‘In Conversation with Nicola Sturgeon’ at Queen’s University Belfast
By Heidi Kidd
On Thursday, January 29th, The Gown attended a talk with the former first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, delivered to staff and students at QUB in the Students Union building. The conversation was led by Dr Elodie Fabre. Sturgeon covered discourse surrounding contemporary political issues both in Scotland and on the international level.
In August of 2025, Sturgeon’s autobiography ‘Frankly’ was released, containing her memoir of her personal and political life.
During the introduction given by First Chancellor of QUB, Dr. Ian Greer, it was noted that Sturgeon had won eight successive elections as the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Following her resignation in 2023 as First Minister, a position she held since 2014, Sturgeon has remained active in localized Scottish politics but is stepping down fully later this year. She is ‘excited for the next phase of her life’.
National and personal impacts
The interviewer asked Sturgeon about how her career impacted her on a personal level.
She said when reflecting on her careers, it is ‘very difficult to take a step back and look at it objectively, […] reaching a more balanced view is something I tried to convey in ‘Frankly’’
On Scotland’s change as a country since the SNP came to power, she said that ‘Scotland is a better country that it was when the SNP took over in 2007.’
When asked about the change she has seen since the SNP came to power in 2007, Sturgeon noted that it has a ‘greater confidence and belief in itself […] and is aware of the contribution it makes to the world and can make to the world’.
She mentioned the successes of her career in regards health; noting how when she held the position of Health Minister major developments in the health sector were made, particularly around the drug and alcohol problems in Scotland.
‘Scotland has been transformed for the better, but that’s not to say there aren’t still challenges’.
On a personal level, Sturgeon noted that such an active political career ‘changes you’.
Difficulties delivering political change
Dr. Fabre asked how she tackled the difficulty of delivering political change.
‘Delivery is much more difficult now than when I started out.’
She discussed how the ‘rule-based international order is falling apart at the seams’, largely because of the ‘rising wave of populism’.
On democratic governance, Sturgeon said that ‘democracy can deliver governance to make people’s lives better’. She explained about governance and decision making that the ‘day to day governance’ is often made most difficult by ‘micro-challenges’.
‘Policies that are controversial are much more likely to end up in the courts than was the case before.’
On today’s political sphere and issues of deliverance, ‘scrutiny and criticism is an important part of democracy’, but there is a public ‘impatience for change and less of an understanding’.
She said, ‘how do we [politicians] prove that democracy is capable’, and is ‘one of the most pressing questions in the world.’
Young people and politics
Dr. Fabre posed the question of this generations young people’s seemingly premature cynicism of politics.
In 2015, Scotland reduced the voting age to 16 following the independence referendum. Deputy First Minister at the time, John Swinney, said it was ‘a real missed opportunity on the part of the UK government not to enable 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the EU referendum’ (BBC).
Sturgeon commented that it was ‘the right thing to do and it has been proven as the right thing to do’, however she conceded that it doesn’t ‘automatically make young people interested in politics’. She said it goes ‘two ways’ between young people and politicians.
She noted that ‘politicians need to prove themselves and prove that they can deliver the things they say they will deliver’.
On the public’s responsibility in politics, she said that while it is uncomfortable to think about, ‘the governments you end up with are a reflection of the choices that you’re making’, and encouraged people to ‘get involved in change’.
She also commented on the current climate in the media, and discussed the worrying presence of fear-mongering in the media today.
Scotland’s devolution experience
Dr. Fabre asked for Sturgeon’s thoughts on how devolution has unfolded in Scotland.
Sturgeon conceded that there had been a ‘locking of horns’ in Scotland in the wake of the devolution, which is ‘in some ways a necessity’ in politics.
Conversations evolved in the political sphere following the independence referendum.
She also commented on the contested idea of the ‘Ulsterification’ of Scotland, that Scotland has been ‘so caught up in constitutional mindset that we’ve become incapable of agreeing on other things’, stating it is ‘definitely an issue but is not a sole UK issue’, rather can also be seen on the global scene.
She expressed worry for the strength the Reform party appears to have in Scotland.
Positive political change
Dr. Fabre further asked for her thoughts on the helpfulness of citizen engagement platforms like citizen assemblies.
Sturgeon expressed that it is a ‘good way to make policy’, especially on highly divisive issues such as ‘abortion and same-sex marriage’. She also expressed a desire to see more citizen engagement in Scotland.
Questions from the audience
On women in politics
Questions from the audience were submitted prior to the talk, with many regarding Sturgeon’s experience as a woman in a political career.
Sturgeon recognized that there are both ‘immense struggles and privileges’ that go along with taking on such a career as a woman. She acknowledged that she thought political careers for women ‘were getting better but it seems we have taken a step backwards since then’.
‘The bottom line is that women in leadership, generally, […] are treated differently and are judged on a daily basis’.
She recounts that as a woman in a high-profile political job that people often focus on ‘what you wear’ and your ‘appearance’.
Referencing former American president Barrack Obama’s statement that he doesn’t put effort into what he wore every day in order to focus on the bigger issues, she ‘didn’t know whether to laugh or cry’ when she heard that.
‘You constantly have to think about things as a woman in politics that you don’t have to as a man’
‘ Things in men […] that are seen as big positives, like being a strong leader, that’s seen as a big plus; he’s strong, he’s assertive. But if a woman is seen as a strong leader, well, they’re aggressive, they are bossy. They’re not a ‘team player’. ’
She said that ‘character strengths in men […] are seen as character flaws in women’. She states that while it’s difficult ‘being a woman in public life, we’ve got to keep supporting each other and keep encouraging people into it’.
She also provided insight into the broader discussions of women in leadership.
‘It so often focuses on what do women need to do, what do women need to change, what do women need to do better to get over these hurdles. This is not women’s problem to fix. This is a societal problem to fix’.
‘The men in the room need to think about it too’.
She advised young women going into politics today, while encouraging them strongly to get involved, to ‘make sure to […] build the resilience and support networks you need’. She advised young people in general thinking of getting involved in politics to ‘definitely do it, but […] to take time to live life’, and to ‘make friends with people who think differently from you’.
Thoughts on referendums
Dr. Fabre asked her for insight on the lessons she was taking from her experience with referendums on independence in Scotland. She said they ‘can force people into polarizing opinions’.
Poignantly, she added that in such cases;
‘Democracy is the worst form of governance apart from all the others’.
On revising the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, she said that ‘it is the democratically right thing to do for Scotland to revisit that decision’.
In regards potential referendums in Northern Ireland, it is important to recognize the ‘granular’. She said that ‘this debate will very quickly become, ‘what does this mean for our finances and our economy?’. Be prepared for the debate to be become very detailed and very granular’.
‘To go over it wider […] it is quite likely in the future […] that three of the four nations of the UK will be led by nationalists’. She said that she believes that ‘the UK is in the process of breaking up’.
Final Notes
The conversation with Nicola Sturgeon was an event that provided stimulating dialogue on past and contemporary political topics.
References
- BBC ‘Cut in Scottish voting age passed unanimously’, 2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-33173488
