logo
Nicola Sturgeon's ‘political instinct' to back a united Ireland

Nicola Sturgeon's ‘political instinct' to back a united Ireland

However, the former Scottish first minister insisted the issue of Northern Ireland's future is for people there to decide.
She stressed that was the case because she said she could 'get bit prickly if people from outside Scotland start to say what's best for Scotland'.
However, speaking to the Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster, she stated: 'My political instinct would be in favour of a united Ireland.
'But that's not a matter for me.'
Ms Sturgeon continued that as a supporter of Scottish independence, she believes that 'Westminster governance has not served Scotland well', adding that she is 'not sure it will have served Northern Ireland well'.
The former SNP leader said: 'I think what Brexit did to Northern Ireland and has done to Scotland is probably an example of the downsides of Westminster governments.'
However, she that 'detailed assessments' over whether the province's future should be in the UK or as part of a united Ireland were 'for people in Northern Ireland to make'.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Scotland lacking emergency response to drug deaths crisis, expert says
Scotland lacking emergency response to drug deaths crisis, expert says

STV News

timea few seconds ago

  • STV News

Scotland lacking emergency response to drug deaths crisis, expert says

Scotland is lacking an emergency response to the country's drug deaths crisis, despite the Scottish Government describing it as an emergency, an expert said. Kirsten Horsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), said public policy was heading in the right direction. But she warned that 'intent without action' was the 'major problem' facing the country. Speaking during an event at the Festival of Politics at Holyrood chaired by SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll, Ms Horsburgh said drug legalisation should be 'on the table' as part of the solutions to the crisis. And she said safer drug consumption rooms, such as the one in Glasgow, should be rolled out 'at scale'. Ms Horsburgh told an audience at the Scottish Parliament: 'There are things we are doing well in Scotland and there are obviously things we are not doing well. 'The things we are doing well is finally reaching a point where we have the right policy direction. 'But policy intent without action, the implementation gap and pace are the major issues here.' She added: 'All these things require urgency. 'We've described the issue in Scotland as a public health emergency but what we've done so far is far from a public health emergency response – it's lacking in pace and attention that the issue really needs.' Ms Horsburgh said pilots such as the safer drug consumption room in Glasgow, the first of its kind in the UK, should be done 'at scale'. The SDF chief executive said policies such as drug legalisation should also be 'on the table', but admitted it was something unlikely to be looked at by the UK Government, which controls drug laws. Catriona Matheson, professor of substance use at the University of Stirling, also appeared on the panel. She said poly-drug use, the use of more than one drug by a person, was now common in Scotland. Prof Matheson said the Government had to adapt and respond quickly to a drug market that 'changes all the time'. The academic stressed the importance of 'psycho-social' support for people with addiction that could help get to the root of the issue, which the panel said included issues such as trauma, poverty and mental wellbeing. But she warned that 'previous negative experiences' from people seeking rehabilitation services acted as a 'barrier' in the support offered to those in need. 'That's something that needs to be overcome,' Prof Matheson said, 'and it's not easy to fix.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country

UN case will determine who is entitled to call an indy referendum
UN case will determine who is entitled to call an indy referendum

The National

timean hour ago

  • The National

UN case will determine who is entitled to call an indy referendum

However, Campbell seems to be under the illusion that either Westminster or the United Nations (UN) will grant us independence when in reality neither will for different reasons. In the case of Westminster, they lose territory, people, revenue and power, so they will never grant us the right to hold another referendum or grant us independence even if the polls were at 100% in favour. As such, we need a way forward to hold a legal referendum that Westminster can't do anything about. READ MORE: Every plan to achieve indy must be subject to the test of practicality With the UN, they act as a final court in international matters of decolonisation. As with any court, it is up to the petitioner to prove the case and by the same standard, for others to disprove the case. That can take a few years to reach a final decision. If we win, it doesn't mean that we automatically get independence, it means that the legal position of who can call an independence referendum changes from Westminster to Holyrood and it also means that the majority of UN members will back our claim if we become independent. It also means that whomever is in power in Holyrood at any time can call an independence referendum at a time of their choosing. In other words, Westminster can't veto a future referendum or tell us how many years we have to wait before the next one, and we can hold as many as we need to get the majority we need. I would say that's to our benefit. Yes, Campbell is correct in that we need to do a lot more to shift figures towards a large majority, but is it wasting the time of the UN to appeal to them for help when we have been at stalemate for the last 11 years and can't find a way forward, and the Westminster position is that we are subservient to them? After all, independence is the ultimate goal and that's a long-term solution and not a chant during a march with some flag-waving thrown in as well, no matter how enjoyable the marches are. READ MORE: Octopus Energy steps in as SNP members call to pause Scottish renewable projects One problem we have at present is the laws around electioneering outwith an official referendum/election. That effectively prevents open debate of all the issues from both sides, and we know that the Unionists don't want to debate the matter anyway. If you can't openly debate the issue, then you can't persuade the electorate to come over to the side of independence, and you can't persuade them that your points are valid. As it stands, if certain facts and figures have not been published in the red-top newspapers or by the BBC, then Unionists don't want to know them and claim that we are making them up. It was that open debate in 2014 that made a lot of people move from No to Yes. We need to be careful how we take the independence movement forward. Campbell isn't the first to advocate a more forceful protest and I've done so in the past myself so I'm not totally against the idea. However, I'm 70 years old with just a basic pension. The poll tax and bridge tolls were a long time ago now, it's time for us older ones to hand over the baton to the more active and just as willing Scots who want independence. Alexander Potts Kilmarnock IN his letter 'One election outcome in 2026 could open up multiple routes to indy' (Aug 18), Alistair Potter writes: 'The first-past-the-post plural voting system awards the majority of seats to the largest minority. Scotland uses the identical voting system in the constituencies, and then uses a list system to allocate seats on a proportional basis, which also serves the dual purpose of preventing a party that has done well in the constituencies from winning an even bigger disproportionate share of seats.' The plurality formula (known as FPTP or relative majority method) requires that to be elected a candidate only has to achieve a simple majority of votes (the largest amount of votes). READ MORE: SNP must not act as bystanders in run-up to next year's election List seats for the Scottish Parliament elections are allocated to the party or individual which has the highest regional figure at an allocation, after any recalculation has been made as a result of the previous allocation, NOT on a proportional basis. The effect of voting on the list for 'any indy party that is NOT the SNP' would be that the democratic legitimacy ends with the allocation of the first list seat because of the d'Hondt method being used in CONJUNCTION with FPTP. The sum of successful list allocation quotients for that party would be more than 400% greater than the actual votes received. The combination of the numbers of constituency seats won and list seats allocated (62 + 35) would be extremely disproportionate to the share of the vote (for the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections that would have meant 75% of the seats with only very slightly more than 50% of the vote). Scottish saying: Facts are chiels that winna ding – facts cannot lie. Michael Follon Glenrothes IT is refreshing to have a candidate for the Scottish Greens leadership stressing an environmental issue, in this case climate change ('I may be electoral risk but Greens need to focus on climate leadership', Aug 19). It makes a change from gender and other distractions. Remember, the Greens evolved from the Ecology Party, whose very name stressed environmental priority. Recognising the imminence of global population overshoot, they had a policy commitment to a birth rate well below the replacement rate (2.1 kids per woman). Some 25 years ago, however, that was airbrushed out of the 'Policy Reference Document' at a time when the gender brigade were taking over the party. READ MORE: Scottish Greens need to 'broaden appeal' outside middle class voters Sir David Attenborough has said there is no environmental problem which would not be eased through a lower population. Will the Greens take his message on board, especially now that even Scotland is in population overshoot as measured by our bio-capacity? George Morton Rosyth

Nicola Sturgeon hails JK Rowling amid 'complete f**kwit' trans row jibe
Nicola Sturgeon hails JK Rowling amid 'complete f**kwit' trans row jibe

Scottish Sun

timean hour ago

  • Scottish Sun

Nicola Sturgeon hails JK Rowling amid 'complete f**kwit' trans row jibe

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICOLA Sturgeon insists she still admires JK Rowling and buys her books - despite the Harry Potter author branding her 'a complete f**kwit'. The ex-first minister fired back in the war of words between the pair and called for the billionaire writer to face 'more scrutiny' over her stance on trans issues. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 3 Nicola Sturgeon admitted she still admires JK Rowling Credit: Alamy 3 The author penned a foul-mouthed review of Ms Sturgeon's new book Credit: PA 3 The former FM admitted still buying Harry Potter books despite her war of words with the author Credit: Getty Ms Rowling was a vocal critic of the gender recognition reforms championed by Ms Sturgeon and famously donned a t-shirt which branded the SNP MSP a 'destroyer of women's rights'. In her new autobiography, Ms Sturgeon said the stunt led to a surge of 'vile' abuse against her and made her feel 'more at risk' of physical harm. And in an interview with BBC Radio Ulster, Ms Sturgeon said: 'I have bought Harry Potter books for all of the kids in my life and I will continue to do so as long as they want to read them. 'I think she is an amazing talent and has done great things.' She added that Ms Rowling is 'absolutely entitled to speak her mind' but added: 'I don't admire the way some people have gone from speaking their minds on this issue to, almost it seems, to be punching down on trans people who have never harmed anybody at any point in their life. 'JK Rowling is absolutely entitled to her view, maybe putting herself up for a bit more scrutiny about her view would be helpful, but I don't criticise her for expressing her view. 'But I think I would like to see a bit less punching down on trans people to be perfectly frank.' In a scathing review of Ms Sturgeon's book, Frankly, the Harry Potter author slammed her for not addressing a string of scandals during her time leading the country including the delayed ferry scandal, deleted covid WhatsApp messages, drug deaths and education failings. But and her turned on her for the disastrous handling of the Isla Bryson saga when Ms Sturgeon was unable to say is the trans rapist - born male - was a man or a woman. Ms Rowling wrote: 'When asked on television whether bald, blonde wig-wearing Bryson was a man or a woman, the First Minister, whose composure and articulacy under fire had, for years, been her most potent political asset, made herself look – and forgive me for employing a PR term here – a complete f***wit.' Five of the biggest BOMBSHELL moments from Nicola Sturgeon's new memoir But Ms Sturgeon told BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show that she 'wasn't destroying women's rights', and added: 'Is it really the best way to elevate a debate, put a picture of yourself in a T-shirt with something like that? That is the point I am making.' Ms Sturgeon sparked fury when Holyrood debated proposals for her government to make it easier for trans people to legally change their gender - without any legal or medical certificates. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by Holyrood but it was blocked by Westminster, with the changes never coming into force.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store