A man living in East Lothian has called on Scotland to clap for Nicola Sturgeon tomorrow night.
Howard Begg, 63, wants people to pay tribute to the First Minister by putting their hands together on Friday evening.
He spoke to Emma Duncan from the East Lothian Courier, revealing that he usually works for Taylor Wimpey but is currently furloughed.
He wants people to clap between 6pm and 6.10pm on Friday, May 22.
He said: “I want people to take part and do it to say thank you to Nicola for the way she has handled the outbreak and as a thank you for not being bullied by Westminster.
“She’s doing what she thinks is best for Scotland. She’s doing a good job.
“I think she needs recognition and appreciation for what she’s done. She’s looked at all of the advice and doing what she can.
“There has been an amazing response so far - it’s been incredible.
“People can clap for a few minutes or 30 seconds or whatever they want.”
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon leads nation in "Clap For Our Carers" tribute to NHS workers
At the time of writing, the event appears to be in the embryonic stages of its organisation. For instance, the hashtag #ClapForNic does not yet appear to have been used on Twitter.
And when you search for the words "Clap For Nic", the majority of tweets were written by people called Nic and focused on the topic of clapping.
There is a Facebook event organised under the name "CLAP FOR NIC", but so far only one person has said they will be attending.
On the page, the event was described as a "one-off show of appreciation to Nicola Sturgeon for her hard work and openness since this awful virus invaded us".
"She has shown remarkable resolve and a strong leadership no matter your political persuasion there is no denying, that Nicola has Scotland and her fellow Scots interests in her heart and more importantly in her head just now and we should be happy to have a First Minister that will not be bullied by Westminster," the post added.
It went on to suggest Prince Harry "sent me a 'love it' reaction on Facebook".
Labour councillor Norman Hampshire, ward member for Dunbar and East Linton and deputy leader of East Lothian Council, did not welcome the idea of clapping for Nicola Sturgeon.
He said: “I don’t think this is something that should happen.
“I think the clap that takes place on a Thursday is there to respect frontline staff who endanger their lives every day. Nicola Sturgeon is not on the front line.
“Some of the decisions taken by the government, especially around care homes where people were moved from hospital to care homes without tests being done, and the virus then spreading in care home across Scotland… many people have died across Scotland.
“The respect people are showing for frontline staff, especially those who risk their lives every day during the crisis should continue.”
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