Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon PCis a Scottish politician who is the fifth and current First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the Scottish National Party, in office since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. Sturgeon has been a member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2007, and as the member for Glasgow Southside since 2007...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth19 July 1970
CityIrvine, Scotland
Voting Labour in the past hasn't protected Scotland against Tory governments.
True gender equality in Scotland - and elsewhere - is still some way off.
Scotland's relationship with Malawi is perhaps unique - with almost every town or village in Scotland having some connection.
Scotland has been re-energized, and people all over the country have become involved in - and informed about - politics and government in a way that I have never known before. In short, we have put ourselves firmly in control of our country.
Scotland has a great deal to offer the world in terms of our approach to key economic and social issues.
Since I became First Minister, I have made clear my priority to alleviate poverty and tackle inequality in Scotland. Ensuring that everyone can do better in life will not only make Scotland fairer, but it will also make it a more prosperous place.
There are lots of jobs and investment in Scotland dependent on our membership of the E.U. single market.
We already know that social security is more affordable in Scotland than it is in the rest of the U.K. - spending on social protection takes up a smaller share of our economic output and our tax revenues than is the case in the U.K. as a whole.
An independent Scotland could afford pensions full stop - after all, it is our taxes and national insurance contributions that fund them now.
American companies based in Scotland employ large numbers of people - in fact, we are the best performing part of the U.K., outside London and the southeast of England when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment.
This is about sending a very strong message that Scotland does want to stay in the European Union and we're an open country, a good place to live, work, study and to do business and it's really important as we take forward what will be challenging work ahead of us, that we send those messages.
Scotland's voice has to be heard
I should say that being independent in the modern model means independent in a very interdependent world. An independent Scotland is not apart from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Isn't it the case, ... that there were deep divisions inside the executive over the issue and rather than tell the prime minister that, the first minister chose to abdicate responsibility and stay completely silent.