Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland can learn from New Zealand as Jacinda Ardern scores 'resounding' election victory

Nicola Sturgeon has sent her congratulations to Jacinda Ardern after the New Zealand prime minister won a landslide victory to serve a second term in office.

Nicola Sturgeon has sent congratulations to New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern after her landslide election victory

Scotland’s First Minister took to social media to salute the 40-year-old leader, who has seen her popularity surge during the coronavirus crisis.

The Scottish premier also quoted words from Ms Ardern’s victory speech, suggesting Scotland could learn from New Zealand.

“Congratulations on your resounding re-election,” she tweeted.

“These words resonate and perhaps they hold a lesson for Scotland too - ‘As a nation, we can listen, we can debate… we are too small to lose sight of other people’s perspective.’”

Ms Ardern's successful handling of the coronavirus crisis has been credited for winning the election for the Labour Party.

Her government has focused particularly on the housing crisis in New Zealand, child poverty and social inequality since coming into power in 2017.

She led the country through the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019, rapidly introducing strict gun laws in response.

The First Minister has suggested Scotland could learn from New Zealand

Throughout 2020 she has steered the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The leader was standing against Judith Collins of the National Party, who conceded defeat as early results showed Ms Ardern’s party on track to win almost 50 per cent of the vote.

Ms Ardern’s Labour Party is projected to win 64 seats - enough for an outright majority.

No party in New Zealand has managed to do so since the country introduced a voting system known as mixed member proportional representation (MMP) in 1996.

Before the vote, experts were doubtful the Labour Party could win such a majority.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers – and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director