Try and get a vasectomy via NHS Grampian as just one example.
Obviously an anecdotal test group of 2 but having moved from Hampshire to the Highlands in 2020 we have been super impressed by the service we've had....when compared to what we left behind. Nothing super serious but ease of getting a GP appointment - speed of follow up tests, getting the results back alongside useful information. The nagging I got (in a positive way) when I didn't get around to sending in bowel cancer check up 'samples' after my 50th triggered them.
I know being less bad than somewhere else is not a true compliment but I'm yet to talk to another 'incomer' who has had the benefit of experiencing more than one system who sees what we have here as a downgrade.
Try and get a vasectomy via NHS Grampian as just one example.
Vet's all over Grampian could step in to help if you need.
Convert - some of that is I think because we have an IT system in NHS Scotland that actually works and no fake market absorbing 10% of the budget
On the NHS I actually think the SNP have done pretty well by and large by not interfering and continually trying to change things.
Until we have a properly independent scottish labour party I don’t see them making significant inroads.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. If an independent labour party could somehow find room for both pro independence and unionists in their manifesto and voters things could change for them and they might well pull some SNP voters across to them. As said above - I do think a labour government in London will make a short to medium term impact on the clamour of a significant proportion for independence (maybe only on the margins of those pro independence - but it's a subtle thing with a majority consensus always a close call) which I guess needs to be put into the mix too.
But agreed, looking at the list of potential candidates to replace her and I'm not yet too enthused.
I see the big swinging dicks are exposing themselves on this thread, given the choice between living in SNP led Scotland vs the car crash of English politics over the previous 12 years I’m very happy that we’ve had a progressive social led First Minister attempting to do her best for the country.
Yeah, whilst she has undoubtedly made mistakes, you at least get the impression that a grown up is in charge.
Sad to see her go. Interesting to see if there's more to the timing- some story about to break or whatever- but the main thing that strikes me is she had that huge apprenticeship under Salmond as leader, but seems to be leaving without any obvious successor or understudy, which isn't ideal. OTOH it's not like the party overall isn't in a good position, and considering the opposition in Scotland... (the greens aside, since they're more or less allies, I had to google to see if Sarwar was still Labour leader, Douglas Ross barely counts, and who knows who's leader of the lib dems?
Yeah, whilst she has undoubtedly made mistakes, you at least get the impression that a grown up is in charge.
And a grown up who to every rational person, regardless of if you believe in her policies or not, has genuinely put herself forward for this position for what she sees as the betterment of a nation rather than themselves. I think you need to go back to Gordon Brown before you have that in London (so basically beyond every recent tory).
Obviously an anecdotal test group of 2 but having moved from Hampshire to the Highlands in 2020 we have been super impressed by the service we’ve had….when compared to what we left behind. Nothing super serious but ease of getting a GP appointment – speed of follow up tests, getting the results back alongside useful information.
And to undo the anecdote in the central belt I effectively have no GP.
some of that is I think because we have an IT system in NHS Scotland that actually works
*cough* bullshit 🙂 If it worked my data would actually be findable on it, instead every time I have an encounter with the NHS I have to repeat my whole medical history because none of it is on the system!
Interesting to see if there’s more to the timing
About timing ... assuming she had decided not to fight the next general election, then stepping down now rather than leave it another 6 or 12 months was the right thing to do for everyone else.
Interesting to see if there’s more to the timing
It's interesting that people are saying this is out of the blue. Some of those saying that have been calling for her to resign for years! However I think she's smart enough to know that if you are going to go - resigning relatively unexpectedly is a far better exit that being ousted after weeks of speculation. My only disappointment is she didn't keep it completely under wraps and make the media think the press conference was going to be about recycling bottles and cans!
My only disappointment is she didn’t keep it completely under wraps and make the media think the press conference was going to be about recycling bottles and cans!
That would've been the ultimate mic drop moment if she had!
Just off a teams meeting at work where a colleague completely misjudged the audience by making a rather crass Krankies joke about her departure. Surely after this long working closely with those present he'd have an idea of our general political stances, but nope.
Just off a teams meeting at work where a colleague completely misjudged the audience by making a rather crass Krankies joke about her departure. Surely after this long working closely with those present he’d have an idea of our general political stances, but nope
🙄. I think it's beyond political affiliation. It's just a pretty vile misogynistic bigoted tell. Mainly used by the ignorant unable to criticize or argue without sophistication. There's plenty to go after her for, but that's not it.
every time I have an encounter with the NHS I have to repeat my whole medical history because none of it is on the system!
Imagine how amazed I was in 2021, when the receptionist at Dumfries a&e, upon me giving my name and date of birth, asked if I was still living at an address in Edinburgh I left in 1996. Never lived in Scotland since.
My only disappointment is she didn’t keep it completely under wraps and make the media think the press conference was going to be about recycling bottles and cans!
That would’ve been the ultimate mic drop moment if she had!
And show less integrity and forthrightness....
IMO, she has done it right and chosen to go at a time of her appointing, head held high and looking to the future. More people in life should do this.
I'm a Scottish independence supporter first and foremost. I joined the SNP because I thought they were a vital part of the campaign for independence, along with the other groups. I supported Nicola at first but not for a few years now, we need a new leader and a change of tactics but there's no obvious choice.
Unlike some I believe that she was and is totally committed to independence, she was just wrong at Key stages in her leadership of the party political independence campaign. The mps at Westminster settled in at the HoC when they should have been showing it up as a farce. Then there was the SNP attitude to the independence marchers whom they seemed to want to control and disown simultaneously.
She was over centralising in government and wanted too much control. For all that I believe she was a strong social democrat and 100% a believer in Scottish independence.
I’m very against separation but have a lot of time for Nicola. She comes across as a decent, principled person. If it wasn’t for the one fairly obvious reason I’d happily have seen her stay on as First Minister.
However I think she judged the public mood on the trans thing very badly. Add that to the ferries and a few other things and she’s not had the best of times recently. And being leader that long does take its toll, both physically and mentally. I genuinely wish her well in whatever she does next.
She’s also a clever lady though. If she honestly thought there was a chance of independence in the near future she would have stayed on. But I guess she knows, though will never admit it, that it’s a dead duck in the near to mid term future. She’s done the smart thing and got out now, rather than face an ignominious exit after the next election.
But overall she has made Scotland a better place to live and this particular unionist thanks her for all her hard work.
Well said Kenny
Its a rare politician that transcends party preference like she has done
Interesting to see if there’s more to the timing- some story about to break or whatever
👽👽👽👽👽👽👽
Meh competant politician in so much as she appears to be a grown up and can string 2 sentences together but record of achievement isn't really any better than many others,2 easy to blame Westminster. Also doggedly pursuing a policy (independance) that would so clearly hurt Scotland wasnt a great move.
The standard of the average UK politician has dropped with her departure though.
She must be knackered. She's certainly come a long way since the old days on BBC's Crackerjack.
Just off a teams meeting at work where a colleague completely misjudged the audience by making a rather crass Krankies joke about her departure
And he's a member on here....
Well, based on what she said about attending the funeral of a friend that made her 100% (from 99%) sure she wanted to resign, I guess she made the right decision.
Life is short, why bother going through all stress with no evidence of the possibility of independence in her lifetime. Let others deal with it as she already had go at it with her best but her best is not enough.
Imagine how amazed I was in 2021, when the receptionist at Dumfries a&e, upon me giving my name and date of birth, asked if I was still living at an address in Edinburgh I left in 1996. Never lived in Scotland since.
Don't think of this as some uniquely Scottish thing. When I was getting jabbed, my record had me down as living at my student address, some 35 years (and obviously many address changes) out of date. No-one had the ability to change it.
Imagine how amazed I was in 2021, when the receptionist at Dumfries a&e, upon me giving my name and date of birth, asked if I was still living at an address in Edinburgh I left in 1996. Never lived in Scotland since.
And Sheffield NHS think we still live there, 13+ years later... Mrs_oab and I have both, on multiple occasions confirmed our new address(es)...
I'm not a SNP voter.
I'm not a fan of some of her ideas however I can say that I think she is a fair and balanced and everything she's done is with the best intentions.
Compared to some of the dross she's erudite, concise and not easy to flustered.
Delivered my favourite boris put down too...
I don't know what stay alert means...
Also doggedly pursuing a policy (independance) that would so clearly hurt Scotland wasnt a great move.
Did she? Or do you mean everyone else doggedly bringing it up at every opportunity?
As for NHS, I never want to have to visit A&E again, they have definitely failed there and in CfE
Gordon Ross on BBC Scotland news sounds like a silly wee boy who knows he's beat before he even gets started. Othe leaders a bit better. Sunak thanking her for her service was a bit big boss thanking a lesser manager in a leaving speach
but record of achievement isn’t really any better than many others
You are joking, right?
No idea about her politics apart from being somewhat lefty but by goodness she has a damn awful personality. Comes across as terribly vicious and nasty.
Her insistance on a re-vote smacks of playground pettiness. " I lost so it's now best of three".
I would think that almost anything would be an improvemnt.
Although she has resigned, I believe she wants another vote on it next year.
Interesting this. And I don’t mean the politics of it… more the nature of some of the comments. I think they make me respect her more; a glimpse into what she has probably had to put up with in her role for years, and has publicly dealt with so calmly. Can’t blame her for moving on.
she has a damn awful personality
I know it's easier to just swallow the right wing press' caricature without doing your own research, but could I suggest you listen to her recent 'The News Agents' interview with her - https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/episodes/7DrezN6/ then decide if your comment is justified.
Her insistance on a re-vote smacks of playground pettiness.
You might not have noticed but quite a lot has changed since 2014. I would have been one side of the vote in 2014 if I'd had a vote. I'd be the other now. I am not unique. Besides - she is the leader of the SNP, a party who's central premise from which everything else is built is independence. It would be bizarre if she wasn't still pushing for it.
I would think that almost anything would be an improvement.
I present in evidence the last female prime minister of the UK, or her predecessor come to that.
Her insistance on a re-vote smacks of playground pettiness.
Yes, I can see why it would seem that way, what with being promised further devolved powers at the 11th hour that never materialised and that voting against independence would ensure we stayed in the EU.
We really should learn to just accept when we've been screwed and shut up about it.
And the fact that since 2014 the SNP have been elected 4 times on a manfesto of another vote. Thats democracy. With much higher votes than the tories for example
Along with the fact she has consistently had a higher approval rating in polls than any other senior politician westminster or Holyrood
Shall we compare her to the Westminster leaders, probably over the last 50 years ?. What a bunch of narcissistic sycophants, corrupt to their very cores. Nicola Sturgeon had her faults, but was a real statesman compared to that lot
Or that the view of approximately 50%of the voting population tested repeatedly over the last 8 years should be taken into account.
But no its You Lost Shut Up!
Shall we compare her to the Westminster leaders, probably over the last 50 years ?. What a bunch of narcissistic sycophants, corrupt to their very cores.
Think the plaudits are getting a bit daft now, FM of Scotland is a completely different world to the PM for the UK, she has her positives and negatives, same with any politician, the only difference is they tend to change the deckchairs on the titanic a different way depending on their policies and personality.
She's not disappearing either, she'll be an MSP until 2025 i think, christ i wouldn't discount her making a comeback if the next FM is a disaster, which is a possibility as the replacement list is pretty shallow in terms of experience or ability!
Scotsman - the telegraph of Scotland with added staunch unionism. Load of cobblers
Did you read the article? What bits of it are cobblers and why?
Or did you not bother.
I don’t think an article by John McLellan (lifelong Tory blue blood) is quite the zinger you thought it was going to be,
0/10
Anything about the SNP in the Scotsman will be a load of cobblers. No need to read it. Read the first couple of lines to confirm it.
Good to know you make no effort to challenge your thinking.
Oh I will happily challenge it. Nothing very challenging about a made up load of cobblers tho 🙂 Nor the Scotsman newspaper. Good rugby coverage but its political converge makes the national look unbiased 🙂
somafunk
Full Member
I don’t think an article by John McLellan (lifelong Tory blue blood) is quite the zinger you thought it was going to
I didn't think it to be a zinger I thought it relevant to the conversation and I agreed with some of his points. Feel free to counter them and I will take your opinion on board.
Always good to listen to the opinions of people especially if you don't agree with them.
