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Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who was First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2026, firstly as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region and then as the member for Glasgow Southside from 2007 to 2026.
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politics · First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023 · politician · lawyer · jurist · also Nicola Sturgeon, Sturgeon
Born 19 July 1970 · Q467112
100 published statements · 0 followers
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Nicola Sturgeon last statement as FM
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If I am elected, there may be an opportunity to change the tone for the better.
85%The GuardianSource
“We have been joined together as one country for more than 300 years. We’ve worked together, we’ve prospered together, we’ve fought wars together, and we have a bright future. At this crucial time we should be working together, not pulling apart.”
“If I am elected, there may be an opportunity to change the tone for the better.”
“The aims of my government are clear: to create a nation that is both socially democratic and socially just, a nation that is confident in itself and governed effectively and a nation which will address poverty, support business, promote growth and tackle inequality. “The new cabinet team I have announced today will pursue these priorities with verve, vigour and determination.”
“a clear demonstration that this government will work hard in all areas to promote women, to create gender equality and it sends out a strong message that the business of redressing the gender balance in public life starts right here in government”
“angry, hurt, sad and very distressed about the impact of his actions on family, friends and the SNP”
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“At no point within this crisis has Scotland run out of any aspect of PPE. We have worked hard to make sure that supplies are there, we”
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“reassessed in light of the severity of the climate emergency”
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“further devolution is the route to independence”
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“no immediate threat to public health in Scotland”
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“much preferred to sit with my head in a book than talking to people”
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Astronomy Magazine: The Sky This Week from August 21 to 28: Eclipsed Sturgeon Moon
Global News: Alberta minister hosts second AI data centre town hall in Sturgeon County
Yahoo News UK: Nicola Sturgeon says politicians must have 'courage' on North Sea debate
The Times: Nicola Sturgeon: ‘I wasn’t even considered for prosecution’
The Independent: Nicola Sturgeon calls for politicians to have ‘courage’ on environmental issues
The National Scot: Why the SNP and Scottish Greens both have a Nicola Sturgeon problem
Yahoo News UK: Nicola Sturgeon: It's not for me to apologise for the crimes of Peter Murrell
The Guardian: Nicola Sturgeon ‘has not spoken to’ estranged husband, Peter Murrell, since he was jailed
Public attention spiked: 10,259 Wikipedia readers in one day, 15.5× the usual 662, with 0 article edits.
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Public attention spiked: 4,367 Wikipedia readers in one day, 6.6× the usual 662, with 3 article edits. Coverage that week: “Nicola Sturgeon’s ex and his £400,000 shopping spree” (The Guardian).
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The Guardian: Nicola Sturgeon’s ex and his £400,000 shopping spree
The Guardian: A new elephant in Nicola Sturgeon’s room | Brief letters
The Guardian: Nicola Sturgeon: I feel as if I’m serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit
Public attention spiked: 31,399 Wikipedia readers in one day, 47.4× the usual 662, with 0 article edits. Coverage that week: “Nicola Sturgeon: I feel as if I’m serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit” (The Guardian).
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The Guardian: Nicola Sturgeon: ‘I should not be held responsible for the wrongdoing of men’
Public attention spiked: 8,104 Wikipedia readers in one day, 12.2× the usual 662, with 4 article edits. Coverage that week: “Nicola Sturgeon: ‘I should not be held responsible for the wrongdoing of men’” (The Guardian).
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Public attention spiked: 31,350 Wikipedia readers in one day, 47.4× the usual 662, with 4 article edits. Editors noted: It wouldn't now be the next Scottish election anyway
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Is scheduled to appear with former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in an event entitled "How to lead a country"
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The Guardian: Best of: Angela Rayner, Nicola Sturgeon, Catherine Ashton and Andy Burnham – podcast
The Guardian: Nicola Sturgeon wrongly excluded colleagues from Covid decisions, inquiry finds
The Guardian: Nicola Sturgeon: I understand why people doubt my ignorance of alleged SNP embezzlement
The Guardian: Nicola Sturgeon on leadership, scandal and trolling the trolls – podcast
On 13 January 2025, Sturgeon announced in a post on Instagram that she and Murrell had separated and are to divorce.
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“I have never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary.”
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Sturgeon published her memoir Frankly through Pan Macmillan
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In her 2025 memoir Frankly, Sturgeon wrote: "I have never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary."
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Full Fact rated the claim “Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to apologise after leaked WhatsApp messages describing Matt Hancock as “weaker than a nuns p*ss,” Liz Truss as “about as much use as a marzipan dildo,” and referring to Suella Braverman as “Sh*tler.”” These aren’t real messages sent by Nicola Sturgeon—they were posted by an X account which clearly describes itself as “satire”..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- would be campaigned by the SNP as a de facto referendum
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PA Media rated the claim “Photo shows Nicola Sturgeon in the back of a police car” Evaluation: False. Ms Sturgeon was arrested, but the photograph appearing to show her in the back of a police car has been doctored. The photograph of Ms Sturgeon’s face is from 2017. In the original she is sitting in the back of a black car. The recent iteration of the photograph has been doctored to make it look like she is in a police car..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
FactCheckNI rated the claim “Nicola Sturgeon is the first former First Minister or Prime Minister in UK history to be arrested. She is the first former or current leader of a major party to be arrested since Jeremy Thorpe in the 1970s.” This is inaccurate.Several former party leaders have been arrested since 2000, including Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams, and ex-SNP head Alex Salmond.Mr Salmond had also served as the First Minister of Scotland prior to his arrest..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Full Fact rated the claim “Scotland’s government under Nicola Sturgeon ran up one of the largest budget deficits in the developed world.” This is technically true, but missing context. The Scottish Government essentially just spends what it receives. Scotland as a whole has a fiscal deficit largely due to decisions by the UK Government..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Sturgeon was criticised in connection with the Isla Bryson case, in which a trans woman had raped two women prior to her transition
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YouGov polling and 50% seeing her as having "been a good leader for Scotland"
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As well as her appearances at the 2024 UK COVID-19 Inquiry left a question mark over her political legacy
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Audit Scotland concluded that the final price tag for the vessels would be somewhere between £250m and £400m once the ships were finished in 2023
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“I detest the Tories and everything they stand for”
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Sturgeon said that he was the only prime minister she had worked with who was "a disgrace to the office"
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Full Fact rated the claim “One of Nicola Sturgeon’s Covid advisors claimed Covid-19 vaccines were 100% safe for children.” The advisor said the Pfizer vaccine was 100% effective in an interview. This was later corrected..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Claimed: “"97% of our electricity already comes from renewable sources"” — rated It is correct that in 2020, the equivalent of 97.4% of Scotland's electricity demand came from renewables. This narrowly misses a target set in 2011. by BBC.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Full Fact rated the claim “Nicola Sturgeon has banned the Union Jack from British government buildings and replaced it with the EU flag.” The Union Flag has not been banned from Scottish government buildings. It is still flown on Remembrance Day as has always been the case. However, it’s true that in 2021, Nicola Sturgeon instructed that the European flag be flown daily, except for on specific flag dates..
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“should not get the green light”
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“I would say to all men in this chamber and all men across the country — challenge it [misogyny] if it”
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Sturgeon became the only first minister to serve a third term, and she subsequently entered a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens
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Career landmark: Member of the 6th Scottish Parliament (2021–2026).
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Audit Scotland concluded: "Progress on closing the poverty-related attainment gap between the most and least deprived school pupils has been limited" and fell short of the Government's aims
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“Looking back on that now, with the knowledge we have now and with the benefit of hindsight, yes.”
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Awarded M100 Media Award (2019).
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– an increase of 11% on the previous year; over half (54%) of these deaths were drug-related
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– the highest number in Europe per head and more than double the number in 2014
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Endorsed her party's Growth Commission report that pledged to reduce an independent Scotland's budget deficit as a percentage of GDP – something the Institute for Fiscal Studies concluded meant "continued austerity"
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And the second-most in the United Kingdom
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Campaign: 2016 Scottish Parliament election.
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Career landmark: Member of the 5th Scottish Parliament (2016–2021).
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The plan was abandoned and the Scottish Government blamed Westminster
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The European Union membership referendum to decide the future of the UK's European Union membership resulted in 52% of voters in the UK voting for Brexit (leaving the EU), with 48% voting to remain; all council areas in
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The Scottish Government cut direct funding to drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes from £69
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Sturgeon disclosed that she had miscarried five years previously
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In 2016, Sturgeon disclosed that she had miscarried five years previously.
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But the construction of the two vessels was beset by delays and complications
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2016 and 2018 had not been fully implemented
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Sturgeon was described in a Daily Mail headline as the "most dangerous woman in Britain"
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Sturgeon said: "The fundamental question, 'does that language indicate that Alex Salmond is sexist
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BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour assessed Sturgeon to be the most powerful and influential woman in the United Kingdom
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“re still losing more than 1000 people a year. The national mission is failing.”
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As part of the SNP's gradualist wing, which believed in achieving independence through accumulating the Scottish Parliament's powers from the UK Parliament over time
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Sturgeon said that she planned to make education her "defining priority" while in office
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Awarded BBC 100 Women (2014).
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“There are 160,000 EU nationals from other states living in Scotland, including some in the Commonwealth Games city of Glasgow. If Scotland was outside Europe, they would lose the right to stay here.”
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Scottish Independence referendum, Sturgeon has aligned herself with the new gradualist wing, who believe in only holding a second referendum if there is clear public support, such as polling being over 60%, or if there i
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Career landmark: Member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom (2014).
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Career landmark: First Minister of Scotland (2014–2023).
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Was predicated on tax revenue earned from domestic oil production, while Sturgeon had predicted in the run-up to the referendum that, "We're on the verge of another North Sea bonanza"
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Career landmark: Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities (2012–2014).
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Pledged to build a high-speed railway line between Glasgow and Edinburgh by 2024, cutting journey times between the two cities to under 30 minutes
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Career landmark: Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy (2011–2012).
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Was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Capital Investment and Cities, which saw her in charge of the legislative process for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum
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Career landmark: Member of the 4th Scottish Parliament (2011–2016).
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Career landmark: Deputy First Minister of Scotland (2007–2014).
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Career landmark: Member of the 3rd Scottish Parliament (2007–2011).
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Career landmark: Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing (2007–2011).
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Election won: 2004 SNP leadership election.
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Career landmark: Leader of the Opposition (Scotland) (2004–2007).
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Campaign: 2004 SNP leadership election.
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Career landmark: Member of the 2nd Scottish Parliament (2003–2007).
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Career landmark: Member of the 1st Scottish Parliament (1999–2003).
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And for the Bridgeton ward on Glasgow City Council in 1995
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And a Diploma in Legal Practice the following year
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At a SNP youth event, he proposed to her on Hogmanay in 2009, and they were married on 16 July 2010 at Òran Mór in Glasgow
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At the age of 16, she became a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), quickly becoming the party's Youth Affairs Vice Convener and Publicity Vice Convener
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Born 1970-07-19.
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The aims of my government are clear: to create a nation that is both socially democratic and socially just, a nation that is confident in itself and governed effectively and a nation which will address poverty, support business, promote growth and tackle inequality. “The new cabinet team I have announced today will pursue these priorities with verve, vigour and determination.
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