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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Nicola Sturgeon STILL didn't know her husband stole £400,000

487 replies

Imdunfer · 01/06/2026 07:32

Follow on from previous thread.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
YellingAway · 01/06/2026 21:31

As much as I loathed the man, Alex Salmond was a good politician who cut his teeth in Westminster.

I do think that the lack of party dissent in the SNP is worrying as that creates a bubble which i agree with the poster above in that this may have contributed to Nicola’s current issues.

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 21:34

ByGraptharsHammer · 01/06/2026 21:31

Douglas Ross? Wasn’t he some sort of Tory jellyfish? Not much competition.

I suppose the point is that more competition makes more better leaders, as does intense debate. Sturgeon did not havecany substantial challenge politically.

Edited

He was leader! The fact that other party leaders were ineffective wasn’t Nicola’s fault. It’s the fault of the numpties that voted for them.

ByGraptharsHammer · 01/06/2026 21:34

YellingAway · 01/06/2026 21:31

As much as I loathed the man, Alex Salmond was a good politician who cut his teeth in Westminster.

I do think that the lack of party dissent in the SNP is worrying as that creates a bubble which i agree with the poster above in that this may have contributed to Nicola’s current issues.

Yes he did and there is quite a difference. Salmond did deals and built relationships. You would be surprised at some of them.

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 21:38

YellingAway · 01/06/2026 21:31

As much as I loathed the man, Alex Salmond was a good politician who cut his teeth in Westminster.

I do think that the lack of party dissent in the SNP is worrying as that creates a bubble which i agree with the poster above in that this may have contributed to Nicola’s current issues.

Are you kidding me on? What about Joanna Cherry, Ash Reagan, Fergus Ewing etc?

ByGraptharsHammer · 01/06/2026 21:39

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 21:34

He was leader! The fact that other party leaders were ineffective wasn’t Nicola’s fault. It’s the fault of the numpties that voted for them.

See I don’t agree on that. The issue is structural based on the Labour devolution.

The Labour Party thought they would hold Scotland forever. When they devolved power, they created a system that had none of the firepower or dynamic politics of Westminster. That was deliberate. It was meant to be small and biddable. They would hold it.

As it turns out, Labour were wrong. But they were right about the Parliament they made. It was small and biddable, but its concentrated power could be held by a nationalist party who would exploit that control just as well. So it has proved.

TirednessOnToast · 01/06/2026 21:40

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 18:59

Yes. The only people on the planet that didn’t know about it were Scottish voters.

I see yiu take rhe John Swinney approach of 'old news, nothing to see here'.
Clearly its not old news. PM just pleaded guilty. Reams of detail have been released. It'd all over rhe news precisely because its not old news. NS is dragging herself round interviews declaring her innocence. Just now.

The Scottish electorate, of which I am one, deserved this information before rhe election. Especially as JS has been around whilst all this was going on. Maybe we would have chosen a different party, or different leaders for rhe next 4 years. Had we known.

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 21:42

ByGraptharsHammer · 01/06/2026 21:39

See I don’t agree on that. The issue is structural based on the Labour devolution.

The Labour Party thought they would hold Scotland forever. When they devolved power, they created a system that had none of the firepower or dynamic politics of Westminster. That was deliberate. It was meant to be small and biddable. They would hold it.

As it turns out, Labour were wrong. But they were right about the Parliament they made. It was small and biddable, but its concentrated power could be held by a nationalist party who would exploit that control just as well. So it has proved.

Half agree.

INeedAPensieve · 01/06/2026 21:49

TirednessOnToast · 01/06/2026 21:40

I see yiu take rhe John Swinney approach of 'old news, nothing to see here'.
Clearly its not old news. PM just pleaded guilty. Reams of detail have been released. It'd all over rhe news precisely because its not old news. NS is dragging herself round interviews declaring her innocence. Just now.

The Scottish electorate, of which I am one, deserved this information before rhe election. Especially as JS has been around whilst all this was going on. Maybe we would have chosen a different party, or different leaders for rhe next 4 years. Had we known.

Exactly. We would have made other choices, I find it very suspicious this has come out after the election.

John Swinney can keep saying "nothing to see here" until the cows come home but it's not going to go away. I agree with what a pp said that the other political parties in Scotland should do their own internal investigations and put the pressure on the SNP to do a full enquiry. Brushing it under the carpet is not going to help.

ByGraptharsHammer · 01/06/2026 21:54

But this is the issue. You would be asking John Swinney to investigate his friends, which he is not going to do. He has no need to fear the Parliament, because it’s disciplined to the point of being neutered.

Swinney has no meaningful competition in his party either. He can sit it out, unaffected like Sturgeon was.

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 21:58

TirednessOnToast · 01/06/2026 21:40

I see yiu take rhe John Swinney approach of 'old news, nothing to see here'.
Clearly its not old news. PM just pleaded guilty. Reams of detail have been released. It'd all over rhe news precisely because its not old news. NS is dragging herself round interviews declaring her innocence. Just now.

The Scottish electorate, of which I am one, deserved this information before rhe election. Especially as JS has been around whilst all this was going on. Maybe we would have chosen a different party, or different leaders for rhe next 4 years. Had we known.

I’m sorry but I disagree. This was all in the public domain since Nicola resigned as FM and got arrested!

However, Peter wasn’t a politician, so no one was voting for the Peter Murrell party.

I am really shocked and upset by this btw. I have had dealings with Peter over my years as a member and have always thought he was professional and actually listened to members and I thought he was trustworthy. Just shows how wrong I was.

I can see why Nicola loved him and I truly believe she did.

Fuck knows what got into him. But it appears now to have been a historical problem which Alex first noticed and covered up.

Don’t know what else to say really.

Everyone has different sides to them. I saw the best side of him. Now I’ve seen the worst.

murasaki · 01/06/2026 22:13

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 21:58

I’m sorry but I disagree. This was all in the public domain since Nicola resigned as FM and got arrested!

However, Peter wasn’t a politician, so no one was voting for the Peter Murrell party.

I am really shocked and upset by this btw. I have had dealings with Peter over my years as a member and have always thought he was professional and actually listened to members and I thought he was trustworthy. Just shows how wrong I was.

I can see why Nicola loved him and I truly believe she did.

Fuck knows what got into him. But it appears now to have been a historical problem which Alex first noticed and covered up.

Don’t know what else to say really.

Everyone has different sides to them. I saw the best side of him. Now I’ve seen the worst.

That sounds fair, but i think she covered it up too.

Zebrah · 01/06/2026 22:14

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 21:38

Are you kidding me on? What about Joanna Cherry, Ash Reagan, Fergus Ewing etc?

Are you stating these people were SNP dissenters? They were, but they were hounded out for it. I want all individual MSPs thinking for themselves, deciding for themselves. That was shunned in the SNP. Currently we have one person in the SNP deciding what policy should be and all the other SNP MSPs nod along like Churchill dogs. Only one person in the whole of Scotland decides anything. That’s why the Scottish government doesn’t work.

YellingAway · 01/06/2026 22:15

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 21:58

I’m sorry but I disagree. This was all in the public domain since Nicola resigned as FM and got arrested!

However, Peter wasn’t a politician, so no one was voting for the Peter Murrell party.

I am really shocked and upset by this btw. I have had dealings with Peter over my years as a member and have always thought he was professional and actually listened to members and I thought he was trustworthy. Just shows how wrong I was.

I can see why Nicola loved him and I truly believe she did.

Fuck knows what got into him. But it appears now to have been a historical problem which Alex first noticed and covered up.

Don’t know what else to say really.

Everyone has different sides to them. I saw the best side of him. Now I’ve seen the worst.

Genuine question but why do you think Alex saw it and covered it up but Nicola didn’t see anything?

CornishDaughteroftheDawn · 01/06/2026 22:17

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 18:53

I’m going to believe a woman who experienced it, before women who haven’t.

Is she speaking on behalf of every woman in prison?

Are you suggesting the women who have reported sexual harassment, feeling threatened and distressed by trans identifying men in female prisons are lying?

Or can you recognise that other women have a different experience d to your one friend? Either that or she has a form of Stockholm Syndrome where she had to appease the men for self protection. She may revise her view in time.

CornishDaughteroftheDawn · 01/06/2026 22:21

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 18:35

I only know one Scottish woman who has been in jail. She’s been in every woman’s jail except Greenock. She has told me that the last thing she worried about while in there was trans women. She was more worried about the violent women she was locked up with. I believe her. She has turned her life around and is now leading a productive life. She is a trans ally.

Forgive me for believing her before people on here who have zero experience of being in prison.

And if it’s so fine and safe, why were you berating PP for suggesting that if Nicola was sentenced to prison, she should be placed with a trans identifying man?

You seem to be losing track of your ‘arguments’.

ArabellaScott · 01/06/2026 22:29

INeedAPensieve · 01/06/2026 21:49

Exactly. We would have made other choices, I find it very suspicious this has come out after the election.

John Swinney can keep saying "nothing to see here" until the cows come home but it's not going to go away. I agree with what a pp said that the other political parties in Scotland should do their own internal investigations and put the pressure on the SNP to do a full enquiry. Brushing it under the carpet is not going to help.

GIF by T2 Trainspotting

On a 50% turnout, the SNP won about 30% of the vote.

Sadly, the most damage has been to the public's faith in Scottish politics. Its made the Parliament and the whole devolution endeavour look very shaky.

A pretendy parliament that does more harm than good, fails to govern the country, and appears to have no real appetite for further independence.

We all lose because of the past ten years, and yes that is Sturgeon's fault. Arrogant, incompetent, ineffectual at best.

I don't know where we go from here.

INeedAPensieve · 01/06/2026 22:31

HootyMcBoobys · 01/06/2026 20:43

And how is putting men into women's prions "making women's lives better" exactly?

We're a dangerous cult?

Tell that to the children being sterilised, the woman being doxed, the women being sacked, the women being openly threatened, the physical violence inflicted on women at peaceful (on their side) protests, the horrendous threats and signs made to gender critical women peacefully demonstrating.

The danger comes from one side, and one side only.

Usually the kind of people who think it's hunky-dory for MEN to be in women's safe spaces.

Exactly. And those who shout "cult" at all the women (including now ex-members of SNP like me) who raised concerns, who campaigned, who tried to get the SNP to listen, who wrote letters etc etc, they will never see why trying to silence women doesn't work. And it's mostly men who try and shut down conversation.

Even on this thread, I post a jokey GiF and say the name of the poster who is clearly trying to deflect and stop us all talking about this embezzlement and I immediately discover my post is deleted. I didn't threaten anybody, I didn't say "you should be ashamed" or tell someone they were "thick" like what was said to other posters by them, I didn't say anything personal whatsoever on that post, yet I got deleted.

I'm all for robust discussion and disagreements, but deleting jokey GiF posts, it just seems a bit iffy to me, like the censorship and male silencing of women that's been happening (which appears to be SNP's MO these days). It's not something that usually happens on here, and I've seen some robust chat, especially on the AIBU threads!

CornishDaughteroftheDawn · 01/06/2026 22:38

TirednessOnToast · 01/06/2026 21:40

I see yiu take rhe John Swinney approach of 'old news, nothing to see here'.
Clearly its not old news. PM just pleaded guilty. Reams of detail have been released. It'd all over rhe news precisely because its not old news. NS is dragging herself round interviews declaring her innocence. Just now.

The Scottish electorate, of which I am one, deserved this information before rhe election. Especially as JS has been around whilst all this was going on. Maybe we would have chosen a different party, or different leaders for rhe next 4 years. Had we known.

Exactly. This is why an inquiry held just in Scotland would be fruitless. The power that ensured that the timing of all this suited the SNP for the election would also control the outcome of an inquiry imo.

ArabellaScott · 01/06/2026 22:42

A joint WM/Holyrood inquiry seems the best plan. But that also shouldn't stop court cases being considered.

murasaki · 01/06/2026 22:42

CornishDaughteroftheDawn · 01/06/2026 22:38

Exactly. This is why an inquiry held just in Scotland would be fruitless. The power that ensured that the timing of all this suited the SNP for the election would also control the outcome of an inquiry imo.

Indeed. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.

Nanny0gg · 01/06/2026 22:47

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 12:37

External auditors. Not the Party Leader.

But the Party leader doesn't have oversight?

How can you run a party without knowing your budget?

HumbleKatey · 01/06/2026 23:12

AnonymityAnonymity · 01/06/2026 08:38

Yes people are allowed to and should be critical of politicians. But the level of personal attack and hatred she, and other women politicians, gets is a disgrace.

What do your threads hope to achieve? i'm assuming by perpetuating this attack on her and to discrediting the SNP you have a political agenda.

I’m assuming you have a pro-Sturgeon political agenda.

Differentforgirls · 01/06/2026 23:20

YellingAway · 01/06/2026 22:15

Genuine question but why do you think Alex saw it and covered it up but Nicola didn’t see anything?

Because he stole from Moira.

Yesitismeandiamcomingforyou · 01/06/2026 23:36

Can I suggest just not responding to the NS loving distractors here? Let it echo into the abyss...
Great discussion without that noise trying to defend / excuse / deny (delete as appropriate) the omissions of the expected behaviour of the SNP top bods