Latest news with #Ex-SNP
Sky News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Like her or loathe her, Nicola Sturgeon is one of the most formidable politicians Scotland has ever produced
Like her or loathe her, Nicola Sturgeon is one of the most recognisable and formidable politicians Scotland has ever produced. Her headteacher-style presence gave Scotland prominence on the UK stage after years of being Alex Salmond's understudy. When she spoke, prime ministers did not like what they heard. But they knew they had to listen or face the Sturgeon wrath. Time after time, she rallied supporters towards a second Scottish independence referendum amid the fury of Brexit, but her strategy failed to deliver another vote. Fatigue and frustration were bubbling under the surface in the last 18 months of her time at the top. Her idea of introducing gender self-identification laws, which Holyrood passed and the UK government later blocked, further solidified her marmite character. It exposed issues within the SNP and led to cracks in her iron fist, strict discipline regime. Many of her supporters remember her stewardship of the pandemic as being "strong" while her critics see her as a divisive figure who triggered the rifts that the independence movement and the SNP are dealing with today. Weeks after stepping down as Scotland's longest-running first minister, she and her husband became embroiled in a police investigation examining finances in the SNP. Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who has now split from Ms Sturgeon, has been charged with embezzlement, while the former first minister remains a suspect. She denies any wrongdoing but there is no doubt her personal ambitions of taking a role on the international stage has, so far, been tainted and thwarted amid her challenges. Ms Sturgeon was for close to a decade the SNP's biggest asset, but in recent years, those issues at home have become something of a liability. There will be some senior figures who will be sad to see her leave parliament, but they may be secretly and quietly breathing a sigh of relief at being able to create some distance with the past. Ms Sturgeon's biggest achievement must be the fact she won every election during her long spell as first minister. She was an electoral powerhouse. An election-winning machine whose rivals looked at in envy. She will also be remembered for introducing additional payments for children living in poverty. She has been frank about how difficult it was to adjust to life after frontline politics. It would be, given most of her adult life has been in the public eye. The collapse of her marriage also played out for all to see. One of the biggest reasons for the huge spat between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond when he left office was his questionable choices, for example taking a job with Russian state broadcaster RT. Ms Sturgeon's career choices are less likely to create headaches for the current SNP chiefs, given one of her decisions is to appear at a forthcoming comedy festival. This news that she will leave politics altogether is not really a surprise but will come as a blow to those around her. The question is how much she and the SNP will be able to enjoy this new phase the longer the police probe looms large.
The Independent
08-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Ex-SNP MP Mhairi Black says neurodiversity is treated as a ‘fad'
Ex-SNP MP Mhairi Black has said that neurodiversity is treated as a 'fad', comparing it to being in the closet due to stigmatisation. In a column for The National, Ms Black, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018, said she kept it a secret due to 'backstabbing' in Westminster. She said there were 'similarities in how society perceives both the LGBT+ community and the neurodiverse community', including people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Tourette's syndrome, all legally classified disabilities and protected by the Equality Act 2010. However Ms Black said 'small adjustments' were often refused, causing burnout, stress and physical illness, due to being forced to function to neurotypical expectations. Ms Black wrote: 'Every single brain is unique, but 'neurodivergent' simply means we have been able to identify patterns showing that some brains behave differently to what we consider 'typical'. I was once asked what age I was when I came out as gay, to which I replied that I was never 'in'. 'The same cannot be said for my neurodivergence. 'I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018 but because of Westminster politics and backstabbing, I decided to keep that information between myself and the few folk I trusted. 'Now that I have left and am speaking openly about my experiences, I am struck by the similarities in how society perceives both the LGBT+ community and the neurodiverse community. 'There is an assumption that this obsession with labels is something new and that it is just a fad that is being forced upon children. As with the LGBT+ community, the neurodiverse community knows that it is not a fad. Labels give us the language to explain who we are. 'These labels should be used as a shorthand to indicate what wavelength you're on. Nothing more. 'They offer an insight into who someone is at their core and how their brain works. 'For example, if you know someone is autistic, then it can explain why you may feel they are speaking very directly. 'If you know someone has ADHD then you may afford them slightly more patience when they are late or forgetful. 'If you know a pupil is dyslexic then you know not to force them to read aloud to a classroom. 'If you know an employee struggles with sensory overload then you are more likely to understand why they would like to work from home. 'These small adjustments that make a world of difference to the person impacted by them.' She said when 'simple adjustments are not made, we start to see the long-term consequences', including 'stress, loneliness, stigma' and 'burnout' forced on people by 'holding themselves to the standards of the neurotypical'. Ms Black said that physical symptoms included headaches, stomach issues, fatigue, frequent illness, depression, anxiety and self-doubt were 'all symptoms of trying to force your brain to work like everyone else's, rather than embracing and being allowed to work with your brain'. However she said that neurodivergence was linked to increased creativity, organisation, and willingness to push boundaries, but that a 'vicious circle' meant that diagnoses were often occurring due to increased pressure on the NHS due to a failure to make 'small adjustments', and that there was no 'routinely collected reliable data' on assessment times. She added: 'Some may claim that an increase in people seeking a diagnosis proves that it is 'fashionable', but I reckon it is much more likely that we, as a society, are developing a better understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity. 'Similarly, some may say that if the NHS is already struggling with the number of neurodivergent diagnoses at the moment, then how can it be expected to cope with such an increase? 'In order to tackle a challenge you first need to know what size it is.'
