Nicola Sturgeon calls Boris Johnson ‘shame to workplace of prime minister’

Nicola Sturgeon has mentioned Boris Johnson is the one prime minister she has labored with who was “a shame to the workplace”.

Talking at a panel occasion on the Edinburgh fringe on Saturday afternoon, hosted by broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika, she mentioned: “I disagreed with David Cameron, I disagreed with Theresa Might, I disagreed with Boris Johnson, however he’s the one one who’s truly disgraced the workplace of prime minister. The earlier he’s gone, the higher.”

Sturgeon mentioned the concept events have been going down through the Covid-19 pandemic “blew her thoughts”. “The concept that this might have occurred whereas the remainder of the nation was going by way of the horrors of it actually blows my thoughts,” she informed viewers members.

“Events themselves are unhealthy sufficient, nevertheless it was the mendacity, frankly, and the fixed try and shift the goalposts and the narrative. He was a shame, let’s be sincere.”

Three prime ministers have been in Downing Road since Sturgeon took workplace in 2014 and he or she joked to viewers members she by no means thought she would “look again fondly” on Theresa Might as prime minister.

“Initially of Covid, I assumed it could be much better to have Theresa Might – she all the time knew her stuff. She knew her temporary,” Sturgeon mentioned. She joked that Might was a “higher dancer than I’m”.

The primary minister referred to as for extra variety in politics and praised Scottish Labour for having various leaders.

She added: “Right here’s a sentence you’ll by no means hear me utter earlier than: to be truthful to Labour in Scotland, they’ve already had a lady chief and so they’ve at the moment acquired a Muslim chief, so UK Labour actually has to get its act collectively on variety.”

When requested who she would like to see as prime minister, Sturgeon shrugged and laughed and mentioned none of them would win an election in Scotland.

She mentioned: “It’s probably not about that. They may by no means win an election in Scotland. What do Margaret Thatcher, John Main, David Cameron, Theresa Might and Boris Johnson all have in widespread? They’ve by no means gained an election in Scotland.”

She mentioned the alternatives going through voters in England have been “horrible” and accused the Labour chief, Keir Starmer, of being “a pale imitation of the Tories”.

Sturgeon additionally addressed feedback made by Tory management contender Liz Truss, who mentioned she ought to be “ignored”. She mentioned: “I’m the democratically elected first minister and you may solely be in that place if a major quantity of individuals vote for you.

“When she mentioned I ought to be ignored, what lots of people in Scotland hear is the democratic votes and selections of individuals in Scotland ought to be ignored. I don’t assume that’s applicable. Folks in Scotland are getting more and more bored with being ignored by Tory prime ministers.”

Responding to Truss’s remarks that she was an consideration seeker, Sturgeon informed viewers members you needed to be a little bit of an consideration seeker as a politician to get your insurance policies observed.

She additionally hit out on the former chief of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, for getting into the Home of Lords. She mentioned: “Ruth determined to retire from politics, however then it transpired she wasn’t actually meaning to retire from politics – she simply wished to proceed with out scrutiny and the tedious bit of getting to place your self ahead for election.

“So the entire good bits of politics with out the robust little bit of getting elected. I don’t assume that’s a very good factor to do.”

Sturgeon took questions from some viewers members who requested her if it was doable to have a “good-natured debate” about independence.

“After all it’s doable to have a good-natured, civilised debate about independence, however that requires all of us concerned in that,” she mentioned. “The one applicable option to determine issues we disagree on is thru democracy.”