On February 15, Nicola Sturgeon shocked the political world with a surprise resignation. The speech, clocking in at a lengthy 18 minutes, detailed how she had been clashing on whether to stay or go for some time.
Even from the viewpoint of her resigning due to hardships and poll ratings over the Gender Recognition Act, the speech still showed notable self-awareness. She saw herself as an object to progress and moved out of the way.
The same can’t be said for our most recent Conservative Prime Ministers: Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
The two former premieres have resigned themselves to the back seat, but are still grasping for the wheel. Both have made efforts to return to frontline politics, without an idea of where they went wrong.
After Truss’ blink-and-you-miss-it premiership, Boris Johnson couldn’t help but lurch for the reigns of power again. Hot off the plane from the Caribbean, he was back on the campaign.
His detractors saw what Johnson could not, the return of a scandal-laden government. He was asking the same MPs who showed him the door only three months prior, to return.
Not far behind him was Liz, penning a 4,000-word essay in the Telegraph blaming her imagined ‘left-wing economic establishment’ for stripping her of a ‘realistic chance’ to govern. I’d hate to see her try.
While slightly aware that her time in office caused an economic catastrophe, she obviously hadn’t considered much else. Her MPs preferred Sunak – of course there would be resistance to her plans. Her ‘mandate’ was born of less than one per cent of the UK electorate.
Neither leader has truly taken time to reflect on their premierships, and every flail into frontline politics is distracting the government when they need it least.
Our leaders of the past, present and future should all look at Nicola Sturgeon, and take a page from her book. For all of her failings, even Sturgeon’s critics should admire her honesty, clarity and reflection. It is politicians like her who have the most staying power, even if they decide enough is enough.
Featured Image Credit: Flickr / First Minister of Scotland
Chief Sub-Editor at Brig Newspaper.
Final year Journalism student at the University of Stirling.
You must log in to post a comment.