Readers' Letters Like her or not, Nicola Sturgeon made a mark

No one saw that coming! But, was it a shock? It did send shockwaves through the political climate in Scotland and ultimately the UK.

Nicola Sturgeon at yesterday's Bute House press conference where she announced she will stand down as First Minister (Picture: Jane Barlow/Pool/AFP)

As Scotland’s First Minister announces she is stepping down from post and also as Leader of the SNP I am sure the country recognises Nicola Sturgeon certainly put in a shift. As the first female First Minister and the longest serving FM, Ms Sturgeon led from the front, carried the country through Covid with distinction and leadership.

And as she steps down her popularity ratings are still positive, the highest of all party leaders in the UK, an amazing achievement after holding the post for over eight years. During those eight years, Ms Sturgeon has successfully led the SNP to election victories in two Holyrood elections, three Westminster elections, two national Council elections, one European election and an EU referendum, a very impressive record and one no other political leader in modern times has matched.

So regardless of one’s political standing, regardless of past voting and future voting intentions, a recognition of Scotland’s departing First Ministers achievement and service to country must be acknowledged.

Catriona C Clark, Banknock, Falkirk

What a waste

I have been surprised, following the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon, to see commentators concentrate on independence and the transgender issues as the main focus for assessing the success, or otherwise, of her tenure. It is undoubtedly true that Ms Sturgeon has raised the profile of Scotland and the issue of its relationship with the UK, but surely any comprehensive assessment should include the massive and expensive delays incurred over the opening of new hospitals, the protracted ferries disaster and the inordinate sums of money that have disappeared in legal challenges andexpensive attempts to prop up firms in “difficulty” – assistance that only delayed collapse.

James Watson, Dunbar, East Lothian

Good job

Personally I am saddened at the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon. She has strengthened the Union despite Boris Johnson and Liz Truss being in power at Westminster.

Her named person scheme, minimum pricing for alcohol, gender recognition bill, and the still-to-come, ill conceived, Deposit Return Scheme have left the Union more secure than at any time in her tenure.

Her failures in education, the poverty gap, the dualling of the A9 are set aside in her mind by her election triumphs. It was evident in her resignation speech she is still under the delusion that she has done a good job. The tragedy is that so many others believed her. Can someone please tell me any way in which Scotland has improved since 2014?

Howard Lewis, Edinburgh

Priorities

With Nicola Sturgeon resigning it is time to reassess how we should be governed. Any leader of the SNP needs to refocus on the priorities for the country namely: Growth – how can we boost the economy to generate more income rather than just putting taxes up?; Health – how can we deliver more care on a cost-conscious basis by not just adding in more and more cash without improving the outcome?; Education – allow much more diversity across schooling, allow schools to become the centres for sport/music/finance/art/drama and not just religion; Transport – start delivering on projects such as the A9, A75, A96, Edinburgh City bypass, Trams, Green buses, ferries for our islands.

If an SNP government can show it is delivering then maybe Independence will come naturally – or perhaps Devo Max should be the target, that might enjoy more public backing. The whingeing about Westminster is not doing them, or indeed, the rest of us, a favour.

However, knowing the SNP, it’s highly unlikely and they will continue the same level of incompetence whoever the new leader is, sadly.

Jeff Lewis, Edinburgh

Who’s on next?

Now the big question is the succession. I was astonished to hear Nicola Sturgeon referring repeatedly to the wealth of “talent” in her party. It is not only inveterate opponents of the SNP, like myself, who find it hard to discern political or other talent in the wider SNP leadership. Keith Brown? Angus Robertson? Kate Forbes? John Swinney? Stephen Flynn? To ask the question is to know the answer.

The stand-out SNP MSP, judging by recent performances, is Ash Regan. But her party will not forgive her principled, intelligent and articulate opposition to the Gender Recognition Reform bill.

I just hope the Chinese curse, “may you live interesting times”, isn’t too damaging for us.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

Dump Holyrood

It is surely a great relief to the majority of Scots voters that the SNP threat is in tatters. Obviously a replacement for Nicola Sturgeon will be found but, unless that person can persuade the electorate that Scotland, as a separate country, can exist economically, industrially, and indeed in these troubled times, be secure from a defence perspective, then “independence” is merely a pipe-dream.

It is obvious to all “thinking” people that a change of attitude is desperately needed at Holyrood. Unless that happens we Scots would be much better off if the governance of the UK was returned to Westminster. The concept of regional parliaments simply has not been a success.

Robert I G Scott, Ceres, Fife

Fishy tale

On Sunday evening I phoned my local chip shop to order for a single fish. I added: “In fact, make it a jumbo, I'm starving.” Then as I joke, I said, “actually make that a dolphin.”

“What's a dolphin?” came the reply. I thought he was joking, but no, he didn't know what a dolphin was. I couldn't believe it.

When I went to collect the food I mentioned this to the owner who was bemused enough to ask the staff who it was, She came back, incredulous: three of the seven staff (the males, all in their late teens or early 20's) didn't know what a dolphin is.

This is the real legacy of election-winning superstar, judge me on my education record, “State Mammy” Nicola Sturgeon: a generation of Curriculum for Excellence youngsters for whom unawareness of dolphins is the least of their skills, knowledge and attainment worries

Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

A sad day

What a sad day, Nicola Sturgeon is resigning as First Minister of Scotland. A truly awful day, just when she was beginning to successfully expose the SNP for what it is, incompetent to its very core. I was praying for her to survive so that she could read the SNP's last rites in the very near future.

Stan Hogarth, Strathaven, South Lanarkshire

Proud record?

Nicola Sturgeon claimed in her resignation speech that she was “very proud of her achievements”. What achievements might these be? She decided that all our oil and gas fields should be run down and no new ones opened. She banned fracking and new nuclear power stations. She seemed more concerned with the rights of men who say they are women than protecting women from rapists. She damaged Scotland’s jewel in the export crown – whisky. Not content with increasing its minimum price she wants to legislate to stop distilleries advertising their legendary products.

In partnership with the Greens, she will force the drinks industries to spend millions on a complex bottle recycling scheme which experts say will not work. In two years’ time she intends, again with the Greens, that off-grid homes will have to phase out their gas and oil boilers. She forced home owners to spend hundreds of pounds on unnecessary linked smoke alarms. She plans to reduce our car use by 20 per cent and turn our cities into obstacle courses for motorists, while the pothole crisis grows.

She wants us to travel less and stop flying to holiday abroad. If you live on one of Scotland's 93 inhabited islands you are liable to be marooned because of her ferries fiasco. Poverty in Scotland had been declining for years until the SNP took over and then it rose and rose. Sturgeon said she wanted to be judged on Scotland's education service. So? Education standards have declined to the point where the SNP won't publish comparative OECD data. Indiscipline in schools has soared. During Sturgeon’s reign Scots life expectancy decreased, while drugs deaths rose. Thank goodness she has gone and Scots won’t suffer another cult of personality any time soon.

William Loneskie, Oxton, Berwickshire

Time for inquiry

Nicola Sturgeon crumbles the moment people start standing up to her – and well done to Fergus Ewing MSP in leading the cross party revolt making it clear those in the Highlands would not stand for her reneging on upgrading the A9 – one of Scotland’s worst death traps – all to please the freakshow that's hijacked the Scottish Greens, who would rather infrastructure budgets were spent on Drag Queen Storytime sessions for tots.I look forward to a full UK Government inquiry into the massive mismanagement of Holyrood's powers and budget under Sturgeon and her cronies these last eight years.

Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

Election time?

When the Conservatives changed prime minister, they were criticised by many, including the SNP, for not having an election after the change. Will we then be having an election after the First Minister goes?

William Ballantine, Bo’ness, West Lothian

Write to The Scotsman

We welcome your thoughts – NO letters submitted elsewhere, please. Write to [email protected] including name, address and phone number – we won't print full details. Keep letters under 300 words, with no attachments, and avoid 'Letters to the Editor/Readers’ Letters' or similar in your subject line - be specific. If referring to an article, include date, page number and heading.

Subscribe

Subscribe at www.scotsman.com/subscriptions