Nicola, the Irony Lady

NOWADAYS Miss Sturgeon seems to be playing down independence, with only six references to her party’s raison d’être in the conference agenda. Far ahead on her list of priorities, with 21 mentions, is ‘Brexit’. Meanwhile, her popularity on the doorsteps of Scotland seems to be flagging. Her opponents report that the SNP leader who went into politics because she opposed everything Margaret Thatcher stood for is now commonly referred to by voters as ‘that woman’ – the phrase once used by those disenchanted with the Iron Lady. AFTER Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997, a student called Ruth Davidson went to drown her sorrows at a post-election party, having voted for the first time. Last week she revealed how, as a defeated Tory, she found herself surrounded by jubilant Labour supporters. To which a party colleague responded: ‘Thank God those days appear to be gone.’