Nicola Sturgeon may be stepping down at the 2026 Scottish parliament election but fear not, the SNP’s Dear Leader won’t be out of the public eye for good. While many might have expected the former first minister to retire to the shadows after the rather tumultuous two years she has faced, it appears the Queen of the Nats is determined to stay in the spotlight. This summer, Sturgeon will release her memoir – which she promised last week would be a ‘candid’ read – and has even teased her fans and followers with a sneak preview of the cover.
Taking to Instagram – where else? – the ex-SNP leader unveiled the title of her memoir: Frankly. The former FM uploaded an elegant video on her social media platform of choice, which gushed:
How does it feel to run a country? To lead it through its best – and worst – political moments? To be the first woman to do the job?
In a separate image, a picture of Sturgeon’s new book was accompanied by the words: ‘Campaigner, leader, pioneer.’ Underneath the book were the words: ‘It’s time to talk.’ Er, you can say that again. There are certainly a number of unanswered questions about her premiership. The former Scottish leader has promised her followers that the autobiography would take readers ‘behind the scenes’, insisting in a video that: ‘The title sums up what the book is: open, honest, candid – about my mistakes and heartbreaks as well as my triumphs and achievements.’ How curious.
Mr S is curious about exactly how honest Sturgeon is willing to be in this memoir – not least given there is an ongoing police probe into the SNP’s funds and finances, over which she was arrested and released pending further investigation in 2023. More than that, the deterioration of the SNP Dear Leader’s relationship with her predecessor and mentor, the late Alex Salmond, has had long-lasting impacts on the Scottish independence movement and even led to the creation of an entirely new political party. Will Sturgeon candidly dive into that? Steerpike isn’t so sure.
The ex-FM may have settled on ‘Frankly’ for her book title – but there is no shortage of names Mr S can imagine would sum up her, um, turbulent time in power…
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