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There is a press conference coming soon at which Nicola Sturgeon is expected to announce her resignation as First Minister.
It is believed she is going to give a sort of “nothing left in the tank” speech, like Jacinda Ardern.
Whether or not anyone will believe that is the reason is another matter.
It all started to unravel over her Gender Bill. It is not a good idea to personally invest so much in a policy to which the majority of the public are opposed. Brought down by her own hubris and arrogance.
When you’re doing your cause more harm than good it’s time to go, correct decision I think.
I get the feeling that sometimes she opposed things simply to be seen to be taking the opposite stance to Westminster regards of the merits or otherwise of that particular position.
First let me say that I’m NOT SCOTTISH
Nicola Sturgeon, like Alex Salmon before her was keen on Scottish Independent, and probably the next leader of the SNP. (Some other person with a surname connected with a fish, probably).
They were given the chance on voting and was rejected by the majority of Scots, before the Brexit vote.
My personal opinion was that they might have changed their minds now we’ve voted for Brexit. However Nicola seemed obsessed with Independent that it could ruin Scotland’s economy.You've got to accentuate the positive.
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative.
Don't mess with mister in between.As leaders of parties I’d never vote for, I thought she was alright.
But looking at the competition at the apex of other parties, she wasn’t ever facing stiff competition.
Can’t really argue with CAS’s analysis – brought down by her own hubris and arrogance regarding a policy too far out of step with the collective public zeitgeist.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I don’t think she was brought down by her own arrogencce, I think she
passionately believed in independence and whether you agree with her
view or not, she has dominated Scotland at every general election for
years. That is by people who are for and against indepenbence. I’m sorry
to see her go, I think she is being honest when she said it has just become
too much to do 24/7 for 9 years. She was constantly at odds with the UK
Government and it says a lot for her thet she can say, it’s become too
murch for me.As for her replacement, John Swinney might be the favourite, I’d like to see Ian
Blackford. I think he would make a good leader. Nickola has been lambastedbut
from down south, which is to be expected, but I wish her well and will waych
to see who steps up to the oche. Interesting times.She couldn’t admit a man raped a woman , she spent 18 years in politics trying to get independence , she failed , on the upside she does have a nice pension ( she put a lot in over the last few years so she has planned this ) there is also the question of hubbys £100k loan to the party , one man in Govanhill hit the mail on the head , he didn’t care about independence just the rubbish lying about and the horrific drug problem in the area , the SNP in a nutshell , want more control but can’t handle what they have control of currently
Independence wasn’t the “policy too far” I had in mind, BigG.
If it was her views on Independence which was the issue and her fatal error, she’d have gone years ago.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Split views, for me, on her going.
She was a GE asset to the Tories in England, but her cockiness at Covid times, forever trying to get one over on Westminster and BJ was her cocky side. Those press conferences 30 mins before Westminster’s daily briefings, showed her to be a headline grabber.She became like all long standing political leaders, autocratic, too big for her boots, with her “i know best” attitude.
Failings were mounting. A failed devolved NHS Scotland, Scottish education in tatters, highest personal taxes in the UK, a dreadful drug problem allegedly the biggest in Europe for a country of c5m.The ex-SNP deputy leader, Jim Sillars, expressed it better than i can:
“Her actions in dwelling on trying to force a referendum that “was never possible” have been a “tragedy” for the Scottish independence movement.
Mr Sillars said Ms Sturgeon had as a consequence stacked up a “catalogue of failures” from the failing lifeline ferry fleet, to poor education standards and a National Health Services that “isn’t working”.
Ever since the Brexit vote, she has wasted six years in trying to get a referendum and wasting the party’s energy in trying to get to a referendum that was never possible. And of course there are also a catalogue of failures. People have mentioned it from the ferries to education to the National Health Service.“I mean the two ferries which still haven’t sailed are costing more now than it took to build the Scottish Parliament’s new building.
Nicola is now history. My concern is what the party does. And I hope the lesson the party has learned from the Sturgeon years is
the cult of personality is damaging to policymaking and always ends in tears.
“And I hope whoever becomes the next leader of the party will not fall into the same trap as the Salmond/Sturgeon era did in creating the cult of personality, which means that you don’t listen to critical voices. And if you don’t listen to critical voices, you make strategic errors. And that’s what’s happened with Nicola.”
“She was a GE asset to the Tories in England”
Key point from Wilts, I think.
Labour 1.22 to win most seats at the general election as we speak.
Sturgeon’s departure doesn’t guarantee a Labour revival in a country they had been wiped out in, but it doesn’t harm their chances of picking up a vital few more seats there either.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Labour in Scotland just need to concentrate on pointing what’s failing in the country , drug and alcohol abuse is rife , education hasn’t moved forward , nhs a mess , the SNP are in the same boat as the Tories , they,he had the chance for change , failed , a middle ground Labour is what’s needed
“I think she is being honest when she said it has just become too much to do 24/7 for 9 years.”
But she gave an interview on the BBC just three weeks ago when she said she had plenty left in the tank, in contrast to Jacinda Ardern who had just stepped down.
Sturgeon rushed through the Gender Recognition Bill before Christmas. This is despite a very clear majority of Scottish people being opposed to it.
She was also advised by her own lawyers that the Westminster Parliament would block it but she went ahead regardless. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that she was using it to provoke a confrontation and hoped if Westminster did block the bill, it would increase support for independence. A major miscalculation.
More importantly, when opposition MSPs and some brave SNP rebels attempted to amend the bill to prevent violent men from gaming the system, Sturgeon accused them of being transphobic, bigots and (bizarrely) racists. Yet within just a few weeks, the very situation her opponents warned against came true. Sturgeon was forced into a screeching U turn after a public outcry and was clearly rattled when she desperately tried to defend an indefensible policy.
All that would be bad enough. But the police investigation into an allegedly missing £600,000 could be a serious scandal. As could Sturgeon’s claim that she did not know her own husband loaned £100,000 of his own money to the party. It is a strange sort of marriage where a wife does not know when a man has just spent £100,000.
Throw in the other issues already mentioned above: a health service in crisis; the once world class Scottish education system in decline; the ferries fiasco; and a serious drink and drugs public health issue. She can’t keep on blaming the English and The Tories.
Even the independence issue has run into trouble. A recent poll showed support on just 44%. She wasted vast amounts of time trying to get a second referendum which was never realistic and the Supreme Court inevitably blocked. Her policy of turning the next General Election into a de facto referendum is opposed by many people in her own party.
And now she is walking away, after discussing it with barely any colleagues and leaving the party in turmoil with no obvious successor.
No wonder Alex Salmond looked so furious last week!
He was furious last week because he accused her of throwing away the majority for independence on the back of an issue that only affects a tiny minority.
But we will undoubtedly take a lot of personal satisfaction in her resignation after the way she behaved towards him.
Intresting views, but she and her party were the party that
had the highest votes by a mile in general elections in Scotland
year after year. Yes there were plenty of problems, as every party
in power has. Did she get things wrong, yes, as everyone does. Was
tax higher here than elsewherem, yes, but you have to deide if you
are going to help those in genuine need, or just have a low tax system.
I think she got that right.Many more people voted for her party than any other, knowing how she
was running the country. They can’t all be wrong.“I think she is being honest when she said it has just become too much to do 24/7 for 9 years.”
But she gave an interview on the BBC just three weeks ago when she said she had plenty left in the tank,
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What do you expect her to say? I’ m completrly knackered? It obviously was on
her mind but until she was going to say she had decided to stand down, she would
never indicate she was thinking of going.I don’t know who will be the next lesder of the SNP, but I’d happily
cover any bet from anyone who says they won’y be the party in power
at the next election, even if it needs the greens. but they would have
the largest number of votes of any party regardless.Big G I heard a reporter on Radio Scotland ask a party member what was her biggest achievement , baby boxes was the answer …. In my eyes all I see is a faulty children hospital and 2 ferries with painted on windows , funnily enough she never mentioned many achievements today , they may win another election but independence isn’t happening , Nichola knows this and isn’t going to hang around , she,s tasted defeat before
I think she knows that Scot Inde is dead in the water, for at least another generation.
Latest poll
56 NO
44 YES (to Inde)What is it, 8/9 years ago since the last Inde Ref?
The YES peeps were super confident that the direction of age demographics over the following 10 years would defo shift the balance in favour of a YES vote “next time”.
Well, nearly 9 years on IT has gone in the opposite direction. Who’d have thought??
A massive stat/fact that tonight’s main news bulletins have failed to acknowledge. Brand and Peston (ITV) should hang their heads in shame, quite frankly. You failed to introduce that angle in your analysis, just now, with Bradby on ITN 10 oclock news.Yes, this demographics issue i’ve just covered is a massive blow to Scot Inde. Does it mean today’s under 30s in Scotland are starting to see their future lies in the United Kingdom? (Probably unexpected by the SNat senior bods).
Here’s another angle.
With a Westminster Labour majority a bigger certainty than even 3 months ago, the Pro-SNP vote and voters, wont be boosted by a Tory government in Westminster (post GE). The SNats could rely on a Westminster Tory government to, perversely, boost its vote (last 12/13 years) – but, likely, now a Labour govt will dilute the anti-Westminster vote in Scotland.
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