‘The First Pandemic Election’

There are elections all over Britain today. In Scotland, there is a general election for the Scottish Parliament.

This election here was a bit different from previous ones. Campaigning was muted, with no public meetings and very little face-to-face contact generally, and with a number of measures taken to ensure safety at polling stations today.

To allow for social distancing, the number of people allowed in the polling station at any one time is limited and hand sanitiser was available outside the actual polling station for use on entering and leaving. Face coverings were also to be worn in the polling station itself.

There are no pencils - attached to a piece of string - available in the polling booth itself to use to mark your choice. Instead, people are encouraged to bring their own. 

I was up early to vote - the sort of Scotland we  are going to live in is an important issue for me - and already at 8am there was a queue to get in. (Extra photo)