Let's chat about how brilliant Nicola Sturgeon is

Grandma70s

Scottish accents vary hugely. Some are lovely, some harsh and ugly. Unfortunately NS’s is in the latter category. I find her speech so unpleasant that I can’t separate what she says from the sounds she makes.

She reminds me of a little yappy dog. I can’t take her seriously.

Sadly I feel you may not be alone in your utterly prejudiced and probably snobbish view. Take the time to listen to what she says. Imagine if I said I couldn’t listen to Boris words because of his upper class accent ?

Septimia

In answer to those who wonder why I think Nicola is hypocritical regarding her English grandparents - it's because she comes across as anti-English but there's no mention of her heritage.

And she's an opportunist. She takes advantage of situations to make herself look good. So many people were praising her for the payouts to people/businesses struggling due to the pandemic. Where did the money come from? Westminster. Give me Ruth Davidson any day.

I have a serious question Septimia. What is it that makes you think NS is anti-English? Talking about how a country could become independent does not mean that anybody hates the English, only that we don't want to be an extension of it and that we consider ourselves different enough that we want to go back to being a country on our own.
People say that she blames the English, blames Boris etc - I think if you listen to what she says she never does that. It would be self-defeating.
By the way Ruth would have done herself a lot more good in Scotland if she hadn't decided that a nice seat in the House of Lords would be a good career move.

I greatly admire Nicola Sturgeon. She is a strong, intelligent and articulate woman. I don’t necessarily agree wholeheartedly with her views but that’s life.

My only thought is its easy to do as you think fit when you dont have to foot the bill.

I agree, I’ve never heard NS bash Boris.
How dreadfully depressing that in 2021 there are still people who have decided they don’t like someone or respect their leadership purely because of the way they speak.

Namsnanny

My only thought is its easy to do as you think fit when you dont have to foot the bill.

what do you mean ?

Yes, I wondered that too Lucca

No. Let's not.

Who is ‘we’ in the posts about the people of Scotland on this thread? There are different views on independence and no one should be speaking for the entirety of Scotland.

You're right, of course, SueDonim. There are different views. Sorry, got carried away...

Alegrias - maybe Nicola isn't anti-English, but she comes across like that to me. No, I don't like her, for several reasons, but that doesn't mean that she hasn't expressed herself better than Boris, or that I like him any better.

I would regret Scotland becoming independent, not because I think it should be a vassal of England, but because I like Scotland and would hate to find it harder to visit, especially living so close to the border. Our histories and ancestry are so intertwined it would be difficult to to lose the closeness. It was a similar desire for independence, maybe, that prompted the Brexit vote.

I've been more outspoken on this thread than I usually am. I don't expect anyone to necessarily agree with my views. What I would say, though, is that we all have far more in common (despite opinions expressed on here) and perhaps we should go back to being supportive of each other, not divisive.

I like most people but this woman constant whining makes me turn off the tv every time she speaks

Thank you for taking time to reply Septimia. I 100% agree that we should all respect each others views.

Septimia You say "Where did the money come from? Westminster." Some, not all, and no more than a fair share.
Meanwhile, money also goes in other direction, about two thirds of the taxes paid by Scots goes to Westminster.

The grant to Scotland for devolved things is proportional to population and to how much Westminster is planning to spend on public services, just like the money spent in any other area of the UK. " 80% of funding to England and Wales, 11% to Scotland and 9% to Ireland" The rest of the income of the Scottish budget comes from Scottish income tax, land and buildings, transaction tax, Scottish Landfill Tax, Non-domestic rates, Borrowing, Scottish Reserve.
It goes on Schools, Hospitals, Police, Housing, Fishing, Farming, Infrastructure and the Economy.

How the budget is spent is up to the Scottish Government. They have the right to decide to give some to those suffering financially because of this pandemic.

But Namsnan Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish government DO have to foot the bill for anything they decide to spend on. They don't have access to some bottomless source of money. They get a fair share of public money to fund the public things that all areas do, and they raise money themselves by taxes - some of which stays in Scotland, but more goes down to Westminster and into the general purse. There is no more. If they overspend on one thing, they have to pennypinch on something else.

Why would you find it harder to visit an independent Scotland? The roads will still be there, and the trains and the airports. The country wouldn't be picked up and dropped somewhere in the Pacific.

There would have to be a hard border.
Businesses and local authorities are complaining that the Covid support money is hoarded by the Scottish government and not disbursed as it was intended. This is direct information from suffering businesses.

No! Let’s not. Life’s too short!

I think Nicola Sturgeon has done a very difficult job extremely well. She has been very clear and articulate as a leader.

I won’t be joining in with silly comments; don’t like her accent or Scottish accents, wouldn’t be happy visiting Scotland, should it gain independence, the Scots don’t like the English.

May I suggest you head straight for the Highlands as an example of how many English people have made the decision to come and live in Scotland and happily live here as one example amongst many in other parts of the country.

I commend your patience Elegran.

I love Scotland and visit regularly as my sister lives there.
(but not recently of course). It's a stunningly beautiful country.
I find NS irritating at times. I do think she has presented herself well during the Covid crisis, but when she used to keep on and on and on about Scottish independence she really got up my nose. There should be a referendum again one day, but not for some years yet.

I do wish that the PM was more of an an opportunist who had taken advantage of the present situation to make himself look good. I can’t listen to him at all, especially when he is addressing the Nation aka England.
The First Minister has put in a hard shift and given the poor quality of the leaders of the opposition parties in Scotland just now, she would have to be especially dire not to make a good impression.
I once had hopes that Ruth Davidson could restore the Scottish Conservatives to some credibility but then she did an unexplained runner and the current leader is not yet an MSP.
So credit to Sturgeon where it is due.

The comments about Nicola Sturgeon always going on about independence puzzle me a bit. I mean, she heads up a political party whose stated aim is to get independence for Scotland, and the country keeps voting them in large numbers, so I would expect her to talk about it.

I’ve heard her speak live on several occasions. Once at a peripatetic meeting of the Scottish cabinet which took place in my town, once about Syrian refugees, once she was interviewing Bernardine Evaristo (that one was online). Once she was in the same audience as me for a talk about knitting . So it occurs to me that the mainstream media, maybe particularly in England, only have her on when its something to do with elections or independence. Of course this year the pandemic has meant all that has changed and we hear her talk about the virus as well.

Elegran

Why would you find it harder to visit an independent Scotland? The roads will still be there, and the trains and the airports. The country wouldn't be picked up and dropped somewhere in the Pacific.

I read that and thought "I've visited the Pacific but never been to Scotland, right on my doorstep".



I should add Scotland to my bucket list

I may have missed this, but I wonder what precisely OP had in mind when she said how “brilliant” NS is.
I am not saying she is NOT although I am not a supporter of independence for Scotland, but as I no longer live there my opinions are entirely personal and my own and I would not dream of inflicting them on my Scottish friends without a lot of detailed study and research.
So how brilliant is she?
I would welcome more opinions from indigenous Scots
But yes, she comes across well, she is a good communicator and she and her advisers seem to have a handle on the epidemic in Scotland. However I have also just heard on TV that Scotland reckons to be about 4 weeks behind most of, certainly the southern part of England so NS has had time to watch, learn and adapt her policies.
Scots have not all agreed with this opinion though and there was a lot of criticism before Christmas of some of her policies. Petty criticisms about her accent, or hair do or the height of her heels are clearly spurious.
Woukd you criticise Jacinta Arden fir her accent? Or indeed President Macron?

There are some who would, MawB. I know two maiden ladies in their 80s (at least!) who have criticised Ms Sturgeon because "She is always changing her clothes" presumably because she doesn't look like an unmade bed when she does an update, unlike Boris Johnson, and because she conducts them herself, as they think this means that she is ignoring the experts.