A vocal Scottish National Party politician has taken a swipe at Nicola Sturgeon’s “cult of personality” in the latest humiliation for the party’s ex leader, as the SNP’s popularity continues to plummet north of the border.
Ms Sturgeon, who served as Scotland’s First Minister between 2014 and 2023, has come under fire over the independence movement’s “reliance” on her personality. Mhairi Black, who was first elected to the House of Commons aged 20 in an SNP landslide at the 2015 general election under Sturgeon’s leadership, admitted she was “uncomfortable” with how the party came to be so dependent on its former leader.
Ms Black, who is the deputy SNP leader in Westminster and the MP for Paisley and Renfewshire South, says Sturgeon’s exit from the top job in Scottish politics was “quite healthy”, adding: “I’m a big believer in politics should be about policy as opposed to personality”.
Despite predicting that Ms Sturgeon will “still have a part to play” in the future of the party, Ms Black admitted that she hasn’t missed having her as leader of Scotland’s biggest political party.
When the now 29-year-old, who has revealed she is stepping down at the next general election, was asked if the “cult of personality” was a problem for her party, GB News reports that she replied: “For me personally, yes, it always made me quite uncomfortable.”
She added: “But as I say, I do think she’s certainly one of the best, if not the best, performing politicians that I’ve seen. There’s a balance to be struck and I’m not convinced that we always got the balance right.”
Ms Sturgeon was among the prominent figures to share her sadness over Black’s decision to quit her role in Westminster – which she hopes is only “temporary”.
It’s the latest in a string of setbacks for Ms Sturgeon, who was arrested after becoming embroiled in Police Scotland’s Operation Branchfrom investigation into her party’s finances. She was later released without charge pending further investigation.
It comes as the party’s support has continued to drop since the 2019 general election, as Humza Yousaf does not appear to be anywhere near as popular as his predecessor, according to a top pollster.
Meanwhile a recent opinion poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton actually put Labour ahead of the SNP by two percentage points – which could spell disaster for the party at the upcoming general election, which Rishi Sunak confirmed will definitely take place in 2024.
If the poll is truly reflective of how Scotland will vote in the coming months, it could give Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer a greater chance of winning an outright majority in Westminster, handing him the keys to 10 Downing Street.
What will come as somehwat of a relief to Ms Sturgeon and her supporters, however, is that public opinion towards Scottish independence remains on a knife-edge, according to the same survey. But the “no campaign” still has a two-point lead over the “yes” supporters – showing the SNP has barely made any progress since they lost the independence referendum in 2014.
