'Peak honesty in politics'
Scotland’s former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, hit the headlines this week, after the disclosure of WhatsApp messages revealed that she called Boris Johnson a ‘f***ing clown’ during the second Covid lockdown.
The messages, which were sent by Sturgeon to her top advisor Liz Lloyd, were shared at the Covid inquiry this week, which is sitting for a second week in Edinburgh. Sturgeon had described the then PM’s address to the nation about a second national lockdown on October 31, 2020, as ‘f***ing excruciating’ and ‘awful.’
As the former leader of the Scottish National Party and the devolved Scottish government, Sturgeon frequently clashed with the Conservative government in Westminster, especially during the pandemic where both governments often diverged.
“His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere. He is a f***ing clown,” she had told her chief advisor.
Her damning verdict of the UK government’s communications strategy during lockdown, and specifically of the then prime minister, caused something of a storm, with Sturgeon being hailed as the ‘most relatable politician.’
In a dig at the Scottish media, Paul Kavanagh, a columnist for the National, said: “We have to congratulate the Scottish media, in their attempts to throw mud at the former First Minister they have made her look like the most relatable politician in the country.”
Kavanagh continued how the topic of Covid Inquiry and the Scottish government’s WhatsApp messages had dominated the First minister Humza Yousaf’s questions, as the Scottish Conservative Party leader, Douglas Ross, ‘attempted to deflect public attention from the chaos, incompetence, and corruption which characterised the Conservative government’s woeful mishandling of the pandemic by aggressively questioning the deletion of Sturgeon’s WhatsApp messages.’
The columnist continued how, unlike the Tories, who ‘did use informal messaging for making policy decisions,’ the Scottish government did not, yet the Scottish government has provided reams of information, including thousands of WhatsApp messages, to the Inquiry.’
“Compare and contrast with Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, both of whom gave variants of the dog ate my homework excuse to the Inquiry for their inability – or rather unwillingness – to share their WhatsApp messages with the Inquiry.
“These blatant lies from two men who were fined by the police for breaching the rules they imposed on the rest of us went unremarked by most of that Scottish media which is currently baying for SNP blood.”
Humza Yousaf made the same observation: “Douglas Ross talks about a culture of secrecy? We handed over 28,000 messages, 19,000 documents, the former FM did 250 media briefings – taking questions from journalists’ day after day. That hardly rings true of a government hiding from scrutiny.”
Sturgeon’s comments, meanwhile, were well-received online.
“Always liked Nicola Sturgeon,’ was one comment.
‘Legend,’ was another.
“Nicola Sturgeon referring to Boris Johnson as a ‘f***ing clown’ is peak honesty in politics,’ someone else wrote.
Another amused onlooker summed it up as:
‘…highly insulting to clowns everywhere.’
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.