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Nicola Sturgeon to resign
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onehundredthidiotFull Member
Ian Blackford possible leader, it’d need a shift about but…
ernielynchFull MemberBut he provides the entertainment value of a hobbit in the House of Commons
highlandmanFree MemberDo any of the rather vocal detractors on here think that they could have done a better job during the crises of the last few years..?
No..?Well stop playing armchair critical politics and show a bit more respect for someone who has absolutely buried herself in the mire to do the best for Scotland during the pandemic.
I don’t agree with everything Nicola has done, far from it but she has done her best for the people and has run a Government with a real social conscience. Her successes and positive steps far, far outweigh the problems. A really tough act to follow.
convertFull MemberShe speaks so well. I can’t imagine another current political UK leader speaking with this clarity.
helsFree MemberYes Blackford is Wesminster. I would have put money on Kate Forbes but she is on mat leave and has some quite socially conservative views. It will likely be one of cabinet but there will be a process to choose a new leader.
MerakFull MemberTad egocentric. I’m glad she’s away, perhaps you southerners could take her.
We don’t want independence, look at how Brexit worked out. She’s deluded.
munrobikerFree MemberI’m not an SNP voter but she has been good – Scotland is a nicer place to live than England and a lot of that is to do with SNP policy. They really need to turn around health and education though, maybe a new leader will let them focus on that?
I find most people with objections to her base it purely on personality and appearance rather than policy (I’m amazed we haven’t had a post calling her wee Jimmy Cranky yet 🙄 ).
She’s done a lot of good things for making Scotland a more progressive place. The Gender Bill seems a funny hill to die on though – I’m exactly the sort of lefty it was meant to please and it made me uneasy. There were flaws in it that were insurmountable and it caused such chaos for such a small group of people (although I’m convinced I will fall on the wrong side of history for that).
I’ll be sad to see her go but hopeful someone like her, rather than Salmond, can be found.
chewkwFree MemberI cannot stand Blackford! Pompous windbag
He can argue well though but probably is overshadowed by his own entertainment value.
Good speech from Sturgeon.
cultsdaveFree MemberDo any of the rather vocal detractors on here think that they could have done a better job during the crises of the last few years..?
No..What utter drivel, are you only allowed to criticize if you could do a better job yourself? No.
shermer75Free MemberWhat a dark day for UK politics. I’ve always thought that she is hugely impressive as a political leader, and if I could have voted for her I definitely would have
inthebordersFree MemberI reckon she’s just had enough – 8 years of taking a beating from the entire UK Govt & Establishment.
shermer75Free MemberShe speaks so well. I can’t imagine another current political UK leader speaking with this clarity.
Absolutely. It’s because she doesn’t talk out of her arse!
matt_outandaboutFull MemberTo echo a few others on here, I don’t know a great deal about Scottish politics and I know she has had some issues, but she comes across as genuine, competent, statesmanlike and a leader. She is streets ahead of anyone in Westminster in that regard. It seems a shame for politics to lose such a set of skills and attributes.
That is not naive, I think it is a true reflection of her and many others in politics up here. I too am not a huge fan of SNP, but Nicola is a person to be respected for her values and service in my view.
Not perfect, but operate in a different way and with a deal more collaboration and respect across the nation and parties.
tpbikerFree MemberNot convinced on independence but I think she was a capable leader, far better than starmer or whatever incarnation of Tory PM we have recently been burdened with
Sad to see her go tbh.
franksinatraFull MemberI reckon she’s just had enough – 8 years of taking a beating from the entire UK Govt & Establishment.
I think you are spot on. It must be a relentless job, she’s put in a big shift.
BlackflagFree MemberI quite liked her. I also like the SNP. But I am now hoping this allows Labour to gain a bit more ground in Scotland and thus have a better chance of taking control of the UK.
a11yFull Member8 years taking a kicking from a large part of Scottish and UK politics and the general population, that’s got to take it’s toll on anyone. I’m not a devout supporter of the SNP or Sturgeon, but cannot deny how impressive she’s been as a leader throughout her time as FM. Actually, not just as a leader but as a person/human being – much more relatable than most others. I wish there were more like her in politics.
thenorthwindFull MemberThanks @boomerlives
As another minimally informed Englishman: @highlandman 100%
polyFree MemberWhat utter drivel, are you only allowed to criticize if you could do a better job yourself? No.
Ok – look at it slightly differently – who would you rather have had for the last 8 yrs? There’s not been a single Scottish party leader in the last 8 years, regardless of the political flavour who would have done a better job.
cultsdaveFree MemberOk – look at it slightly differently – who would you rather have had for the last 8 yrs? There’s not been a single Scottish party leader in the last 8 years, regardless of the political flavour who would have done a better job.
Being the best of a bad lot is not something to celebrate.
She has her good points, no doubt. She spoke well and looked good compared to the crop at the top in westminster.
This does not excuse her failings especially in education and NHS. Her Indy campaign was far too similar to the Brexit campaign for me, ie blame the tories and claim everything will be better if we vote to leave despite there being very obvious flaws in the plan that they either denied or refused to debate.BigJohnFull MemberBy Glenn Campbell
Political EditorI wonder how the reporter knew… perhaps he heard it on the wire?
What’s the linesman for Notts County got to do with it?
I’m saddened, which has surprised me a bit. It used to be the case that countries with women leaders were better and more compassionately run. But along came Theresa May and Liz Truss..
chakapingFree MemberJust another thought.
Without counting any chickens, a Labour win at the next GE would very likely see public support for Scottish Independence soften.
Maybe she can also see that window closing and CBA carrying on in a weaker position.
But I still reckon it’s mostly the party finances.
sadmadalanFull MemberAll politicians eventually fail, it is the business. She has chosen to go on her own terms, rather than risk seeing he ‘power’ reduced at the next elections, due to falling support for the SNP. She’s done well to be at the top for so long, but eventually it all catches up.
Whether she was a success or failure or a mixture of the two, won’t be judged for many years. However recently the noise levels about he decision making have got so loud that it has dominated everything. If the SNP is to achieve its goal, then perhaps a period of understanding why they have not succeeded is critical. When Sturgeon in charge this was never going to happen
scotroutesFull MemberFlynn as Westminster leader was the writing on the wall. The SNP has been tightly controlled for years and that definitely wasn’t part of the plan. The upcoming SNP Conference was likely to be very uncomfortable for the current leadership.
A9/A96 ferries, DRS, GRR, public energy company, land reform. All failures and at the door of the Scottish Govt. NHS, education and others also less than ideal but definitely funding issues around that and unarguable that Covid had an impact, as has Brexit. Missing £600k now, eventually, being investigated. And support for independence, the #1 issue for voting SNP, has gone nowhere.
ChrisLFull MemberShe’s been a better advocate for the SNP and independence than Salmond was. Over the years however, events and the right wing media have resulted in her becoming probably as much of a divisive figure as he was.
Keeping the SNP focused and disciplined after the 2014 referendum was probably quite a tough task but that discipline does seem to have dropped more recently. There’s a chance that the leadership contest could reinvigorate the party, restore its discipline and give it a common sense of direction, but also a chance that it’ll expose and widen any existing fault lines. And given half the chance I wouldn’t be surprised if Alex Salmond will try and exacerbate those for his own personal political advantage.
argeeFull MemberThere’s a lot of rose tinted stuff being said, but she’s been a politician most of her life, not just leader for 8, she’s got as many negatives as positives and she’s a politician through and through, the problem now is that she was effective in her role, whoever comes in is a step down from her and will not hold the same power in the party. It’s the same with parliament, they all know Flynn is not at the same level of Blackford, yes he was an acquired taste, but you saw he had actual respect from other parties.
The SNP need to get back into a rhythm soon, I hope they don’t get taken over by this new breed of career politicians, end of the day they’re all politicians, but the wrong choice now would be critical.
poahFree MemberI’m surprised she lasted this long. The party has been stagnant. They need people that are not from the salmond/sturgeon school of politics. Hopefully it won’t be Swinny or Yusif that get the leadership and that any new person gets rid of Summerville as education minister.
Did she really ever do anything of note while in power?
ayjaydoubleyouFull MemberEnglishman here, so take all the below with that in mind…
The SNP have an issue where there are two, pretty much unrelated and sometimes contradictory issues.
1 – governing Scotland in the best interests of the populace, ie where they sit on the political spectrum2 – Scottish independence
As we saw in the UK in the last general election, getting people to elect their mp (and by extension, leader) based on a single divisive issue – brexit – which cuts across the traditional party lines; leads to people not getting the government they want on every other issue.
How many unionist Scots won’t vote snp, despite agreeing with all their other policies? And the inverse?
cultsdaveFree MemberMy main concern now is what happens at the next GE.
With FPTP in most areas the choice was Tory or SNP and I would reluctantly vote SNP to oust the Tories. I figured it was better to have SNP MP’s in westminster banging the drum for scotland as opposed to Tory. I reasoned that I could always vote no in an Indy ref.
What will happen now? Will people like me continue to vote SNP for the same reasons? Will those who vote tory because they are anti Indy as opposed to pro tory move towards Labour or Lib dems? My hope is that all those who vote tacitly to oust the party they dislike more take a risk and vote for the party they actually want resulting in a Labour win at westminster that is helped by the people of Scotland as opposed to despite the people of Scotland. The worst thing I can see happening is Scotland delivers a fair few more Tory MP’s.dazhFull MemberI reckon she’s had the briefing from MI5 about the imminent alien invasion and she’s thought ‘sod that!’ and decided to retire to a remote croft in the highlands to live out her last days in peace.
thecaptainFree MemberNo-one’s perfect and she is no exception to that, but she’s clearly streets ahead of any other political leader of recent years in the UK.
Of course haters will always find something to hate. But politics isn’t about perfection, it’s about being better overall than the alternatives.
Rockape63Free MemberI appreciate that she’s a good communicator, but I’m struggling to understand why anyone is suggesting she was a great politician? Her whole tenure revolved around trying to separate her country from the UK, which clearly failed….and she has ruled over a country who’s healthcare and education have gone down the tubes.
highlandmanFree Member“healthcare … gone down the tubes.”
you’ve been reading too much tory press and BBC criticism. The situation in Scotland is not actually that bad in general; I work in a relevant sphere with first hand knowledge and have loads of pals getting exactly what they need, when they need it. Plus no-one having any particularly bad experiences. So perhaps don’t believe everything you read in the press. Sure, it’s not perfect but a hell of a lot better than the first hand experiences described down south.
Anyway, back to Nicola. She must be utterly exhausted.ditch_jockeyFree Membershe has ruled over a country who’s healthcare and education have gone down the tubes
You’ve been at the right wing Kool-aid for a bit too long. NHS Scotland is still dealing from the impact of Covid on other services, and education has problems but hardly in crisis. Like it or not, the Scottish Government has limited resources to mitigate the impact of Westminster economic policy, and when central government funding is being squeezed across the UK as a whole, those limited resources are only ever going to go so far.
As for people speculating on a Labour resurgence in Scotland, well perhaps if they were less of a rolling clown show, they’d have more chance of recovering some vote share. I certainly won’t forget that they chose to side with the Tories and inflicted Theresa May’s government on the UK anytime soon; I’d rather just not bother voting than support Scottish Labour in their current form.
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