Nicola Sturgeon's roadmap is 'already unravelling' says Ross
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Nicola Sturgeon has cut a divisive figure across UK politics over the years. Wildly popular over the border in Scotland, her campaigns for another independence referendum have sparked the highest ever support for the movement, as she pushes to hold another IndyRef2. The first woman ever to serve as Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon has served in the role since 2014 following the departure of her former ally Alex Salmond.
Since then, she has revived plans for Scottish Independence with huge backing from the Scottish people – with opinion polls almost universally supporting the break away from the United Kingdom.
The resurgence of the desire to leave the union has come alongside the SNP taking a markedly different approach to tackling the ongoing coronavirus crisis, and a considerable drop in popularity for the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson north of the border.
Ms Sturgeon will lead the SNP through the Holyrood elections this May, in which they are widely expected to win big.
But first, the SNP leader must battle against the ongoing dispute with Alex Salmond, who she accuses of peddling “dangerous conspiracy theories” about her Government.
How much is Nicola Sturgeon’s salary?
As of April 2015, the salary for the First Minister of Scotland was decided as being £144,687 per year.
However, at the time Ms Sturgeon accepted £135,605, a voluntary pay freeze support by First Minister Alex Salmond that had been running since 2008.
Her wage but her just behind the then Prime Minister’s £142,500 salary and also the £143,911 earnings of the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
In 2017, Ms Sturgeon’s salary went up to £151,721.
This would put her above the £150,000 Boris Johnson – who last year sources say bemoaned that he was underpaid – is thought to receive.
She and her husband Peter Murrell own a home in Glasgow, and she once revealed she gets up at 5.15am so she and Peter can beat the rush hour traffic to Edinburgh, where they grab a coffee before going to work.
She also told the Daily Record her two personal passions in life are ‘shoes and books’, adding: “My passion for shoes and books make walking down the high street in Edinburgh difficult.
“I am always buying shoes – not too expensive, though, because I am very hard on them. I blame it on the cobbles in Edinburgh.”
Who is Nicola Sturgeon?
Born in Irvine, North Ayreshire on July 19 1970, Nicola Sturgeon was born to Joan Sturgeon, a dental nurse, and Robin Sturgeon, and electrician.
She is the eldest of three daughters.
Nicola joined the SNP when she was 16-years-old and has held a number of roles within the party since then.
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Talking about why she got into politics, she told BBC Radio Four’s Women’s Hour: “Thatcher was prime minister, the economy wasn’t in great shape, lots of people around me were looking at a life or an immediate future of unemployment and I think that certainly gave me a strong sense of social justice and, at that stage, a strong feeling that it was wrong for Scotland to be governed by a Tory government that we hadn’t elected.”
She studied Law at the University of Glasgow and for a time worked as a solicitor in the city.
She entered into full time politics in 1999 when she was elected to the new Holyrood parliament in 1999, as a Glasgow regional MSP.
She became deputy First Minister in 2007 following the party’s big Holyrood win, winning the Glasgow Govan seat.
She spearheaded the SNP campaign for reelection in Holyrood in 2011, getting the party what was an unprecedented majority at the time, dismantling a number of Labour strongholds within the country.
Ms Sturgeon also oversaw the independence referendum of 2014 – being appointed the “Yes Minister”.
Even though the Yes Camp lost the referendum, it propelled her to the top spot in Scottish politics after it prompted the resignation of Alex Salmond.
In the 2015 general election, the party under Ms Sturgeon obliterated Labour strongholds, taking 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland.
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