Both were subsequently elected, and as Salmond was still an MP in the British House of Commons, Sturgeon led the SNP in the Scottish Parliament as Leader of the Opposition from 2004 to 2007. [264], With a view towards Brexit, Sturgeon demanded greater powers for the Scottish Parliament, arguing that Brexit is threatening Scotland's devolution settlement. [222][223], On the day the Supreme Court ruled the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate a referendum on independence, Sturgeon announced the next democratic election in Scotland, in this case a UK general election expected to be held in 2024, would be campaigned by the SNP as a de facto referendum. Sturgeon became a high-profile figure in Scottish politics and often clashed with First Minister Jack McConnell at First Minister's Questions. It was reported that Salmond had privately supported Sturgeon in her leadership bid, but decided to run for the position himself as it became apparent she was unlikely to beat Cunningham. [287] However, she defended her party's leader Alex Salmond from accusations of sexism. The SNP emerged as the largest party following the 2007 election and Salmond headed the first SNP minority government, with Sturgeon as his Deputy First Minster. ", "Moray: 'We are fed up with the SNP. [113], Despite losing her majority, Sturgeon claimed a "historic victory" after the SNP won a third consecutive term in government. [15] Sturgeon was shy and has said that she "much preferred to sit with my head in a book than talking to people". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [128], Prior to the day the Prime Minister triggered Article 50, formally allowing the process of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, the Scottish Parliament voted 69 to 59 in favour of another independence referendum. ", "Missed funerals and helicopter transfers as ferries misery grows", "Ferries fiasco blamed on 'significant operational failures', "400m estimate for ferries as expert demands public inquiry", "Nicola Sturgeon: Buck stops with me over ferry contract row", "Official Report: First Minister's Question Time", "Sturgeon defends ferries contract decision", "Yesterday, Keith Brown was quizzed on the Ferguson Marine ferry deal- telling @C4Ciaran "that document, the one that signed it off, if it ever existed, is not now available", "Permanent secretary demands 'rigorous' record-keeping after ferries missing document", "Jack McConnell claims SNP may have 'broken law' over missing ferry paperwork", "Scotland's leader starts a campaign for a new independence vote", "Nicola Sturgeon unveils case for Scottish independence", "Sturgeon plans to hold second Scottish independence referendum in October 2023", "Sturgeon plots alternative route to Scottish independence vote next year", "Boris Johnson Rejects Nicola Sturgeon's Call For A Second Independence Referendum", "Scotland announces plan for independence vote in October 2023", "Nicola Sturgeon takes Indyref2 to Supreme Court as Scotland will 'not be prisoner of Boris Johnson', "Scottish independence: 19 October 2023 proposed as date for referendum", "Nicola Sturgeon launches third independence paper: full speech", "Nicola Sturgeon promises new 'Scottish pound' and no passports to visit England - as she lays out economic plan for independence", "Scottish pound: Independent Scotland would introduce new currency", "First Minister: Independence "essential" to Scotland's prosperity", "Independence will rid Scotland of UK economic chaos, says Nicola Sturgeon", "Supreme court rules against Scottish parliament holding new independence referendum", "SNP will treat next UK general election as 'de facto referendum', Sturgeon says", "We'll find another way to Scottish independence - Nicola Sturgeon", "Scottish opposition parties reject SNP's plan to treat election as referendum", "Angus MacNeil: Why we should hold a Holyrood election as a vote on independence", "Nicola Sturgeon makes gender recognition pledge", "SNP civil war deepens as leading Sturgeon critic Joanna Cherry purged from Westminster team", "Scottish transgender reforms put on hold", "Transgender reforms shelved due to coronavirus pandemic", "Trans rights: How gender recognition reform became one of Scotland's most heated debates", "Nicola Sturgeon facing backlash over proposed gender legislation", "Nicola Sturgeon dismisses concerns over gender reforms as 'not valid', "Nicola Sturgeon says gender reform row will go to court", Nicola Sturgeon's gender conundrum: Is Isla Bryson a man or a woman, "Nicola Sturgeon says time is right to resign as Scotland's first minister", "Nicola Sturgeon resigns as First Minister after eight years at top of Scottish politics", "Nicola Sturgeon resigns: Indyref2 is in a perilous position with no clear successor for first minister", "Health boards told to fill 15 million cut in funding for drug and alcohol care", "Proposed cuts on funding for drug and alcohol rehabilitation in Scotland", "Drug deaths in Scotland rose by 23% in 2016", "Scotland's drug deaths rise to new record", "Sturgeon: We took our eye off the ball on drug deaths", "Deaths among homeless people in Scotland up 10%", "Drug deaths in Scotland reach new record level", "Scotland: Drug deaths hit record level for seventh year in a row here's what the data shows", "Nicola Sturgeon accused of ignoring drug deaths epidemic in Scotland", "Scottish government under pressure as drug deaths fell by just nine in 2021", "Drug deaths in Scotland fall by one per cent but are still second highest ever recorded", "Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish education 'not good enough', "Nicola Sturgeon: Judge me on education record", "Attainment gap remains wide and better education data needed | Audit Scotland", "School attainment gap 'remains wide', watchdog warns", "Schulz empfngt Schottin Sturgeon zu Gesprch ber Brexit-Folgen", "Nicola Sturgeon says 'difficult' Theresa May will struggle with Brexit talks", "Nicola Sturgeon calls for united front to protect devolution", "Nicola Sturgeon breaks convention to back Hillary Clinton in Presidential race", "Sturgeon 'will not be silent' over Trump", "Nicola Sturgeon congratulates Donald Trump on inauguration", "Nicola Sturgeon 'let women down' by posing with anti-abortion politician", "Taking Back the House, Vol. [25] Although she failed to win the seat, she was placed first in the SNP's regional list for the Glasgow region, and was thus elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament. [274] On the day Queen Elizabeth II became Britain's longest reigning monarch, Sturgeon travelled with her to open the Borders Railway and told a crowd of well-wishers: "She [The Queen] has carried out Her duties with dedication, wisdom and an exemplary sense of public service. She served successively as the SNP's shadow minister for education, health, and justice. [239] Sturgeon stated that she believed that her successor would lead Scotland to independence and that she would look on with pride whoever takes on the role. [251] Annemarie Ward, chief executive at the FAVOR Scotland charity, said: "Nicola Sturgeon said she would make it her national mission to save lives - but were still losing more than 1000 people a year. Following the 2017 UK general election, Nicola Sturgeon announced that the Scottish Government would postpone legislation pertaining to the proposed second referendum on Scottish independence until at least autumn 2018. Bryson was sent to a women's prison before being moved to a men's prison. [145], On 4 March 2021, Sturgeon answered questions over a period of eight hours from members of the committee. The reception She has received today, demonstrates that that admiration and affection is certainly felt here in Scotland. "We have seen a rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in Scotland over the past 10 days," she told Parliament. However, that decision is not for today. Kids in England had to wear masks at school because No10 'didn't want an argument' with Nicola Sturgeon - who bounced Boris Johnson into an humiliating Covid U-turn by adopting hated policy in . She opposed the decision made and criticised Scottish Secretary Alister Jack for blocking the bill and said that the decision was an attack on the Scottish Parliament and Scottish democracy as a whole and said that the matter would be brought to the courts. This also made her First Minister-Designate, given the SNP's absolute majority in the Scottish Parliament. Writing in the Sunday Mail, Alex Salmond gives his verdict on the hopefuls vying to replace Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader. From 2007 to 2012, she served as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. [337], In 2016, Sturgeon disclosed that she had miscarried five years previously. Absolutely this. On 15 February 2023, Sturgeon announced her intention to resign the leadership of the SNP and as First Minister. [231][293] The Scottish Government said it had paused the legislation in order to find "maximum consensus" on the issue[231] and commentators described the issue as having divided the SNP like no other, with many dubbing the debate a "civil war". Issuing apologies now is too late for thousands of people. [217] She asked Scotland's Lord Advocate to consider referring the matter to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to rule if the Scottish Government has the power to host a referendum without the Government of the United Kingdom's approval, this request has since been granted. [235], On 22 December 2022, the Scottish Parliament voted 86 to 39 to pass the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill which was introduced by Sturgeon's government, but the bill was vetoed by the UK Government. [136][137], Several weeks later Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament that she would "reset" and delay her plans for a second independence referendum; the SNP losses in that month's election had led her to conclude that many Scots "just want a break from making big political decisions". [58] Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament that containment of the virus had failed and that the Scottish Government was taking steps to mitigate the spread of the virus. [246] Per head, Scotland's death rate among the homeless is the highest in Britain. [68], While campaigning for a Yes vote in August 2013, she told The Guardian that if Scots voted for the Union: "Will there be another referendum round the corner? ", "Nicola Sturgeon says transphobia in SNP 'not acceptable', "Nicola Sturgeon: transphobia in SNP is 'not acceptable' video", "Nicola Sturgeon signs 'Rethink Trident' pledge", "Nicola Sturgeon attacks 'utterly failing' Tories and says economic case for independence will come next week", "Sturgeon accused of divisive rhetoric for saying 'I detest the Tories', "Sturgeon accused of 'dangerous language' after saying she 'detests the Tories', "Sturgeon accused of using 'dangerous language' about Tories", "Nicola Sturgeon seen as "really dangerous" after saying she "detest" Tories", "Nicola Sturgeon doesn't regret saying she 'detests' Tories", "Boris Johnson only PM I've worked with who has disgraced the office Sturgeon", "Sturgeon slams Johnson's 'divorced from reality' Downing Street speech", "Nicola Sturgeon blasts Boris Johnson's PM speech as 'divorced from reality', "Boris Johnson booed and heckled on Scotland visit", "Boris Johnson booed by protesters while visiting Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland", "Boris Johnson rejects Nicola Sturgeon call for emergency Omicron meeting", "Boris Johnson declines Nicola Sturgeon's invitation to meet for talks during Scotland trip", "Boris Johnson snubs Nicola Sturgeon invite for Covid recovery talks", "Boris Johnson has 'fragile male ego', suggests Nicola Sturgeon", "Sturgeon: Boris Johnson's 'fragile male ego' may explain why he doesn't meet me", "Scotland's First Minister warns Boris Johnson cannot keep country in UK against its will", "Nicola Sturgeon calls Boris Johnson 'disgrace to office of prime minister', "Nicola Sturgeon: The SNP 'nippy sweetie' who learned how to crack (a bit of) a smile", "Is this the 'most dangerous woman in Britain'? ", "Election 2015: SNP wins 56 of 59 seats in Scots landslide", "Nicola Sturgeon crowned 'Politician of the Year', "Nicola Sturgeon ranked second most powerful woman in UK", "Nicola Sturgeon tops Woman's Hour power list", "Nicola Sturgeon announces wedding plans", "Nicola Sturgeon ties the knot but she won't be calling herself Mrs Murrell", "Nicola Sturgeon spills the beans on her home life as she reveals she's a disaster in the kitchen - Daily Record", "Nicola Sturgeon discusses favourite books with author Maggie O'Farrell | The Scotsman", " I love reading - it gives me a lot of joy and helps with the stresses and strains of work. [235], On 22 December 2022, the Scottish Parliament voted 86 to 39 to pass the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill which was introduced by Sturgeon's government. She said at the time: "Anybody who attacks police officers is doing wrong and that is pretty despicable." 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