• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE TO BYLINES SCOTLAND
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
Bylines Scotland
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Bylines Scotland Breaking News
    • Europe
    • King Charles III
    • Queen Elizabeth II
    • Scotland
    • War in Ukraine
    • World
    Scotland's Pro-EU

    Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

    Front cover of Scottish Currency Q&A booklet

    Priorities for the SNP and the Scottish Government on currency

    Portrait of Humza Yousaf

    Humza Yousaf’s plans if he becomes the SNP leader

    Media distortion

    Truth and Trust

    Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

    Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

    Health service

    Funding the Scottish Health Service 

    Sunflower in watercolour for the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine 2022

    Euromove Scotland Campaign Raises Donations for Ukraine’s Frontline Communities.

    Nicola Sturgeon portraiture

    Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern – what two shock resignations tell us about good leadership

    BBC Scotland in dismantling letters

    The three minute read. Scotland must seek to reform its media

    Trending Tags

    • Democracy
    • Devolution
    • Brexit
    • Ukraine
  • Politics
    • All
    • Council Areas
    • Europe
    • Holyrood
    • Liz Truss
    • Rest of UK
    • Tories
    • United Kingdom
    • Westminster
    • World
    Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

    Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

    Ash Regan and Tim Rideout Currency launch

    Ash Regan backs Scottish currency

    blue background, A younf woman holding a large black sign that says VOTE ! in white letters

    Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

    A scene of people demonstrating, holding Scotland flags. One man wears a tartan cap and holds a blue flag with both the Scottish cross and the EU stars on it.

    Is Alister Jack sane?

    Image Malcom Laverty

    The Brown plan

    The climate change impacts of Russia’s war with Ukraine

    Britain wastes £1bn on drones to monitor English Channel

    The Autumn Statement – time to take a closer look

    Photo Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Christmas cheer for Tesco if grim reading for the political classes

    Trending Tags

    • Equality
    • Johnson
    • Scottish National Party
  • Business
    • All
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Corporations
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Fishing
    • Natural Resources
    • Shipbuilding
    • Trade
    • Transport
    • Workers
    Fish farm in Scotland

    A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

    Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

    How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

    Dead salmons

    Death in our waters

    Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

    Fish Farming in Scotland 

    Offshore wind farm

    How will local communities get a fair share of record investment from offshore wind farms?

    Broadband optic fibres

    Scotland fulfilling its commitment to enable access to superfast broadband

    A row of tall houses on the left, with parked cars in front on the side of the street

    Saving Scotland’s tenements

    A large red researcgh vessel in the sea with ice sheets all around it on the water.

    Rosyth shipyard attracts UK Government contract to maintain fleet of scientific research vessels

    large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

    Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

    Trending Tags

    • Health
      • All
      • Assisted dying
      • Covid
      • Influenza
      • Polio virus
      • Respiratory
      • Scientific Research
      Tree representing lungs

      Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

      Health service

      Funding the Scottish Health Service 

      A goose surrounded by avian flu

      Who is knocking our doors? A putative new pandemic?

      A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation

      The Ethiopia Medical Project

      Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

      “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

      Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

      Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

      A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

      Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

      Two more unions reject Scottish Government NHS pay offer

      GMB union reject Scottish Government pay offer to NHS staff

      Trending Tags

      • Environment
        • All
        • Air Pollution
        • Biology
        • Climate Change
        • Wildfires
        Ardnish wildfire by Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons'

        Fire threats in the Scottish countryside

        Wood stove at the foot of the bed in the Danish Blue room at Pig Hill Inn, Cold Spring, New York. Printed with permission and confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

        When smoke gets in your eyes

        Opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 in Egypt. Photo courtesy of the UNFCCC

        COP27 and the inconvenient truth

        Viscum album in trees

        Night of the strangling figs: a biological horror story

        Out & about with Charlie Mac: Cycling to the heart of Scotland – the National Cycle Network 7

        Scotland's mountain footpaths

        How do we care for Scotland’s mountain footpath network?

        climate science

        PM to be chosen by people with little grasp of climate science

        Trending Tags

        • Opinion
        No Result
        View All Result
        • Home
        • News
          • All
          • Bylines Scotland Breaking News
          • Europe
          • King Charles III
          • Queen Elizabeth II
          • Scotland
          • War in Ukraine
          • World
          Scotland's Pro-EU

          Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

          Front cover of Scottish Currency Q&A booklet

          Priorities for the SNP and the Scottish Government on currency

          Portrait of Humza Yousaf

          Humza Yousaf’s plans if he becomes the SNP leader

          Media distortion

          Truth and Trust

          Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

          Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

          Health service

          Funding the Scottish Health Service 

          Sunflower in watercolour for the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine 2022

          Euromove Scotland Campaign Raises Donations for Ukraine’s Frontline Communities.

          Nicola Sturgeon portraiture

          Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern – what two shock resignations tell us about good leadership

          BBC Scotland in dismantling letters

          The three minute read. Scotland must seek to reform its media

          Trending Tags

          • Democracy
          • Devolution
          • Brexit
          • Ukraine
        • Politics
          • All
          • Council Areas
          • Europe
          • Holyrood
          • Liz Truss
          • Rest of UK
          • Tories
          • United Kingdom
          • Westminster
          • World
          Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

          Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

          Ash Regan and Tim Rideout Currency launch

          Ash Regan backs Scottish currency

          blue background, A younf woman holding a large black sign that says VOTE ! in white letters

          Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

          A scene of people demonstrating, holding Scotland flags. One man wears a tartan cap and holds a blue flag with both the Scottish cross and the EU stars on it.

          Is Alister Jack sane?

          Image Malcom Laverty

          The Brown plan

          The climate change impacts of Russia’s war with Ukraine

          Britain wastes £1bn on drones to monitor English Channel

          The Autumn Statement – time to take a closer look

          Photo Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

          Christmas cheer for Tesco if grim reading for the political classes

          Trending Tags

          • Equality
          • Johnson
          • Scottish National Party
        • Business
          • All
          • Agriculture
          • Aviation
          • Corporations
          • Energy
          • Finance
          • Fishing
          • Natural Resources
          • Shipbuilding
          • Trade
          • Transport
          • Workers
          Fish farm in Scotland

          A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

          Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

          How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

          Dead salmons

          Death in our waters

          Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

          Fish Farming in Scotland 

          Offshore wind farm

          How will local communities get a fair share of record investment from offshore wind farms?

          Broadband optic fibres

          Scotland fulfilling its commitment to enable access to superfast broadband

          A row of tall houses on the left, with parked cars in front on the side of the street

          Saving Scotland’s tenements

          A large red researcgh vessel in the sea with ice sheets all around it on the water.

          Rosyth shipyard attracts UK Government contract to maintain fleet of scientific research vessels

          large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

          Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

          Trending Tags

          • Health
            • All
            • Assisted dying
            • Covid
            • Influenza
            • Polio virus
            • Respiratory
            • Scientific Research
            Tree representing lungs

            Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

            Health service

            Funding the Scottish Health Service 

            A goose surrounded by avian flu

            Who is knocking our doors? A putative new pandemic?

            A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation

            The Ethiopia Medical Project

            Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

            “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

            Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

            Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

            A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

            Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

            Two more unions reject Scottish Government NHS pay offer

            GMB union reject Scottish Government pay offer to NHS staff

            Trending Tags

            • Environment
              • All
              • Air Pollution
              • Biology
              • Climate Change
              • Wildfires
              Ardnish wildfire by Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons'

              Fire threats in the Scottish countryside

              Wood stove at the foot of the bed in the Danish Blue room at Pig Hill Inn, Cold Spring, New York. Printed with permission and confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

              When smoke gets in your eyes

              Opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 in Egypt. Photo courtesy of the UNFCCC

              COP27 and the inconvenient truth

              Viscum album in trees

              Night of the strangling figs: a biological horror story

              Out & about with Charlie Mac: Cycling to the heart of Scotland – the National Cycle Network 7

              Scotland's mountain footpaths

              How do we care for Scotland’s mountain footpath network?

              climate science

              PM to be chosen by people with little grasp of climate science

              Trending Tags

              • Opinion
              No Result
              View All Result
              Bylines Scotland
              No Result
              View All Result
              Home Opinion

              Nicola Sturgeon: From ‘Chief Mammy’ to ‘Wee Nippy’ and Everything in Between

              David Bone shares his views on Nicola Sturgeon's performance during her role as First Minister of Scotland.

              David BonebyDavid Bone
              27-02-2023 07:13
              in Opinion
              First Minister at Bute House

              Scottish Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

              Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

              We need only look at the nicknames she was given by broadly proportionate segments of the Scottish population. ‘Chief Mammy’, ‘Wee Nippy’’, and ‘Krankie’ to see that Nicola Sturgeon was probably the most divisive politician in modern Scotland since Margaret Thatcher. I expect not a comparison she would relish or one that she would find flattering.

              Former Scottish Conservative Leader, Ruth Davidson once said that many voters in Scotland called her ‘that effing woman’ and she certainly wasn’t wrong; with her mere appearance causing a vociferous reaction from across the political spectrum ranging from howls of hateful derision to sycophantic praise.

              First a confession and a disclaimer. I write as someone who is not entirely convinced about the merits of Scottish independence, despite Brexit. There are too many unanswered questions and uncertainties. I value stability, rather than change (I voted Remain). I have seen the unattended consequences of her social policies along the West Coast of Scotland. Does this make me biased? No more than anyone else with opinions, I hope.   

              So how is it that Scotland views her this way to such an extent that one enthusiastic Twitter user wants to rename Prestwick International Airport to the Nicola Sturgeon International Airport, and other people want to take her to the Hague, charge her with crimes against humanity and see her jailed for the rest of her life?

              Longest Serving First Minister

              Partially, her longevity has enabled this reaction. She has outlasted four British Prime Ministers and has seen the Resolute desk change hands twice. She has spent eight years as First Minster. Being one of the key figures of the very slick ‘Yes’ campaign also helped raise her profile and subsequently made her more of a target as well. Essentially, the SNP was a ‘dual-ticket’ with her being the softer foil to the more abrasive and aggressive Salmond. And it worked well for them.

              I mean, it’s difficult to caricature Theresa May who was Prime Minister for just over three years. Liz Truss will be memorialised as ‘Who was Britain’s shortest reigning Prime Minister’ in pubs for as long as these islands stand, ohh, and possibly losing £300bn from the UK’s stock and bond markets in about six weeks, but not much else. At a minimum, Sturgeon has at least secured her legacy amongst the pantheon of historically significant Scottish politicians.

              Brexit: Westminster was Floundering

              However, there are two moments that I feel Nicola Sturgeon must be praised for and will define the  ‘non-indy’ part of her legacy.

              In 2016, I expected to wake up with the world being largely the same as the one I went to bed in. Polls had indicated that ‘remain’ would win the referendum comfortably. As I said, I like stability. This did not happen and my sense of shock that morning was exacerbated by the grossly inaccurate polling.

              At the time, it felt that Westminster was floundering. The government seemed to be headless. To her critics, Nicola Sturgeon making an announcement before David Cameron was inappropriate and gauche, but I was just glad for the perception that someone was actually in charge of something, somewhere at that moment, as I listened pensively to her press conference through BBC iPlayer at work.

              Nicola Sturgeon portraiture
              Holyrood

              Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern – what two shock resignations tell us about good leadership

              byRainbow Murray
              17 February 2023

              Covid in Scotland. Safer under Nicola

              Secondly, Covid was another of her great moments. Again, the nation was in fear of this new virus looming in the distance. I first became really aware of what was happening in Italy, where images of people fleeing cities before state-sanctioned lockdowns could be imposed were replete in the media in mid-March 2020. (Although being a bit of a germaphobe, I had been ‘doom scrolling’ Covid on my phone since January) This was a glimpse of what was coming to these shores soon, and frankly, it looked apocalyptic.

              The first official Covid related death on Scottish soil was on March 13th 2020. Sturgeon’s policy was infinitely more consistent than Boris Johnson’s. In Scotland, the Work from Home policy remained largely unchanged for well over two years. In England, it seemed to go from working at home, to go back to the office, to work at home, to sort of work in the office if you can come in, but don’t come in if you have a temperature, but if you’re fit enough and have a negative covid test, then, yeah, you can go in if you want. 

              Even, mask-wearing was more consistent North of the border. It was as simple as ‘wear a mask in a public place’. The efficacy of mask-wearing can be debated by better and more scientific minds than I possess, but as a visual indicator that this was an emergency and in some ways a symbol of solidarity with your fellow citizens they probably saved lives. The Scottish Government just seemed to be operating at a more slow, mature, and less chaotic level than Westminster.

              Were the daily press briefings useful at the later stage of the pandemic, long after the ones in Westminster had been disbanded? Not for me, but I’m sure some fellow Scots found them so. Could the disastrous and reckless discharge of elderly Hospital patients to care homes have been delayed or some system to mitigate them have been implemented sooner? Almost certainly, but these are issues that will be investigated by the Scottish only covid enquiry.

              IndyRef: the Constant Campaign

              Her ‘constant campaign’ for Scottish secession was also responsible for the dual nature of her perception within Scotland. In reality, under her leadership, every election in Scotland had become a ‘de-facto referendum’ long before the official one that she had planned for 2025 would take place. Predictably, the opposition parties followed suit with this, leaving Scotland in a state of political limbo that has lasted to the present day, and looks likely to continue.

              Again, at least half the population would have agreed with this, half wouldn’t. This is also reflected in the more ‘realistic’ vision of Scottish secession at the SNP group in Westminster, compared with the more ‘romantic’ view from the SNP in Holyrood. Best illustrated by the fact Sturgeon has said that Independence ‘transcends’ Brexit, oil and the economy’ while Mhairi Black stated that independence is ‘not just some random hobby, it’s for a purpose’.

              Some of her social policies, as she admitted in her resignation speech, may take years to come to fruition. I expect that they were motivated by a genuine sense of altruism on her part. Coming from Irvine, she would have witnessed genuine poverty in her formative years, not something that many politicians in the UK can say they have ever rubbed shoulders with. In turn, they have a more ‘slice of life’ perspective, more concerned with the everyday: baby boxes, child payments, free bus travel for under 22 years olds. 

              Ultimately, her resignation was as divisive as her career. Those that opposed her formed a conga line in George Square. Those that supported her will mourn the loss of a competent leader. But as she said herself ‘I know there will be some across the country who feel upset by this decision and by the fact I am taking it now. Of course, for balance, there will be others who will – how should I put this – cope with the news just fine. Such is the beauty of democracy’. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

              Praise from an unlikely source. The ‘terrified admirer’

              Perhaps, for many Scots and Brits, their complicated feelings regarding the departing First Minister can be summed up from a very unlikely source, a Mr Kevin Liles from the letters page of the Daily Telegraph, who two days after she resigned said this:

              ‘I have always been in thrall to the political skills of Nicola Sturgeon. I have been a terrified admirer of her. Terrified, because she has been a convincing separatist, and I oppose her cause completely; an admirer, because during her reign she was head and shoulders above our lacklustre prime ministers in quality, intelligence, focus and, until very recently, political nous. All political careers end in failure: that is the unavoidable nature of the game. But Ms Sturgeon has been an awesome player’

              For a left-leaning Scottish politician to be written about and published in the citadel of the right, in such terms, speaks volumes.


              We need your help! The press in our country is dominated by billionaire-owned media, many offshore and avoiding paying tax. We are a citizen journalism publication but still have significant costs. If you believe in what we do, please consider subscribing to the Bylines Gazette 🙏

              Tags: First MinisterHolyrood
              Previous Post

              Extremely rare Isle of Jura item goes on sale.

              Next Post

              Funding the Scottish Health Service 

              David Bone

              David Bone

              David is a Scottish-based writer who has been published in The Scotsman, Planet Mindful, and Happiful as well as numerous online publications. When not writing he has been employed in the third sector since 2010 as well as dabbling in political campaigning. His writing interests include mental health, Scottish and British politics, and international relations with occasional forays into technology and the paranormal. When not doing either of these, he can be found gardening, reading or running.

              Related Posts

              Edinburgh's University flag
              Opinion

              An independent Scotland must support university, SME and industry R&D

              byMartin Roche
              12 March 2023
              A scene of people demonstrating, holding Scotland flags. One man wears a tartan cap and holds a blue flag with both the Scottish cross and the EU stars on it.
              Brexit

              Is Alister Jack sane?

              byMartin Roche
              15 January 2023
              Image A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
              Defence and Security

              All change in the Kremlin?

              byStuart Crawford
              2 November 2022
              Images_of_Money's profile, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
              Business

              It’s not tax, it’s a contribution towards civilisation

              byPeter Brown
              25 October 2022
              Image Giuseppe Milo, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
              Opinion

              We need your support to keep the Bylines Network flourishing!

              byDr Mike Galsworthy
              30 September 2022
              Next Post
              Health service

              Funding the Scottish Health Service 

              PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDER

              Subscribe to our newsletters
              CHOOSE YOUR NEWS
              Follow us on social media
              CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORMS
              Download our app
              ALL OF BYLINES IN ONE PLACE
              Subscribe to our gazette
              CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SUSTAINABILITY
              Make a monthly or one-off donation
              DONATE NOW
              Help us with our hosting costs
              SIGN UP TO SITEGROUND
              We are always looking for citizen journalists
              WRITE FOR US
              Volunteer as an editor, in a technical role, or on social media
              VOLUNTEER FOR US
              Something else?
              GET IN TOUCH
              Previous
              Next

              LATEST

              Scottish flag with SYP (Scottish Youth Parliament)

              Scottish Youth Parliament in 2023: Facing the Future

              22 March 2023
              Tree representing lungs

              Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

              21 March 2023
              Scotland's Pro-EU

              Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

              20 March 2023
              Illustration for Arts and Entertainment

              Scottish Opera’s sensational new Puccini production has it all – love, death and laughter

              18 March 2023

              MOST READ

              Tree representing lungs

              Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

              21 March 2023
              Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking at 2022 special meeting of the North Atlantic Council and G7 leaders meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels during the Ukraine situation. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street. Licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v3.0

              Boris Johnson; Britain’s worst ever prime minister?

              6 September 2022
              Scottish flag with SYP (Scottish Youth Parliament)

              Scottish Youth Parliament in 2023: Facing the Future

              22 March 2023
              large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

              Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

              14 January 2023

              BROWSE BY TAGS

              Brexit Christmas ClimateChange Covid Covid19 Culture Defence Democracy Devolution FishFarms Glasgow Halloween health History Holyrood independence IndyRef2 Johnson Journalism Liz Truss Long Covid Monarchy nationalism NATO NHS Nicola Sturgeon politics Poverty Pro-EU Public Health Putin Russia Sars-CoV-2 Scotland Security Security and Defence shipbuilding SNP Sunak Tories Tourism Twitter Ukraine UK Supreme Court War in Ukraine
              Bylines Scotland

              We are a not-for-profit citizen journalism publication. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Scotland and beyond.

              Bylines Scotland is a trading brand of Bylines Network Limited, which is a sister organisation to Byline Times.

              Learn more about us

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Network
              • About
              • Authors
              • Contact
              • Donate
              • Privacy

              © 2023 Bylines Scotland. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Home
              • News
                • Scotland
                • World
              • Politics
                • Council Areas
                • Europe
                • Holyrood
                • Rest of UK
                • Westminster
              • Business
                • Fishing
                • Trade
                • Transport
              • Health
              • Environment
                • Climate Change
              • Opinion
              • Donate
              CROWDFUNDER

              © 2023 Bylines Scotland. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              Welcome Back!

              Login to your account below

              Forgotten Password?

              Retrieve your password

              Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

              Log In