Who would be Neil Gray? Eight short days ago, Mr Gray was the Scottish Government’s Economy Secretary. Scotland’s economy is not in good shape, but Mr Gray was doing a near-universally acknowledged good job in reassuring the business community that he "got it". He did ‘get it’. He spoke the language of those who create wealth and jobs, and who build the economy that we need in order to pay for the public services that we want.

Indeed, as someone who put Mr Gray into those conversations as part of my job as a lobbyist, I can tell you, reader, that he was well-liked and well-regarded by that business community. They were content with him in that job.

But he is no longer. Michael Matheson’s resignation created a gap and, as the Cabinet’s designated safe-pair-of-hands, Mr Gray was destined to fill it. He is now the Health Secretary. Scottish politics’ worst job.

Read more by Andy Maciver: We are entitled to be enraged about the Covid lockdown

The NHS is a curious beast in that it has long amalgamated two seemingly juxtaposed positions amongst the people. We complain about it all the time, usually because we cannot get a GP appointment, or because we wait for most of the day at the Emergency Department, or because we wait years degenerating in extreme pain for a routine joint replacement. And yet we express love for it, almost in the way that a follower might express love for a cult leader, and just in case any amongst us are thinking about leaving the commune we remind ourselves of its irreplaceability by painting our postboxes blue and daubing "Thank You NHS" on them.........

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