Nicola Sturgeon

Sturgeon in 2016

Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970 in Irvine, North Ayrshire) is a Scottish politician who wasa First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party from 2014 to 2023. She has been the MSP for Glasgow Southside since 2007 and before that for Glasgow since 1999. She was succeeded as first minister by Humza Yousaf in late March 2023.

Quotes

2000

• A discriminatory and shameful piece of legislation that was imposed on Scotland by Westminster will today be repealed by the Scottish parliament ahead of other parts of the UK. That says something about the state of Scotland that we can all be proud of.
  • Quoted by Kirsty Scott in "Scotland throws out section 28" The Guardian (22 June 2000)
  • On the abolition in Scotland of Section 28 (Section 2A in Scotland) of the Local Government Act 1988 which stated local authorities "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".

2014

• If I am elected, there may be an opportunity to change the tone for the better.
  • Said while campaigning for the SNP leadership in 2014. Khaleeli, Homa "Is post-referendum Scotland a feminist paradise?" The Guardian (30 September 2014).

2015

• I have opposed Trident and nuclear weapons for all of my political life - I even joined CND before becoming a member of the SNP.
  • Said after she signed a Rethink Trident pledge in 2015. "Nicola Sturgeon signs 'Rethink Trident' pledge" The Scotsman (22 August 2015).

2016

• I believe both Scotland and the UK should stay in the EU. Scotland benefits from being part of the EU, and the EU benefits from having Scotland a part of it. No SNP parliamentarian has expressed a desire to campaign for the out campaign - though they are not prevented from doing so. I am determined to make the positive case for continued membership in a reformed EU.
  • "Scottish Lib Dem conference: Leader Tim Farron in staunch defence of EU" BBC News (27 February 2016).

• While I do not agree with the decision on the EU reached by people in England and Wales, I do respect it. I hope the new PM will show the same respect for the decision reached by the Scottish people.
  • Said after Scotland voted strongly to 'remain' in the 2016 EU referendum while England and Wales voted to 'leave'. Quoted in "Ruth Davidson pokes fun at Andrea Leadsom and Boris Johnson" The Guardian (13 July 2016).

2019

• Independence is not about the isolationism that characterises Brexit.
  • "Scottish Liberal Democrats: Rennie issues appeal to rival politicians" BBC News (23 February 2019).

• Scotland’s 62% vote to remain in the EU counted for nothing. Far from being an equal partner at Westminster, Scotland’s voice is listened to only if it chimes with that of the UK majority; if it does not, we are outvoted and ignored.
  • Said in a statement to the Scottish Parliament on 24 April. "Here are the five best quotes from Nicola Sturgeon's indyref2 update" The National (24 April 2019).

• The President of the United States telling elected politicians – or any other Americans for that matter – to ‘go back’ to other countries is not OK, and diplomatic politeness should not stop us saying so, loudly and clearly.
  • Said in response to Donald Trump telling four representatives to "go back" to where they came from. Ward, Stewart "Nicola Sturgeon says 'diplomacy' must not silence Trump criticism" the National (16 July 2019).

• He looks to me as if he is somebody who has no real sense of principal or conviction or real view of what's right for the future for the country. His only objective throughout his entire adult life, it seems, has been to get into Number 10 and be prime minister. Now the focus is on him.
  • About Boris Johnson after his election as leader of the Conservative Party in 2019. "Boris Johnson: Nicola Sturgeon has 'profound concerns'" BBC News (23 July 2019).

• I have profound concerns about the prospect of his premiership and it would be hypocritical not to be frank about these.
  • About Boris Johnson after his election as leader of the Conservative Party in 2019. "Boris Johnson: Nicola Sturgeon has 'profound concerns'" BBC News (23 July 2019).

• I'm happy to work with anybody, male or female, to try to stop Brexit
  • "Brexit: Caroline Lucas criticised over all-female cabinet plan" BBC News (12 August 2019).

• There was this assumption that I took a hard-nosed decision to prioritise a career over children. Women should not be judged for the reasons they have or don't have children.
  • "Sturgeon 'would work with all-female emergency cabinet'" BBC News (12 August 2019).

• [The SNP will] work with anybody at Westminster to try to stop Brexit, and avert the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit.
  • "Brexit: Corbyn plans to call no-confidence vote to defeat no-deal" BBC News (15 August 2019).

• Shutting down parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit - which will do untold and lasting damage to the country against the wishes of MPs - is not democracy, it is dictatorship.
  • "Brexit: MPs ask Scottish court to block Westminster shutdown" BBC News (28 August 2019).

• Today will go down in history as a dark one indeed for UK democracy.
  • Said after Boris Johnson announced he would ask Queen Elizabeth II to suspend Parliament in order to prevent MPs voting on or debating Brexit. "Government asks Queen to suspend Parliament" BBC News (28 August 2019).

• We've backed a second EU referendum, which gives people the opportunity to stop Brexit in its tracks and reverse the decision that was taken. I would also support a General Election, which would give people the opportunity to do that. And of course I want to give Scotland the opportunity of choosing our own future through independence through which we can try to fashion a future that has Scotland as part of the European Union and broader international community.
  • "Nicola Sturgeon: Stopping no-deal Brexit is priority" BBC News (2 September 2019)

• I'm against any form of Brexit, I want to stop Brexit, but in particular a no-deal Brexit I think will be catastrophic for our economy, society, for a long time to come
  • "Nicola Sturgeon: Stopping no-deal Brexit is priority" BBC News (2 September 2019)

2022–present

• While disappointed by it, I respect ruling of @UKSupremeCourt – it doesn't make law, only interprets it. A law that doesn't allow Scotland to choose our own future without Westminster consent exposes as myth any notion of the UK as a voluntary partnership & makes case for Indy. Scottish democracy will not be denied. Today’s ruling blocks one route to Scotland’s voice being heard on independence – but in a democracy our voice cannot and will not be silenced.
  • "Supreme Court Scottish independence judgement: Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland 'will not be silenced' and that ruling makes case for indyref2", The Scotsman (23 November 2022).
  • In June 2022, Sturgeon announced plans to hold a referendum on 19 October 2023. The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected Sturgeon's request to hold a referendum in July 2022. See Proposed second Scottish independence referendum.

• So if this was just a question of my ability or my resilience to get through the latest period of pressure I wouldn’t be standing here today, but it's not. This decision comes from a deeper and longer-term assessment. I know it may seem sudden, but I have been wrestling with it, albeit with oscillating levels of intensity for some weeks.
  Essentially, I've been trying to answer two questions: is carrying on right for me? And more importantly, is me carrying on right for the country, for my party and for the independence cause I have devoted my life to?
  • Extracted from her resignation speech, as cited in "Nicola Sturgeon to resign as first minister of Scotland" The Guardian (15 February 2023)

About Sturgeon

• In many parts of the world, politicians can no longer claim that they do not have the social mandate for taking the climate crisis seriously: citizens are clearly calling for a strong government response, with high levels of public concern about climate change and wide-ranging support for policies to cut emissions. In recognition of this, some senior politicians have actively encouraged citizen activism that pushes them to do more, for example Angela Merkel when she was Chancellor asking young Germans to 'pile on the pressure', and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon acknowledging that 'our feet do need to be held to the fire'.
  • Stuart Capstick and Lorraine Whitmarsh in The Climate Book edited by Greta Thunberg (2022)

• For years, Sturgeon’s personal power has masked any fissures in her party, leaving them unaddressed and widening. Her reliance on a tight circle of advisers, and the premium placed on loyalty from elected representatives, leaves her trapped in an echo chamber. With no possibility of an alternative party reaching government, the SNP is deprived of the democratic check of strong opposition. Charities and lobbyists, dependent on the party and the government for funding and contracts, tell Sturgeon what she wants to hear—even if public opinion is not with her. Inside the SNP, none of her ministers has anything approaching her public profile.
  • Helen Lewis "The Party Whose Success is a Problem" The Atlantic (10 May 2021)

• Nicola Sturgeon’s Scotland: A place where an equalities officer feels free to declare in public how much he wants to beat up non-compliant women.
  • J.K. Rowling post on X, as cited in "Former SNP equalities officer jailed for sex assaults", The Times (16 July 2024)
  • Cameron Downing, the former SNP equalities officer, had been sentenced in Edinburgh to six-years imprisonment for sex offences. In 2022, Downing tweeted he wanted to beat "the f*** out of some terfs and transphobes" as well as "I f***ing hate terfs and transphobes with such a passion." See Gender-critical feminism, for an article on the pejorative TERF acronym.

• It may infuriate Nicola Sturgeon, but it seems that JK Rowling's political judgment is superior: the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill will be Sturgeon's poll tax. Sturgeon is not in control of this. She allied herself with zealots, ignored public anxieties, denied biology, produced a bill that most can see is deeply flawed, rejected sensible amendments such as barring sex offenders from self-identification, and cannot hide from the people that predatory males, if the bill becomes law, can manipulate it to invade women’s safe spaces. The recent rapist case will not be the only one that will haunt her.
  • Jim Sillars "Sturgeon has made a mess on gender issues, but independence is bigger than she is" The Sunday Times (4 February 2023).