Nicola Sturgeon: A Political Life

by David Torrance

How did a working class girl from the Ayrshire become one of the most prominent politicians of her age? How has a life dominated by politics both inspired and repelled parts of the electorate? From the age of just 16, Nicola Sturgeon has devoted her life to the SNP – her determination and grit finally winning her one of Labour’s stronghold seats in Govan in 2007, a constituency she battled to win for almost a decade. Self-evidently a rising star within the SNP, when the party formed its first (minority) administration in 2007 Sturgeon swiftly became one of the Scottish Government’s most successful ministers. Her reputation for efficiency and shrewd political judgement grew even more during the referendum negotiations of 2012 and the subsequent independence campaign. By the time Alex Salmond resigned as First Minister and SNP leader in the wake of a No vote Sturgeon was viewed as his inevitable successor. Ten years earlier she’d been perceived as what some called a ‘nippy sweetie’, a street-fighting Glaswegian politician lacking Salmond’s broad populist appeal. But in the intervening period she had softened her image and even begun to outstrip her mentor and boss in terms of voter approval. As the country prepares for a General Election, Nicola Sturgeon could hold the balance of power in her hands, not just in Scotland, but in the United Kingdom.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Scotland, Biography

290 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2015

About the author

David Torrance is Devolution and Constitution Specialist at the House of Commons Library. He was formerly a freelance writer, broadcaster and journalist, reporting on the Scottish Parliament for STV, and contributing political commentary to a wide range of publications including The Scotsman, The Herald and The Times. He is the author of several books on Scottish politics, the best known being his unauthorised biographies of Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond. He is the author of Standing up for Scotland: Nationalist Unionism and Scottish Party Politics, 1884–2014 (Edinburgh University Press, 2020) and the editor of Ruth Davidson's Conservatives: The Scottish Tory Party, 2011–19 (Edinburgh University Press, 2020) and Whatever Happened to Tory Scotland (Edinburgh University Press, 2012).

Reviews

[Michael Macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insight into a paradoxical politician

Nicola Sturgeon is an enigma: hard working, polite and committed in private and a public image based on Anglophobia and rhetoric worthy of Rick from the Young Ones. Torrance digs beneath the surface of confidence to find a politician who echoes progressive dogma but seems devoid of serious political thought or any grasp of economic reality.

The mystery of her sudden resignation is part of her journey through life where political survival and inept governance is the political legacy rather than any achievable goal other than independence. Sturgeon's legal training enables her to appear to say the opposite of what she means but her inability to explain her nationalism is typical of modern society which values style over substance

[David Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Need to admit up front that I don't like sturgeon or her politics - I find the easy ride she gets from the media (and for much of this book, until the final chapter where Torrance examines the idea she may be more style than substance) irritating and find her protestations of being a progressive difficult to stomach ( she'd much rather play the victim, blaming the evil Tories than use the powers she has at her disposal to meet her alleged ambitions). As such I was not expecting much from this book, written without her cooperation but hardly a hatchet job. The problem is that - as the book demonstrates all too well - as a career politician, with little in the way of a colourful hinterland beyond the politics of the SNP, she is dull as well as irritating (the regular references to complaints made about how female politicians face regular comments about their appearance - while providing much of her own commentary about her look, posing for vogue etc). The book passes quickly enough - there is little backstage detail about the independence referendum campaign for instance to keep you focuses - and I suspect this will only be of interest to SNP fans. And I will never be that

[Jonathan Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part biography, part personal and professional analysis of the subject, David Torrance has produced a forensic analysis of Nicola Sturgeon.

Whilst I appreciated the methodical approach, excellent writing style, and attention to detail, particularly delving into her teenage years and political beggins and time at UofG, the author's inherent bias (be it political or personal) against Sturgeon seeped through.

There were examples of snide wording that stood out as well as references to her inability to drive (twice) that came across as irrelevant commentary.

If you didn't live in Scotland, you would not, from reading this book, fully appreciate the surge in popularity and support for both the subject and the SNP in the aftermath of the referendum, or of quite how phenomenal the return of MPs at the following General Election.

But to be fair to Torrance, he was also balanced in his reaction to losing the referendum outcome and did not overstate the outcome.

In many respects it is the fact this account was written by an author who comes from what is surely a unionist background or viewpoint that makes for an interesting account. If this is not quite always fair, a gushing biography that glossed over any faults or failings would be less appealing (why I don't read the National newspaper).

Here there is almost a reluctant admission, and grudging respect, of Sturgeon's work ethic, talent as a politician and communicator and competency. And the very fact the author deemed the subject worthy of a book is evidence in and of itself.

[Stephen Mccollum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it interesting to read about Sturgeon's background and to learn things that I didn't know. The book traces recent developments in Scottish politics. It was an easy book to read. Since Sturgeon has not finished her political career, a final assessment cannot be fully made, although the author is fairly critical, for example, he criticises Sturgeon as having more style than substance, which could indeed be said of many politicians.

[Chris Purser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an authorised biograpghy and I can see why. But it does plot her rise to the top of the SNP and Scottish politics as First Minsiter.

[Stephen]

The first third of the biography comes across as a straightforward regurgitation of events in Sturgeon’s life, only interesting insofar as it covers aspects of Scottish political history I wasn’t fully aware of. But while the start feels disposable I’m not certain it’s fair of me to criticise the lack of insight in this section. I’d be as skeptical of and uncomfortable with half-baked psychoanalysis of a young Sturgeon as I suspect Torrance himself is, and I’m not sure there’s much else to be done when the subject of the biography turns down the request for a background interview.

Things liven up in the second half and the (political) analysis improves markedly towards the end of the book. The referendum section was especially enlightening. As someone who was only politicised during the referendum and is still living in the midst of the Age of Nicola, it’s easy to think Sturgeon’s rise was an inevitability. Torrance clearly shows that, while she was always tipped as potential future leader of the party, her position as Salmond’s heir apparent was only truly cemented during the referendum campaign itself. Sturgeon’s role was essentially to firefight the opposition leaving Salmond free to 'act the statesman' during the campaign, something she did with effectiveness and even grace, winning half a dozen high profile debates with apparent ease.

There are a few particularly perceptive insights, such as the Yes Campaign’s tactic of appealing for a Yes vote to save the NHS being directly linked to Nicola’s time as Health Minister, in which she managed to successfully present the SNP as the guardians of the Scotland’s NHS. Torrance also deftly pinpoints the reason for the unprecedented harmony between the SNP triumvirate of Salmond, Sturgeon and Swinney – Swinney has already been leader, while Salmond’s been at the helm for two decades. This has left no doubt as to the natural successor and prevented damaging power struggles à la New Labour. He also raises the interesting point that Nicola doesn’t have a Nicola i.e. no deputy who can do for her what she did for Salmond. Sturgeon is in many ways much more effective than Salmond but has always been more risk-averse, so it’ll be interesting to see the SNP’s trajectory under her leadership, especially when it comes to the more strategic decisions.

The most interesting analysis is saved for the final chapter (mostly re the Sturgeon/Salmond partnership. I'd be interested in reading a book specifically on that, though it might not really be possible until both their careers have ended.). I’m not too familiar with political biographies so I don’t know if it's unusual to save most of the proper analysis until the final chapter but it was probably the cause what seemed like a lack of depth elsewhere in the book. Still, the analysis is eventually there and worth it when you get to it.