A piece of history

With her election as Scotland's First Minister yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon made a little bit of Scottish history by being the first woman to hold the post.  It's a job she has worked towards all her life, and I look forward to seeing what she will do.

She had a rival candidate in Ruth Davidson, who stood as a Unionist candidate against her.  The votes were cast as follows:
Nicola Sturgeon 66
Ruth Davidson 15
Abstentions 39

The current make-up of the Scottish Parliament is as follows:
SNP 64
Labour 38
Conservatives 15
Liberal Democrats 5
Scottish Greens 2
Independent 3
No party affiliation 1

I would guess that the SNP and Scottish Greens voted for Nicola Sturgeon, while the Conservatives voted for Ruth Davidson, meaning that the Labour MSPs pretty much abstained en masse.  My, those groups are sour.

Speaking of which, Kezia Dugdale wrote a column in the Daily Record filled with bile and spite, entitled 'Queen Nicola Sturgeon must put people before her party'.  Now I could be wrong, but do I detect a slight hint of jealousy here?  There are comparisons to Margaret Thatcher and demands for Ms Sturgeon to implement policies that the Parliament she leads does not have the power to do.  Ms Dugdale is apparently one of the bright young things in the Labour party in Scotland, in which case I can only pity them for the lack of talent in their ranks if this is the best they've got to offer.

Ms Sturgeon herself hopes that her success will inspire other girls and young women by example, showing them that anything is possible if you have the talent and determination to make it happen.  Time will tell on that score, but it's certainly a positive thing for them to see.

We saw during the referendum that Ms Sturgeon is no shrinking violet and will not be a pushover for her opponents.  This can only be good for Scotland generally, whether in seeking more powers for Holyrood or, when the time is right, independence.