had been “fascinating year” for his party, as a co-operation agreement with the SNP took them into government for the first time. 

He said since then he and his fellow co-leader Lorna Slater had been “working hard” to implement that deal “which has as its core objective building a fairer, greener Scotland”. 

He also said that while the Cop26 summit “didn’t result in the kind of transformational action that is urgently required to tackle the climate crisis, there is no doubt that understanding of the issue has never been higher, and people are impatient for action”.