NICOLA STURGEON'S POLITICAL LEGACY: 8 WASTED YEARS
The deterioration of Scotland across multiple fields is a token of the cultural entropy that has overtaken us under Nicola Sturgeon. Problems have atrophied and the nation remains divided.
Nicola Sturgeon’s political legacy is a divided nation struggling beneath myriad crises from A&E waiting times, drug deaths and rising child poverty. A political survivor with a record of stunning policy failure.
The First Minister has demonstrated undoubted skill at retaining power, but as she leaves the stage the nations problems have atrophied under her. Child poverty is rising while life expectancy drops. A&E waiting times have never been worse and the attainment gap has widened. Drug and alcohol addiction continue to mark Scotland out as Europe’s drug-deaths capital despite spending on public services in Scotland being some 30 per cent higher than it is in England.
Policy failures
The First Minister’s proclivity for championing questionable legislation can be seen as a feature of her time ensconced in power. Let nobody forget that while Professor Sir Tom Devine was contemning the SNP’s Offensive Behaviour at Football Act as "the most illiberal and counterproductive act passed by our young Parliament to date” Ms Sturgeon continued to go to bat in its defence. Indeed the First Minister even lamented its repeal in 2018 describing it as a “retrograde” step.
The sheer scale of failed and poorly considered policy initiatives is remarkable. The Offensive Behaviour at Football Act pales into insignificance when you cast your mind back to Ms Sturgeon’s Named Person Scheme. That particular snoopers charter ultimately perished in the courts after it was deemed to have been in breech of human rights law. Naturally the First Minister only accepted reality and dropped the policy after squandering around £500,000 of taxpayers cash in a failed legal fight.
Nothing however compares to the ferry fiasco. This - still unfolding - scandal could ultimately cost Scots £400m. Two ferries were sought at a bidding price of £97m, but fast forward and we still don’t have the two ferries and taxpayers are haemorrhaging money. If the incompetence surrounding ferry-gate weren’t bad enough, there is also the whiff of corruption.
Divisive rhetoric
No account of Nicola Sturgeon’s time in office would be complete however without examining the farcical twists she landed herself in vis-à-vis Gender Recognition Reform and self-identification. Nothing best captures of anti-septic, isolated managerialist style of Ms Sturgeon than this piece of legislative action. Despite consistent polling evidence highlighting the deep unpopularity of self-identification Ms Sturgeon pressed ahead.
Rather than listen to her feminist critics concerns she dismissed them as “not valid”. When the opportunity came to compromise and accept a few amendments in Holyrood, again Ms Sturgeon would tolerate no opposition. As the UK Government stepped in with section 35, blocking her unpopular self-identification initiative from getting royal assent she demonstrated little humility. True to form, she took to the television cameras to sermonise about how opposition to her self-identification agenda was driven by bigotry and intolerance
“there are people who have opposed this bill that cloak themselves in women's rights to make it acceptable, but just as they're transphobic you'll also find that they're deeply misogynist, often homophobic, possibly some of them racist as well.”1
I don’t know about you, but talk like that is no way to make friends or influence people. Ultimately it captures Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership style, where the only jury of opinion which ever matters are the little grey braincells inside her own head. How else can one explain Ms Sturgeons breathtakingly divisive response to opposition to self-identification? Accusing political opponents of being in league with racism, bigotry and describing concerns as “not valid” was always incredible.
All the more so when we hear today in her resignation speech the First Minister bemoaning the nastiness of contemporary Scottish politics.
“And the nature and form of modern political discourse means there is a much greater intensity – dare I say it, brutality – to life as a politician than in years gone by”2
If there is a heightened intensity and crueller edge to our political discourse I struggle to conceive of anyone uniquely more responsible for it. Labelling opponents as spreaders of bigotry in disguise and dismissing views you dislike as “not valid” does have a choppy long-term impact, souring the tone of our discourse.
Poverty, hunger and addiction
Beyond the litany of failed policies and intolerance of political opposition, the First Minister’s greatest single legacy is Scotland’s drug, alcohol addiction matched only by the growing numbers of children trapped in poverty and hunger.
More than 1 in 4 (260,000) of Scotland’s children are living in poverty.
60% of children living in poverty are in households where someone works.
Scottish Government forecasts indicate that it will reach 38% by 2030/31
The rising child poverty is matched only by the remarkable failure to tackle the poverty related attainment gap in the nations schools. By 11 years old there is a 20 percent gap between the richest and poorest pupils’ ability to write, read and count. In 2015 Nicola Sturgeon stated “I want to be judged on this”, and today in 2023 its fair to say she failed.
Hardly a legacy of accomplishment after eight years in charge, leading a political party famous for its Stalinist approach to internal party management. Yet despite the time, power and absence of strong opposition Ms Sturgeon succeeded only in making Scotland a world leader in drug death. Under her leadership our small nation secured the dismal accolade of Europe’s drug deaths capital.
In 2022 Scotland wheezed beneath an epidemic death rate of around 3.7 times that of the U.K. Prior to Nicola Sturgeon coming to power 527 people died a drug-related death. Today the figure is 1,330.
The sheer scale of the crisis which was left to unfold under Ms Sturgeon’s watch is stunning. Greater Glasgow and Clyde has an unbelievable drug-related death rate of 33.7 per 100,000. To put that disgusting rate into context, in 2000-2004 it was 8.9 per 100,000 population. So Glasgow’s rate of 33.7 per 100,000 (2017-2021) truly is horrific.
An administration seen as failing
Whoever comes next will inherit the leadership of a country struggling with addiction, poverty and political polarisation. Ms Sturgeon’s greatest political accomplishment was surviving in office for so long, but in terms of achievement she leaves our country significantly worse off.
Constitutional politics puts bread and butter priorities into the shade as public services deteriorate. NHS A&E waiting times are the worst to date with a paltry 55% being seen within the four our target. Under Ms Sturgeon our accident and emergency service is collapsing. Indeed since she appointed Mr Yousaf as health secretary more than 56,000 people have spent more than 12 hours waiting for treatment at Scottish accident and emergency departments.
Ms Sturgeon’s successor faces an intense firefight across multiple fronts from healthcare, poverty, A&E waiting times, education attainment gaps and more. And it all comes as public opinion of the ruling Scottish National Party deteriorates to fresh polling lows.
Nicola Sturgeons resignation comes as Scottish voters increasingly view the administration she leads as failing and at scale. Managerialist, lifeless and directionless, voters view the SNP under Ms Sturgeon as failing them across all the key political issues.
Once upon a time the SNP had a clear reputation for competence and good government in most voters eyes. While this was bequeathed by Alex Salmond to his successor in 2015, this will not be the case for Nicola Sturgeon’s heir in 2023.
The deterioration of Scotland across multiple fields is a token of the cultural entropy that has overtaken us under Nicola Sturgeon. Problems have atrophied and the nation continues remains badly divided.
STV, ‘The time is right': Nicola Sturgeon's resignation speech in full’, https://news.stv.tv/politics/the-time-is-right-first-minister-nicola-sturgeons-resignation-speech-from-bute-house-in-full
Congratulations.You show us all how plain English and forensic command of facts really ‘works’ .