Nicola Sturgeon says her sexuality isn't binary

[cigarsmokingwoman]

In the sun newspaper and I think also on STV news (according to my DM)

“It often felt that I was grasping at ‘solutions’ that I hoped, rather than knew, would make a difference,” she admits.

Well. That's about the first thing I've heard from her wtih a ring of truth to it.

Scots, she says, “are full of bravado but, when push comes to shove, lack the gumption to follow through

That seems a bit stunningly rude to the people she led and thinks should be running their own country. Does she apply that to herself too, as a scot?

I'm English but have lived in Scotland for decades. That's not how I'd describe most Scots at all – certainly if I was going to try to identify national characteristics that wouldn't be one. I'm surrounded by Scots who work hard to make things happen, not to mention all the Scottish GC women who have gumption in spades.

Kathleen Stock quoted a bit where NS was describing Ailsa Crag, I think. It, rather surreally, reminded me of those two suspected Russian agents describing Salisbury. I'm being unfair because I haven't and won't read the book but from that snippet it seems lifeless.

I think she might come to rue having written this book, it seems to lay bare her limitations rather more than she -I assume- would like.

Scots, she says, “are full of bravado but, when push comes to shove, lack the gumption to follow through
That seems a bit stunningly rude to the people she led and thinks should be running their own country.

Aye, but look at her now. She considers that these Scots have put her where she is now, puffing out like a Pillsbury doughboy (I wouldn't normally criticise someone for something other than their behaviour but she doesn't deserve such constraint), lacking the power she once abused, still being questioned about things she has no intention of ever being truthful about, etc etc, so this is another one of her pityful 'fuck you's to the people she once pretended to care about.

I just came here to quote that very line.

“Standing on the shore, looking out at Ailsa Craig — the uninhabited island about sixteen kilometres west of the mainland, home to puffins and gannets, and from which microgranite is quarried to make curling stones — still gives me a sense of peace and tranquillity that I don’t find elsewhere”

😂

She ChatGPT'd it, didn't she?

Well McGonagall has been dead for a while. So unless he was her literal ghostwriter, AI is the most likely explanation.

It was very much the message during the referendum campaign, though - "No" voters were continually maligned as cowards.

I asked ChatGPT if one of its pals did it (using the excerpt from the Times):

'Based on the excerpts provided, Frankly appears to be the product of a hybrid memoir-writing process in which Nicola Sturgeon’s own recollections, emotional testimony, and personal phrasing are interwoven with material that has been shaped, structured, and in places strategically reframed by an experienced ghostwriter or editor. The most intimate sections — such as her account of miscarriage and the psychological toll of the criminal investigation — carry the uneven rhythms, raw confessions, and emotional specificity that suggest direct personal authorship or lightly edited dictation. By contrast, passages dealing with political events, public rumours, and reputational defence display a smoother, more deliberate rhetorical style, prioritising clarity, chronology, and legal precision, hallmarks of professional editorial input. Across the text, there is a consistent first-person voice, but subtle shifts in tone — from vulnerable memoirist to assured public figure — point to multiple layers of authorship.

There is no clear evidence of AI generation; rather, the writing reflects a conventional political autobiography process, in which authentic personal material is curated and polished to serve both the author’s personal narrative and public legacy.'

I just popped in to say I'm another one who couldn't care less. Bye!

Whether Fraser is a very nice man depends entirely on your politics and morals, surely?

Labour in nutshell

Not really. I disagree with him on lots of things. The people I know who know him, and some know him very well, are unanimous in what they say about his character.

Having read both JKR's and K Stock's reviews, I am struck by how reasonable they are - they both stick to the facts, analysing how NS's claims and perceptions are not borne out by what actually happened.
While the word 'excoriating' has been used of the reviews, they are not nasty or 'below the belt' - literally, as neither has focused on the easy target of NS's comments on her sexuality.

There have been accusations that the reactions here have been motivated by 'hatred' of NS. I'm reading more anger and disappointment than hatred, but yeah, I get it - some posters really really can't stand her! But because of what she has done, or failed to do, not because of what she is. If she is called 'a liar' it's because she has made claims that can be proven to be untrue - that's fact-checking, not hatred.

Both JKR and KS have, I think, been meticulous in basing their reviews on NS's political career, and writing style, rather than ad feminam attacks on her as a person.

JKR's sweary annotation of her copy of NS's book stands as proof of how she controlled her emotional response and wrote a carefully factual review..

My only comment on the book which I don't think I'll ever read is about the title - did nobody realise that the title, Frankly, was going to be automatically followed up in many minds with '..my dear, I don't give a damn'

Me?
🤣
Floating voter, always have been.

Fair enough.

(Though we do tend to form friendships with people of similar mindsets.)

Totally. And not "properly Scottish" either, even if they had Scottish roots going back generations. To be "properly Scottish" you had to support independence and think that the English were nasty and probably Toaries. Urgh, horrible times.

Too late to edit my post of 11.40 - I wanted to change that JKR's review was 'factual', that wasn't a good word to use about her review - I mean that she had stuck to facts when criticising NS, but she used her writing skills very very cleverly in so doing, so 'factual' was too plodding a word

But you’re questioning the morality of Fraser Nelson who as far as I can tell is a centrist. This week he was backing up the idea that crime rates have fallen and Britain is not the lawless hellhole as portrayed by the far right.

Did anyone see the interview she did with Newscast that was aired on Wednesday night? Apparently, she's a feminist to her core.

I watched it at work this morning, and my screen was in danger of having my foot through it at so many points!

I’m not questioning his morality. I’m saying people who don’t share his opinions and values (as those very close to him probably do) won’t consider him a very nice man. Obvious, surely?

I don't think that's obvious at all.

Well, that’s on you 🤷‍♀️