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It is easy to think that policy during this pandemic has been driven from the faces that

we see behind lecterns on our TV screens.

But in truth, every week, for most of the past year, four health ministers, one from each

of the nations of the United Kingdom, have met.

One of them is Jean Freeman, who is Scotland's health minister.

A former adviser to a Labour First Minister of Scotland, she is now a prominent minister

in the S&P government.

If Scotland becomes an independent country as the S&P wants, historians may well look

to the pandemic as the moment the national mood for change hardened.

Jean Freeman, welcome to Political Thinking.

Hello.

Now, you're not running in this election.

You're retiring from frontline politics.

Would you be relieved to escape the pressure of Covid, something which I imagine has dominated

your life day and night?

It's a bit of a mixed response, to be honest, Nick.

There is, of course, a bit of me that will be relieved to not be doing seven days a week,

12, 14 hour days, which is what the past 15 months have necessarily been.

But there's also a bit of me that would still like to be in charge of recovering our NHS

and doing things a bit differently from how we've done it before.

So that probably says more about me believing that, you know, I know what's right to do

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