Scotland

Sunday

Iain Macwhirter

The SNP-Green coalition is unlikely to last the week

Scottish nationalists are shell-shocked after their leader did a bunk on Wednesday. And with good reason. Nicola Sturgeon left the SNP leaderless, directionless, failing on almost every policy front – from the NHS to bottle recycling – and with a legislative time bomb in the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which is due to go off just as their new leader is installed at the end of March. It will probably destroy the Scottish coalition well before then. Indeed, the 18-month-old union with the Scottish Greens, another of Sturgeon’s personal initiatives, is unlikely to last the week.  Attempts by pro-GRR Bill loyalists to keep the finance secretary, Kate Forbes, out of the leadership

James Heale

Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan launch SNP leadership bids

The first two candidates have declared in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon: Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf. The pair announced their intent in a front-page story for the Sunday Mail titled ‘Battle of the Bill: FM hopefuls go head-to-head on gender reform’. That focus reflects Regan’s major claim to fame as the only minister to resign over Sturgeon’s trans reforms back in October. In so doing, she became the first minister within the SNP to resign over government policy in 15 years. That is a testament to how united the party has been on most policy planks and suggests that the Gender Recognition Reform Bill will probably be one of the

Saturday

Michael Simmons

Kate Forbes takes the lead in SNP poll

Kate Forbes has taken an early lead in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon. The Finance Secretary, who’s currently on maternity leave, has emerged in first place in a poll of Scottish voters. The poll for the Scotsman asked 1,004 people who they’d like to see leading the SNP and settling into Bute House. Forbes leads among SNP voters with 18 per cent. Among all voters she’s also the most popular with 14 per cent of the vote. Angus Robertson – who remains the bookies' favourite – was second in the poll with 14 per cent of SNP voters and 9 per cent of the public backing him. John Swinney, the deputy first minister and

John Ferry

Nicola Sturgeon’s disastrous economic legacy

When Nicola Sturgeon looks back on her economic legacy, what will she feel most proud of: the big industrial plants on Scotland’s coast churning out wind turbines for export, the near monthly launch of newly built ships on the Clyde, or the thriving green venture capital community sprouting up in Edinburgh? An inability to deal with economic reality is the final entry in the ledger of Sturgeon’s economic legacy That kind of fond reminiscing won’t happen of course because none of these things exist. The fiasco of the Sturgeon administration trying to organise the building of new ferries on the Clyde while supposedly saving Scottish commercial shipbuilding is well documented.

Julie Burchill

Why I’m glad to see the back of Nicola Sturgeon

I see Scotland as the brain of the UK, with Wales as the soul and Northern Ireland as the heart. Though I like being English – our lovely language is second to none – we’re probably not the most sensible nation on earth, so I’d call us the sense of humour. Because of this, I’ve always thought that if I was a Scot, I’d probably be a separatist. It annoyed me intensely when during the referendum the likes of David Bowie (by then resident in the USA for many years) stuck his oar in, getting his mate Kate Moss to accept a Brit award for him and pass on the

Friday

Iain Macwhirter

Without Sturgeon, is the SNP still the party of independence?

Dazed and confused by their leader’s sudden departure, Scottish nationalists are now deeply worried that Nicola Sturgeon has taken the independence dream with her. She hasn’t of course. Independence is a long game and there remain many true believers. However the chances of transforming the Scottish National party’s immense electoral success into a referendum on independence in the near term seem remote.    Some in the movement are wondering if the referendum route is still viable since it has been driven into a legal cul de sac by Nicola Sturgeon’s discredited idea of turning the next general election into a ‘de facto’ referendum on independence. That ploy is now surely dead.

Michael Simmons

Scotland will have a new leader on 27 March

So now we know: Scotland will get its new leader on 27 March. The rules that will determine how Sturgeon’s successor – and Scotland’s sixth First Minister – will be chosen, were thrashed out by the party’s National Executive Committee on Thursday night. Nominations are now open and will close a week today. The ballot will then open to members on 13 March followed by a fortnight of voting. The election will take just over five weeks – half the length of the SNP’s last contested election when Alex Salmond returned to power in 2004. Candidates will need to win the backing of 100 members from at least 20 branches

Stephen Daisley

Humza Yousaf would be Sturgeon's continuity candidate

The Daily Record has reported that Humza Yousaf, currently the Scottish health secretary, will stand for election to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland. The 37-year-old Sturgeon ally is said to believe he can unite the party and a source tells the paper he has ‘a lot of support from MPs and MSPs’.  If Yousaf did replace Sturgeon, it would be a landmark moment for Scotland Yousaf’s views on the constitution and gender identity are indistinguishable from Sturgeon’s and he can expect to be considered a continuity candidate. He is also a seasoned media performer, though no stranger to the occasional on-camera mishap. The Record says

Brian Wilson

Sturgeon’s failure to create a better Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon always knew how to play the London media like a fiddle. Progressive views, plain speaking, ‘detesting’ the Tories – what was there not to like? Whenever she was in a tight corner at home, a friendly interviewer could be found in the otherwise hated imperial capital to offer an easy ride. Much of this has been in evidence since she announced her impending resignation. Robert Peston trilled on Twitter: ‘Whether or not you back her ideas and convictions, she has been one of the most important politicians of this generation. Her call for less irrationality and hysteria in politics should be heeded.’ Her failure lay in a distinctly

Thursday

Stephen Daisley

Kate Forbes is the obvious successor to Nicola Sturgeon

The contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon really shouldn’t be a contest at all. The obvious successor is Kate Forbes, the Scottish finance secretary. She is young at 32 but she was even younger three years ago when she stepped in to deliver the Scottish budget just 12 hours after finance minister Derek Mackay was forced by scandal to resign. Her plaudit-winning performance showed her to be a woman of ability and nerve.   If you want to keep evangelical zeal out of politics, Kate Forbes is the least of your worries These are not her only qualities. Forbes is Cambridge-educated and a disciplined media performer. She is a true believer in the cause

Katy Balls

Who will succeed Nicola Sturgeon?

This evening the SNP’s executive committee will meet to decide the rules of the leadership contest following Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to resign both as party leader and First Minister of Scotland. In a sign of how the news has come as a surprise to many even in her own party, there is no heir apparent. Speaking this morning on the Today programme, the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn declined to say who he might like to take over – instead pointing to the fact he had ‘not seen anyone throw their name in the ring yet’. In a sign of how surprising the news was, there is no heir apparent As I say in

Steerpike

Trump denounces ‘failed woke extremist’ Sturgeon

Reading some of the tributes from English luvvies yesterday, you would have had no idea that Nicola Sturgeon was anything less than perfect. The great and the good in the media world were tripping over themselves to call her a stateswoman, praising her tone, grace and composure rather than her lack of substantive achievements. Still, there was one familiar face who had no compunction in calling Sturgeon out on her multiple blunders.  These days Donald Trump’s statements receive somewhat less traction now he’s no longer on Twitter. Still, Mr S did enjoy reading the former president’s brutal assessment of the outgoing First Minister, replete with the usual mix of adjectives,

Alex Massie

Nicola Sturgeon was made – and destroyed – by independence

The greatest trick an ideologue can ever pull off is convincing people they are not, in fact, an ideologue. But Nicola Sturgeon was just as much an ideologue as her predecessor. In some ways, indeed, her convictions eclipsed Alex Salmond’s.  The country is cleft in two and for all that Sturgeon may now deplore this polarisation she played an outsize part in producing it Whereas he did not join the SNP until he was an undergraduate at St Andrews university, Sturgeon signed up for the national cause while still a teenager. In all the years which followed, her faith never faltered. Regardless of circumstance, political moment, or fashion, she remained

Wednesday

Iain Macwhirter

Nicola Sturgeon is a hard act to follow

Nicola Sturgeon insisted last month she had ‘plenty in the tank’, but apparently the First Minister was already running on empty. Announcing her resignation this morning, Sturgeon said she finally decided to step down only yesterday at the funeral of a long-serving SNP activist. However she also made clear she had begun to realise over the past year she no longer had the energy to give ‘100 per cent’ to the job. In an emotional press conference at Bute House in Edinburgh, Sturgeon insisted she could have ‘led the party to independence’. But she conceded that her personality was becoming a liability: ‘Fixed opinions about me are becoming a barrier to

Coffee House

Full text: Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation speech

Below is an edited transcript of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation speech, made this morning at Bute House. Coffee House readers may be interested to note that the words ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’ are used 153 times in the speech. ‘Scotland’ is only mentioned 11 times. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming along. I’m sorry to break into your half-term break. The First Minister of Scotland is, in my admittedly biased opinion, the very best job in the world. It is a privilege beyond measure, one that has sustained and inspired me in good times and through the toughest hours of my toughest days. I am proud to stand here as

Steerpike

Runners and riders for next First Minister

Where there’s death, there’s life. And the departure of Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister after eight years means there’s a vacancy as top dog in the Scottish parliament. Who could replace her? One Panelbase poll conducted last week shows there’s an overwhelming favourite among the various pretenders: ‘don’t know’ took a whopping 69 per cent of the public vote. Fortunately for the SNP, some of their actual elected politicians scored favourably too – though none more than seven per cent. Below is Steerpike’s guide to the most likely runners and riders to succeed Scotland’s nationalist-in-chief, with odds from Ladbrokes. Angus Robertson – 6/5 The bookies’ favourite and a familiar face

Isabel Hardman

How Nicola Sturgeon views her own legacy

Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed her ‘intention’ to resign as First Minister, staying in office until her successor is elected. She said she had been wrestling with the decision for ‘some weeks’.  Sturgeon sounded emotional as she opened by saying First Minister was ‘the best job in the world’ and a privilege that had ‘sustained’ her. She explained that ‘part of serving well would be to know almost instinctively when the time is right to make way for someone else’, and that she knew that this time had come now. ‘Be in no doubt, this is really hard for me. My decision comes from a place of duty and love,’ she

Stephen Daisley

Why is Nicola Sturgeon resigning?

Nicola Sturgeon is resigning as First Minister of Scotland. We don’t yet know when — or why. After eight years in the role, unchallenged the whole time, she has hit troubles recently over gender law reform, the placement of Isla Bryson, a rapist, in a women’s prison and Sturgeon’s failure to deliver a promised second referendum on independence. If any of these is the reason for her departure, it would be odd as, although highly controversial, none has produced a rival for the crown. There is also a police investigation ongoing into a £667,000 independence fighting fund donated by supporters. (There is no suggestion Sturgeon has done anything illegal or

Iain Macwhirter

Why Nicola Sturgeon had to go

Nothing in life or politics lasts forever, not even Nicola Sturgeon’s legendary popularity. In a recent poll, 42 per cent of Scots said the First Minister should step down immediately. It seems she has taken the hint: this morning Sturgeon announced that she would be resigning after eight years as head of the Scottish government. ‘The nature and form of modern political discourse means there is a much greater intensity – dare I say it brutality – to life as a politician than in years gone by,’ she said in a press conference at Bute House in Edinburgh. As Sturgeon prepares to hand over to her successor, there is no

Friday

Iain Macwhirter

Sturgeon's de facto referendum plan is dividing the SNP

It is vanishingly rare for the SNP-supporting paper The National – a publication that makes Pravda look like the Washington Post – to place anything remotely critical of Nicola Sturgeon on its front page. Yet on Wednesday it warned that the Dear Leader’s ploy to turn the 2024 general election into a ‘de facto referendum’ could ‘Blow It For Indy’. It is right. The idea looks like being about as popular as placing rapists in a woman’s jail. The plan, unveiled by the First Minister in high dudgeon last November, after the Supreme Court rejected her bill to hold an ‘advisory’ referendum on independence, was to present Scottish voters with