Latest news with #ex-SNP
Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Scottish Government chiefs' verdict after Nicola Sturgeon forced to hand over memoir
Documents reveal four copies of 'Frankly' were handed over and will be 'securely held' NIC ALL-WRITE Scottish Government chiefs' verdict after Nicola Sturgeon forced to hand over memoir CIVIL servants spent a month poring over Nicola Sturgeon's memoir for potentially reputation-damaging stories. The ex-SNP leader's book was submitted to the Scottish Government under vetting rules requiring ex-ministers not to write negatively about officials. 1 'Frankly' will hit the shelves on August 14 Credit: INSTAGRAM Documents reveal four copies of 'Frankly' were handed over and will be 'securely held' to avoid leaks before its August 14 release. A senior team including a top aide overseeing ethics reviewed the manuscript in April before signing it off that month. Records also show former First Minister Ms Sturgeon tried to ensure it was kept under wraps. She told the Government: 'I'd be grateful for an indication of what the circulation will be within SG and what steps will be taken to ensure confidentiality.' Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'The public will hope this forensic poring over of Nicola Sturgeon's memoir did not divert from crucial work — or this editing did not dilute it down from being as frank as she claims.' Ministers declined to comment. Ms Sturgeon's spokeswoman said she was 'looking forward' to her autobiography's launch. We told previously the ex-FM has pocketed another £76,500 for her upcoming book through her personal company, Holyrood records show. Sturgeon declared the second of four payments to the Scottish Parliament. Her register of interests states: "On 21 March 2025 my company NICOLA STURGEON LIMITED received a payment of £76,500 made via my literary agent, DHA. This represents the second of four instalments of a book advance from Pan Macmillan of £75,000 (plus VAT and minus agent commission)." She has promised her book will be open and honest about her time as First Minister and her fall-out with her former ally, Alex Salmond.
Scottish Sun
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Nicola Sturgeon lands more than £76K in SECOND book payment with two more fees still to come
More details about the ex-FM's company can be found below WRITE GOOD DEAL Nicola Sturgeon lands more than £76K in SECOND book payment with two more fees still to come Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICOLA Sturgeon has pocketed another £76,500 for her upcoming book through her personal company, Holyrood records show. The former first minister, whose memoir 'Frankly' is due out in August, declared the second of four payments to the Scottish Parliament. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 3 Nicola Sturgeon has featured at literary events Credit: PA 3 The memoir is due out in August Credit: SUPPLIED Her register of interests states: "On 21 March 2025 my company NICOLA STURGEON LIMITED received a payment of £76,500 made via my literary agent, DHA. This represents the second of four instalments of a book advance from Pan Macmillan of £75,000 (plus VAT and minus agent commission)." She has promised her book, titled 'Frankly', will be open and honest about her time as First Minister and her fall-out with her former ally, Alex Salmond. Find out what's really going on Register now for our free weekly politics newsletter for an insightful and irreverent look at the (sometimes excruciating) world of Scottish Politics. Every Thursday our hotshot politics team goes behind the headlines to bring you a rundown of key events - plus insights and gossip from the corridors of power, including a 'Plonker' and 'Star' of the Week. Sign up now and make sure you don't miss a beat. The politicians would hate that. SIGN UP FOR FREE NOW Holyrood records also show the ex-SNP leader was paid another £600 for a book review for the New Statesman magazine, and declared almost £680 in travel and accommodation paid for by her company. Last year, Ms Sturgeon received £25,000 from broadcasters ITN after she appeared on ITV's general election results show. Scottish Tory MSP for Glasgow, Annie Wells, blasted the cash and said Ms Sturgeon had become a "part-time MSP". She said: "This confirms that since resigning as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has become a part-time MSP rather than properly representing Glasgow Southside. 'It will stick in the throat of Nicola Sturgeon's constituents that she is continuing to coin it in for her work away from Holyrood at a time when they are facing huge challenges. 'Since leaving Bute House it is clear the former First Minister has been more interested in writing her memoirs and touring the festival circuit, rather than turning up to Parliament. 'Nicola Sturgeon should be upfront about where her priorities lie given she doesn't seem interested in raising issues facing Glasgow Southside anymore.
Press and Journal
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
Nicola Sturgeon charging over £100 for Aberdeen show tickets and 'meet-and-greet'
Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Image: PA. Nicola Sturgeon is charging fans more than £100 to meet her and attend an audience Q&A in Aberdeen. The ex-SNP leader will be at the city's Music Hall on September 7. Basic tickets to attend the show – billed as an Evening with Nicola Sturgeon – range from £33 to £73. But anyone who hopes to 'meet and greet' the ex-first minister before the event needs to pay £75 on top of that. Ms Sturgeon added the Aberdeen date due to high demand for her previously announced show in Edinburgh a month later. The former SNP chief will be 'reflecting on my life in politics' and her time as first minister. The Aberdeen event will come less than a month after Ms Sturgeon's autobiography, entitled Frankly, is released on August 25. Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond. Image: PA. The book promises to explore the bitter fall-out with her mentor and predecessor Alex Salmond, who died last October. Ms Sturgeon served as first minister from 2014 to 2023. She already announced her plans to stand down as an MSP at next year's election. The former first minister's home was raided by police last year as part of their investigation into SNP finances. Nicola Sturgeon's show will be held at Aberdeen Music Hall. Image: Ben Hendry/DCT Media. Her husband Peter Murrell – who she has now separated from – was arrested and later charged with embezzlement. Ms Sturgeon was arrested as part of the police probe in 2023, but later released without charge. Outside of parliamentary duties, she banked £25,000 at the Westminster election last July for appearing on ITV as a pundit. Tags
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Nicola Sturgeon branded 'threat to our democracy' after refusing to apologise after Supreme Court gender ruling
Sturgeon told journalists she 'fundamentally disagreed' when asked if she should apologise to women in light of the Supreme Court ruling. Nicola Sturgeon has been branded a "threat to our democracy" after she refused to apologise to campaigners who launched a successful legal challenge against the Scottish Government over trans rights. The former SNP leader was quizzed by reporters today at the Scottish Parliament on the UK Supreme Court's recent ruling that sex is defined by biological sex under equality law. Sturgeon, the driving force behind plans to make it easier for Scots to legally change their gender, has been repeatedly accused of ignoring concerns over the impact of the now abandoned reforms. The former first minister today rejected calls for her to apologise to critics of gender self-ID, saying she 'fundamentally and respectfully disagreed' with such calls. That stance was blasted by Joanna Cherry, a frequent critic of the Scottish Government's strategy on gender. Cherry said: "Nicola Sturgeon is trying to rewrite history (again) but I and all the women who fought to protect our rights haven't forgotten that she called our views 'not valid' and branded us bigots etc. "Her behaviour was a disgrace and an existential threat to our democracy". The former MP, who lost her seat at last year's general election, previously claimed Sturgeon had called her "a bigot and a transphobe for sticking up for the rights of women and lesbians." The ex-SNP leader was the driving force behind the controversial Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Act that was eventually blocked by the UK Government in 2023. The Supreme Court ruling followed years of legal wrangling which began in 2018 while Sturgeon was still first minister. The EHRC has since published an interim update on what it means for the operation of single-sex spaces. Speaking to reporters, Sturgeon said: "I would be very concerned if that interim guidance became the final guidance. I hope that's not the case because I think that potentially makes the lives of trans people almost unliveable." Sturgeon also said it was not 'inevitable' that the Supreme Court judgment on the definition of a woman will make the lives of transgender people 'impossibly difficult'. But the former first minister of Scotland said there was a 'danger' that those interpreting the law could put trans rights at risk. 'If that is the case, then yes, it would be my view that the law as it stands needs to be looked at,' she told reporters at Holyrood. The three-year legal fight over gender started when campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) brought a series of challenges over the definition of "woman" included in legislation drafted at Holyrood - which mandated 50 per cent female representation on public boards. The dispute centred on whether someone with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the UK 2010 Equality Act.
The Courier
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
Steve Finan on Angus Council chaos and Dundee whispers
How entertaining it has been to watch the Angus version of Fawlty Towers playing out another episode of high farce. Who is in what job on Angus Council? Who is in which party? Who has any credibility left? The councillors decided they had no confidence in each other. That, at least, reflects the way their constituents feel. And, believe me, the chaos isn't finished. Angus has a rookie councillor, who is ex-SNP, leading a coalition with eight Tories in it. What could possibly go wrong? The only sensible thing any of them has said came on Tuesday. Derek Wann (who at time of writing was deputy council leader – though this might have changed two or three times by now) stated: 'Council priorities based solely on party political affiliation can no longer be the norm.' Absolutely right (although I don't think he realised he'd effectively said: 'I should resign'). Party affiliation has no bearing on where flood defences are built, or how to combat coastal erosion, or which potholes to fill in. A clash of personalities between two independents remains a two-person thing. A clash within a party creates allies, enemies, factions, backstabbing, manoeuvring, and an utter inability to do the job properly. Dundee suffers similarly. I am continually passed whispers about tensions within Dundee's SNP group – who hates who, and who pretends not to. It is tedious. The petty ploys of badly-behaved children. But we are left with important decisions being taken by people who think snide comments about the dress sense of colleagues is 'doing politics'. Get them out. Vote for an independent. A real person. Judge candidates on their strength of character, debating skills, and original ideas. Don't vote for a robot who can only do what their party allows and only think what their party tells them to think. I cannot understand how these councillors can bear to be so downtrodden, so subservient, so lacking in personality that they can't speak for themselves. How do they justify it to friends and families? How can they have self-respect? Most of the no-marks who become party candidates were selected due to the number of times they turned up to stuff leaflets through letterboxes on rainy days. To me, that's not a good enough qualification for a job that requires the ability to negotiate, co-operate, innovate, and find solutions. There are some real duds on Dundee and Angus councils. In some cases, they've been given promoted roles, which leave them achingly out of their depth. I'll tell you how to spot them. Count the number of times a councillor has voted against party orders. Count the times they decided, for themselves what they think, or put forward a proposal contrary to what their group leader dictated. If the answer is zero, then you can see they believe they work for the good of their party not their constituents. Do you disagree? Instead of just throwing empty insults at me (amusing though that is), point out one councillor who is a free thinker with the intelligence and chutzpah to vote on their conscience and beliefs rather than follow party orders. Local government should be done by people whose first care is for their locality.
