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Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Nicola Sturgeon said staff in this Glasgow pub wouldn't serve her
In her book, Frankly, the MSP tells of her younger days in the SNP while still a university student. In 1989, there was a by-election in Glasgow Central, which saw a young Nicola Sturgeon campaigning for Alex Neil, who was hoping to win the seat from Labour, whose candidate was Mike Watson. READ NEXT:'Fenian B******': Nicola Sturgeon tells of sectarian abuse campaigning in Govan Labour held the seat fairly comfortably by 14,480 to the SNP's 8018. She wrote that the highlight of that campaign for her was a 'nightly 'protest'' she and her friend, and later to be cabinet colleague, Shona Robison, staged. The SNP campaign office was next door to The Laurieston, which she said: 'was and still is a very traditional, much loved Glasgow pub'. However, Sturgeon said not everyone was treated equally by some of the staff. She wrote: 'There were a couple of bartenders who refused point blank to serve Shona or me, always pretending not to see us as they took orders from men behind us in the queue. She said she doubted it was official pub policy not to serve women and suspected they were 'trying to put a couple of uppity university students in their place'. READ NEXT:Nicola Sturgeon tells of 'shame' at racism tactics in campaign team READ NEXT:Nicola Sturgeon reveals what she thinks of the nickname that 'stuck' Sturgeon said: 'Every night after campaigning, we would perch ourselves on bar stools and loudly demand to be served, usually to no avail, leaving us to drink pints bought for us by our male friends instead.' Sturgeon said at that time she was involved in both national and student politics, campaigning for the Glasgow University Student Nationalist Association to elect Hue and Cry singer Pat Kane as Rector up against Labour candidate Tony Benn. She said that was a 'big step up', giving her experience not just as a 'foot soldier' but 'where I found the confidence to put forward ideas and shape how we ran the campaign'.
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon tells of sectarian abuse she faced in Glasgow's Govan
The book, due for release on Thursday this week, was put on sale by Waterstones in Glasgow on Monday. Dozens of copies were displayed, and our sister title the Glasgow Times was able to purchase one. She was the SNP candidate for Govan in the 1997 General Election a young "rising star" in the SNP. Soon, she realised that there would be more to politics in this constituency than the issues of the day. Read Next: She said: 'I was chased away from one door with shouts of 'Fenian B******' ringing in my ears'. She added that there were 'whispers percolating around the constituency that I was an active supporter of the IRA.' The former First Minister said: ' It was deeply unpleasant and an unwelcome education in the darker 'arts' of political campaigning.' The MSP recalled: 'Although I had grown up in Ayrshire, I had never experienced the depth of sectarianism I encountered in parts of Govan.' She said the sectarianism was 'particularly perplexing' given she had 'grown up, nominally at least, as a Protestant in the Church of Scotland.' What the abuse did was, she said, let her see what others had to endure. She said: 'It was also horribly eye-opening to (see) what the Irish Catholic community has suffered for far too long.' The root of the abuse, she said appeared to be because her campaign team would frequent the Govan Arms Pub, which she was known to be 'strongly Celtic supporting'.
Glasgow Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Nicola Sturgeon tells of sectarian abuse she faced in Glasgow's Govan
In her memoir Frankly, Sturgeon recalls her experience on the streets of Govan during the General Election of 1997. The book, due for release on Thursday this week, was put on sale by Waterstones in Glasgow for a few hours on Monday before it was promptly pulled. Dozens of copies were displayed, and the Glasgow Times was able to purchase a copy before it was ater removed from the shelves. She was the SNP candidate for Govan in the 1997 General Election a young "rising star" in the SNP. Soon, she realised that there would be more to politics in this constituency than the issues of the day. READ NEXT:Number of public parades held in Glasgow revealed: here's how many She said: 'I was chased away from one door with shouts of 'Fenian B******' ringing in my ears'. She added that there were 'whispers percolating around the constituency that I was an active supporter of the IRA.' The former First Minister said: ' It was deeply unpleasant and an unwelcome education in the darker 'arts' of political campaigning.' The MSP recalled: 'Although I had grown up in Ayrshire, I had never experienced the depth of sectarianism I encountered in parts of Govan.' She said the sectarianism was 'particularly perplexing' given she had 'grown up, nominally at least, as a Protestant in the Church of Scotland.' What the abuse did was, she said, let her see what others had to endure. She said: 'It was also horribly eye-opening to (see) what the Irish Catholic community has suffered for far too long.' The root of the abuse, she said appeared to be because her campaign team would frequent the Govan Arms Pub, which she was known to be 'strongly Celtic supporting'.
