Sturgeon’s departure a reminder of ‘brutality’ of political life

It’s only in the last generation that the big, existential issues have come to dominate political life in Scotland.

Nothing illustrates that more clearly than the rise of the Scottish National Party. It has become the established party of government in its own parliament at Holyrood. And nobody has illustrated its vision of a strong, independent, modern Scotland better than its leader, Nicola Sturgeon.

After eight years as Scotland’s first minister – and now almost unassailable in terms of her political strength – Sturgeon shocked everybody when she announced yesterday she would be resigning as first minister and as party leader.

It was a bolt from the blue. Certainly, Sturgeon has received criticisms during her tenure, and particularly in recent months. She placed the question of independence at the heart of her party’s next general election campaign.

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Some of her party colleagues thought this inappropriate when Scotland was caught in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. She has also been heavily criticised over her government’s transgender policies, particularly when it was disclosed that a double rapist had self-declared as a woman and was transferred to a women’s prison.

However, Sturgeon said that none of these issues had had a bearing on her decision. On that basis, the reason, or reasons, seem to have been personal.

“A first minister is never off-duty. There is virtually no privacy and ordinary things that most people take for granted, like going for a coffee, or for a walk on your own, become more difficult,” she said.

She added that “there is much greater intensity, nay brutality, to life as a politician than in years gone by”.

As Mark Paul and Cormac McQuinn report, the SNP is now preparing for its first leadership election in almost two decades as a result.

Senior Irish politicians, including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President Michael D Higgins, yesterday praised her consummate skill as a politician – a leader who commanded a similar type of international respect as that of New Zealand prime minster Jacinta Ardern, who also recently announced she was stepping down.

Sturgeon had a huge affinity with Ireland. In an interview with The Irish Times in 2017, she said: “I have spent all my adult life in Glasgow. You see every day the illustration of the deep links between Glasgow and Ireland. You see the opportunities to build on [those links] for a new generation.”

D-Day in the Dáil

Domestically, today is D-Day for the mini-budget (no, it’s ‘not a mini-budget’, insists Varadkar), or the spring cost-of-living package. However it is described, it is going to need a Finance Bill in the Dáil.

All week, Ministers have been parroting the line that the measures will be “universal and targeted”. The only thing that looks fairly certain so far is that the 9 per cent hospitality VAT rate looks likely to revert back to 13.5 per cent.

As we reported yesterday, the hospitality industry has conducted an intense lobbying campaign to try to stall this and has won support from backbench TDs in the Coalition parties.

Our political team writes: “A number of industry representatives from pubs, hotels and restaurants met members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on Wednesday. Speaking afterwards, three sources said there was an overwhelming majority in favour of retaining the VAT rate at 9 per cent, further heaping pressure on the Government.

“One source said the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting was ‘all about’ retaining the VAT rate. Another said they believed the rate may be kept the same in the immediate term, but that the rate would be tapered back to its original figure over a set amount of time. They cautioned, however, that no final decision has been made yet.”

But with Sinn Féin supporting the reversion of VAT to a higher level – with a few provisos – it more or less looks like a done deal, despite the last-minute lobbying. Marie Claire Digby also reports today on warnings that reinstating the 13.5 per cent rate will see prices rise for diners.

The three Coalition leaders – Varadkar, Micheál Martin and Eamon Ryan – plus the economic Ministers, Michael McGrath and Paschal Donohoe, and the Minister for Social Welfare, Heather Humphreys, will meet today to finalise the details of the package. What is clear is that it certainly will not be anything like the scale of measures announced in autumn 2022.

The suite of measures will be formally ratified by the Cabinet next Tuesday, but expect just about every detail to be leaked over the course of the weekend by Government politicians desperate to dispense some good news.

Best reads

Jack Horgan-Jones reports that Eamon Ryan’s decision to stand down the Inland Fisheries Ireland board came under sustained criticism at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, with Senator Sean Kyne and Mayo TD Michael Ring leading the charge.

Miriam Lord’s column focuses on the debate over the cost-of-living package or, erm, mini budget in the Dáil. She has a wonderful take on the phrase chosen by Labour leader Ivana Bacik to describe the same:

“If it looks like a rose and it smells like a rose, it is a rose. This sounds like a mini-budget,” (Ivana Bacik) told the Taoiseach, getting all her ducks in a rose.

Magnificent.

Naomi O’Leary has an update on how South MEP Mick Wallace did not include in his declaration of financial interests how he earned up to €499 per month as a consultant to a chain of wine bars and restaurants in Dublin.

Una Mullally writes that good people like Nicola Sturgeon leaving politics should concern everybody.

Playbook

Dáil

09.00: Parliamentary Questions: Minister for Justice

10.30: Parliamentary Questions: Minister for Health

12.00: Leaders’ Questions

13.40: Statements on Co-ordination of Services for those Seeking Protection in Ireland

17.14: Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Bill 2023 – Second stage (resumed)

(Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine), (if not previously concluded, to stand adjourned 19:48: Private Members’ Bill: Health (Amendment) (Dual Diagnosis: No Wrong Door) Bill 2021 – Second Stage

21:03: Dáil adjourns

Seanad

11.45: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022 – Committee Stage

Committees

09.30: Environment Committee.

Discussion on the Climate Action Plan 2023 with Eamon Ryan, Minister for Environment and Climate.

09.30: Public Accounts Committee

PAC is examining spending on direct provision/international protection, emergency accommodation, and accommodation contracts and related processes.