[244] Sturgeon sacked her Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick and in April 2021 said of the crisis: "I think we took our eye off the ball. [338], In May 2022, Sturgeon tested positive for COVID-19. [99] Shona Robison, a close ally to Sturgeon, became the health secretary, while Keith Brown and Angela Constance, who were both unsuccessful in their bids for the deputy leadership of the SNP, were appointed infrastructure secretary and education secretary, respectively. [] I can think of no greater privilege than to seek to lead the party I joined when I was just 16. "[59] Four days later, a Scottish woman with underlying health conditions died at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. Others, myself included, glimpse the triumph of a new form of passivity skilfully managed by the ruling centre. [58] Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament that containment of the virus had failed and that the Scottish Government was taking steps to mitigate the spread of the virus. [279] However, in 2018 she endorsed her party's Growth Commission report that pledged to reduce an independent Scotland's budget deficit as a percentage of GDP[280] something the Institute for Fiscal Studies concluded meant "continued austerity". [211] She argued that her government had an "indisputable mandate" for a second Scottish independence referendum. [62], To tackle Scotland's poor relationship with alcohol, Sturgeon passed legislation to increase the price of alcohol per unit to help reduce sales, in particular, for those addicted. [331], Sturgeon lives in Glasgow with her husband, Peter Murrell, who is the chief executive officer of the SNP. [222][223], On the day the Supreme Court ruled the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate a referendum on independence, Sturgeon announced the next democratic election in Scotland, in this case a UK general election expected to be held in 2024, would be campaigned by the SNP as a de facto referendum. Tom Gallagher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The calls from Sturgeon's government and the wider independence movement for a second referendum were unsuccessful, as the UK government refused to grant a Section 30 order and in November 2022 the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to hold a referendum on the question of Scottish independence. Sturgeon was retained as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing until a reshuffle one year later, when she was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Capital Investment and Cities and an additional role overseeing the referendum on Scottish independence, essentially putting her in charge of the SNP's referendum campaign. Quite simply, I would not have been able to do what I have in politics without his constant advice, guidance and support through all these years. Sturgeon argued that the meetings were SNP party matters, and thus not covered. On 15 February 2023, Sturgeon announced that she would resign as first minister and SNP leader once a new leader is elected. First Minister condemns anti-Catholic bigotry. [102], Sturgeon's cabinet was 50/50 gender balance, with five men and five women, including herself. The nascent leadership contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister of Scotland turn nasty: the flashpoint is the beliefs of finance minister and evangelical Christian Kate Forbes . [89], Sturgeon was formally acclaimed as the first female Leader of the SNP on 14 November 2014 at the Autumn Conference in Perth, with Hosie as her depute. If you are talking about the singer Shakira, yes she is Roman. "[241] That year 867 Scots lost their lives to drugs an increase of 23% on the previous year's figure and the SNP insisted it was part of a trend seen across much of Europe. [226][227] Some SNP members have urged Sturgeon to call an early election at Holyrood to speed up the process for a de facto referendum. Despite being a Roman Catholic, some of his roughest receptions were in places with deep Irish associations such as Motherwell. [174][175] The following week Sturgeon received an official reprimand from Police Scotland after a video emerged of her campaigning in a barber shop without a mask. After qualifying as a solicitor, she worked for Bell & Craig, a firm of solicitors in Stirling, and later at the Drumchapel Law Centre and a Money Advice Centre in Glasgow from 1997 until her election to the Scottish Parliament in 1999. [14], Sturgeon was a quiet child and has been described by her younger sister as "the sensible one" of the two. Sturgeon said there were "lots of lessons to learn". The compromise had the support of Souter but an amendment to that effect was voted down by MSPs who expressed concerns it would stigmatise children from single parent and unmarried families. [114] Sturgeon announced her intention to seek a second term in office as a minority government. The move is prompting a new conversations about trans rights, independence and Jacinda Ardern. [107] As part of the election campaign, Sturgeon indicated that the SNP would hold another independence referendum if it won the upcoming 2016 Scottish Parliament election. [214] This plan has been met with condemnation from various opposing parties, with the Prime Minister rejecting her plan. [16][17], In her early teens, Sturgeon joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and in 1986, at the age of 16, she became a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), quickly becoming the party's Youth Affairs Vice Convener and Publicity Vice Convener. While it commended the authorities for preventing hospitals from becoming overwhelmed during the crisis, the watchdog also noted that recommendations from pandemic planning exercises in 2015, 2016 and 2018 had not been fully implemented. It is absolutely crushing. Nicola Sturgeon has rejected an accusation she lied to the Scottish people about the country's currency after independence. [307][308] In July 2019, the prime minister met Sturgeon at her official residence, Bute House, where Johnson was "booed and heckled" by protesters. [256], While foreign policy remains a reserved matter,[257] Sturgeon has undertaken a number of visits to Europe, North America and Asia to promote Scotland as a place of investment and Scottish businesses to trade and do business with. The SNP emerged as the largest party following the 2007 election and Salmond headed the first SNP minority government, with Sturgeon as his Deputy First Minster. "Based on this experience, Health Protection Scotland has expressed the view that sustained community transmission appears to be taking place. Sturgeon immediately announced that she would be a candidate in the election to replace him, and received huge support from the SNP hierarchy. She insisted her resignation was not as result of "short term pressures", such as the ferry fiasco, the gender recognition reform bill, transgender prisoners, or the police fraud inquiry into SNP finances, but stated that the job "takes its toll on you". One nurse told STV, "[When we hear the government say supplies are fine] it's not frustrating, it's crushing. The down side is that you just end up talking about it all the time and you never leave it outside. [258][259][260] Sturgeon has committed to strengthening links between Scotland and Africa. [261], In response to the Brexit vote, to discuss Scotland's interests, Sturgeon travelled to Brussels to meet with both Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission as well as Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament.[262][263]. [156] On 23 March, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sturgeon ordered Scotland into "lockdown", limiting the reasons why people may leave their homes in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus, to protect the health of the population, and to ease the pressure the virus placed on NHS Scotland services and workforce. Johnson went ahead with the policy despite England's Chief Medical Officer saying there were "no very strong reasons" to do so. In line with Government guidance, she completed a self-isolation period.[339]. [273][failed verification], Sturgeon is a constitutional monarchist, telling journalists that it is "a model that has many merits". [247], In August 2021 the Scottish Government announced there had been 1,339 drug deaths in the previous year a new record high. Perhaps Sturgeon knew her position lacked credibility so made up nonsense about 'anti-Catholic bigotry' without bothering to cite any evidence. Thatcher was the motivation for my entire political career. [319][320][321] The term was used to describe Sturgeon's "fierce" attitude. In 2004, Sturgeon announced she would stand as a candidate for the leadership of the SNP; however, she later withdrew from the contest in favour of Alex Salmond, standing instead as depute (deputy) leader on a joint ticket with Salmond. [265], Sturgeon was highly critical of Donald Trump and his policies during the 2016 United States presidential election and had publicly backed his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. A second example would be the Named Person Act, which requires every Scottish child up to age 18 to have a guardian appointed by the state to huge opposition from churches including the Catholics. [248] Sturgeon tweeted that the figures were "unacceptable, each one a human tragedy",[249] while the Scottish Liberal Democrats said: "It was Nicola Sturgeon's choice to ignore this unfolding epidemic. Nicola Sturgeon is the current (2015) First Minister. Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who has served as the countrys First Minister since 2014. She led the Scottish Government's response, implementing a series of restrictions on social gatherings and rolling out the vaccine programme. [65], In 2012 she pledged to build a high-speed railway line between Glasgow and Edinburgh by 2024, cutting journey times between the two cities to under 30 minutes. [235], On 22 December 2022, the Scottish Parliament voted 86 to 39 to pass the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill which was introduced by Sturgeon's government, but the bill was vetoed by the UK Government. The recent controversy, however, involving Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's deputy first minister, the BBC and Ireland's Europea minister Lucinda Creighton should be a warning to the SNP government at . [276] She described the Queen as the "greatest constant in our national life" and added her death was a day for reflection and remembrance" and "a day for giving thanks to The Queen for her devotion to duty and the decades of public service she gave to the people of Scotland.[277][278], She has at times been a critic of austerity, saying that the UK government's "austerity economics" is "morally unjustifiable and economically unsustainable". Image: Belfast Telegraph First Minister condemns anti-Catholic bigotry First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has publicly condemned anti-Catholic bigotry during First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament. [87] On this date, Sturgeon also came out on top in a trust rating opinion poll, conducted for the SNP, which indicated that 54% of the Scottish population trusted her to "stand up for Scotland's interests". Acknowledging this, Sturgeon suggested: "That is why the SNP have urged a policy for many months that we believe can provide people with the necessary reassurance, by providing a statutory underpinning to the guidelines, and resolve this difficult debate. [56][57], On 11 June, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the influenza virus a pandemic. Sturgeon oversaw the scrapping of prescription charges and was widely recognised for her handling of the 2009 swine flu pandemic. [317][318], At the beginning of Sturgeon's political career, she was often regarded as a "nippy sweetie", Scottish slang for the "sharp-tongued and strong-minded". Yes, I think that is true. The Catholicism of the Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy has attracted some attention this week against a backdrop of fascinating political developments in Scotland. [24] Shortly after this, Sturgeon was appointed as the SNP's spokesperson for energy and education matters. She is the first woman to hold either position. Labour refused to support the bill as they claimed it failed to tackle windfall profit from alcohol retailers. [199][200][201], The Scottish Government had commissioned two new ferries for 97m from Ferguson's shipyard in 2015, but the construction of the two vessels was beset by delays and complications. [237] Sturgeon refused to say if she regards Bryson as a man or woman, though she used female pronouns when talking about Bryson. This followed her admitting that she had had a secret meeting and subsequent phone call with Salmond about the Scottish government's allegations against him. This also made her First Minister-Designate, given the SNP's absolute majority in the Scottish Parliament. [35] Sturgeon quickly grew a reputation in Holyrood as opposition leader, becoming known as "nippy sweetie" Scottish slang for the "sharp-tongued and strong-minded". [55] Authorities in both Scotland and England stated that there were no plans to trace the fellow airline passengers who may have travelled alongside the couple, since the authorities do not classify them as "close contacts". "[155], In April 2022 Sturgeon demanded that Prime Minister Boris Johnson resign after police fined him for breaking lockdown rules in 2020. Nicola Sturgeon condemns recent vandalism at St Simon's Partick at First Minister Questions today May 2nd. She is the eldest child of her parents, Robin and Joanne Sturgeon. The SNP won 48 seats, and came second place in the 11 others; their 45% of the vote yielded 80% of the seats in Scotland. On 24 June, Sturgeon said she would communicate to all EU member states that Scotland had voted to stay in the EU. Professor Emeritus of Politics, University of Bradford. Feb 15, 2023 Nicola Sturgeon being catholic has been a major turn-up on the internet, as the Scottish politician has condemned anti-catholic prejudice. She was unsuccessful, having been beaten by almost 15,000 votes by Labour. She also served as Cabinet Secretary for Health, Infrastructure, and Parliament. [311][312][313] Sturgeon claimed Johnson's "fragile male ego" stopped him from meeting her. [32], The results of the leadership contest were announced on 3 September 2004, with Salmond and Sturgeon elected as Leader and Depute Leader respectively. This win resulted in Sturgeon becoming the first First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament to form a third government. [185] As part of the agreement, the Green Party co-leaders would be nominated to serve as ministers. No. It has been supplanted by left-wing agitators, celebrities, mocking comedians and restless academics and journalists. [47] She reversed the decision to close casualty units at University Hospital Ayr and University Hospital Monklands.