Sunday's editorials cover delayed plans to upgrade the A9, allegations of corruption in the UK government and society's "obsession" with Covid lockdowns.

Sunday Mail 

The UK is "one of the most corrupt countries in the world", writes John Niven.

"Boris Johnson stood up last week in Glasgow and took a moment to tell the international community that the, "UK is no way a corrupt country".

"Well thank God that's sorted. Of course anyone who speaks Boris knowns that the "UK is no way a corrupt country" literally translates as "the UK is one of the most corrupt countries in the world".

"The very fact that Johnson felt the need to say this at all means the time has come to sincerely ask the question: Is the UK now a failed state?

"First, and most obviously, there will be rampant corruption among the ruling party, who are only interested in enriching themselves at the expense of the people they are meant to serve.

"Given that the Tories recently voted to abolish the very body that looks into stuff like rampant corruption, I think we can probably go ahead and tick this box.

"Britain's - already troubling - wealth gap has exploded in the last year, with the richest 10 per cent of the population gaining £50,000 on average.

"Jack Leslie, a senior economist, said it was "rare for wealth to increase during a recession" but the impact of events during 2020 has been to "turbo-charge" the gap between the rich and the poor."

 

The Sunday Times 

A U-turn on plans to upgrade the A9 will leave Scotland's rural communities high and dry, writes Gillian Bowditch.

"As the dear green place grinds its way back to what passes to normal for Glasgow, the first minister faces some tricky decisions.

"Chief among them is how she squares the government's pledge to reduce car kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030 to help meet carbon reduction targets without throwing rural Scotland under a bus.

"In the past decade there has been a dearth of government-led economic initiatives which have impressed and inspired.

"But the long-overdue commitment to dual the 129km stretch of the A9 from Perth to Inverness is one of the infrastructure projects that made perfect sense, along with plans to upgrade the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen.

"For too long, the communities in the north of Scotland have felt cut off the central belt and remote from the seat of power.

"The SNP government under Sturgeon leadership has been one of the most centralising and central belt focussed administrations in the history of the Scottish parliament."

 

The Telegraph 

'It will take more than the retreat of Covid to cure our society's obsession with lockdown," writes Daniel Hannan.

"Far from treating Covid like flu, I fear we will start treating flu like Covid.

"What will it take to convince you that the Covid epidemic is finished? 

"When the final restrictions were lifted on July 19, the seven-day average rate of new infections in the UK was 45,262, according to figures complied by John Hopkins University.

"The most recent statistics show that number having fallen to 35,055, even in spite of a slight uptick in recent days.

"While there are some variations caused by different methodologies, the overall picture is clear enough. The lifting of restrictions did not lead to a surge in cases.

"The coronavirus is still with us, of course, as is the 1918 Spanish flu virus. But the coronavirus crisis - in the sense of a disease that might overwhelm our hospitals unless checked - has been over since at least April.

"That statement might surprise you. After all, we keep being told by the BBC that new restrictions are bound to be brought in due to spiralling cases.

"What is going on? Why are so many people - including journalists, politicians and not least health officials - determined to cling to their pessimism.

"Now, we know that people's appetite for authoritarianism is almost unlimited."