No surprise if another former politician hits the theatre circuit

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon announces that she is stepping down from Scottish politics (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

The former first minister has decided that the time is right “to embrace new opportunities in a new chapter in my life”. Her book will be published later this year. Unlike most politicians, she appears to actually be writing it herself. But it would come as no great surprise if she were to take a show on the road. She remains box office with many people in Scotland.

Few modern-day politicians have ever sold out a venue the size of the SEC Hydro in Glasgow, but she did just that in the autumn of 2014. This was obviously at the height of SNP support when there was still a whiff of referendum excitement in the air and her own personal popularity was at a pinnacle. She made appearances on American TV chat shows and then led her party to a monumental landslide in the 2015 general election.

Let’s not forget her handling of Covid, when her daily media briefings drew huge audiences on TV. Fair enough, there wasn’t much else to fill your day back then, but she was a reassuring presence to many. Plus, unlike her counterpart south of the border, she actually gave the impression that she understood what she was talking about.

At Johnson’s press conferences, the medical experts could be seen looking on aghast as the PM managed to make a complete word salad of the facts they had passed to him minutes earlier. Their faces suggested they were thinking “this isn’t what we told him to say”. No wonder, Nicola was reported to have called Boris “a f***ing clown” at the time.

Of course, a lot of the glamour has faded over the years, starting with her fall out with Alex Salmond, and claims she misled parliament. There was then the sight of the crime scene tent outside her house, polis carrying shovels as if they were digging for evidence.

However Nicola Sturgeon’s “new chapter” may read, I reckon we will be hearing much more about her in the years ahead.