A mother’s pride in her rising star
TODAY she is the slick SNP leader plotting another bid to break up Britain in between preparing to run the country. But her parents still remember a precocious teenager, rushing home in her Doc Martens to listen to 1980s pop idols on the radio. Her mother Jean Sturgeon, the Provost of North Ayrshire, had tears in her eyes as she reminisced of how far her daughter had come from her days in the SNP youth. She said: ‘Nicola began to show an interest in politics in her early years at secondary
‘She’s more than able for it’
school. She took modern studies and loved it.
‘During the Thatcher years she saw her friends’ parents lose their jobs. It was then that Nicola believed Scotland could do better as an independent country.
‘We remember dropping her off at her first SNP conference and were worried that she was going to be alright. And now here we are, it’s very surreal. We couldn’t be more proud.’
But the young Miss Sturgeon was not all work and no play. He mum said: ‘She used to wear Doc Martens but you wouldn’t believe that with the shoes she wears nowadays.
‘She spent a lot of time stud- ying at school, but she was still a normal teenager. She liked ice skating and had posters of Limahl and Wham! in her bedroom.’
That she went into politics rather than pop music came as no surprise to her father, Robin. He said: ‘I remember she would rush home every Tuesday after school to listen to the radio and hear who was top of the charts. She can’t sing, though.’
After ten years as deputy leader, during which she was widely seen as the future of the party, her parents had plenty of time to get used to the possibility that she would rise to the top job.
However, that will not make them any less proud when she is confirmed as the country’s new First Minister next week.
Speaking earlier on BBC Radio Scotland, Mrs Sturgeon said: ‘ We’ r e obviously immensely proud. I think it’s wonderful, especially as she’s the first female First Minister, which means a lot.
‘She’ll handle it calmly and she’s more than able for it.’
Alex Salmond has been a big influence, but Miss Sturgeon’s mother is confident she will be her own woman.
‘I think she will make a big impact,’ she said. ‘She will bring her own brand and things will move on as Nicola sees fit.’