Nicola Sturgeon, the former Scottish first minister, has used a series of public events promoting her memoir Frankly to defend her record and restate positions that continue to provoke debate across Scotland and the wider UK.
During interviews and stage appearances on the book tour, Sturgeon repeatedly quoted lines from Robert Burns and returned to familiar political themes, drawing cheers from supporters and criticism from opponents. In one broadcast interview she described former prime minister Boris Johnson using a line from Burns’s poem "To a Mouse," calling him a "cowrin, tim'rous beastie" for refusing to agree to a second independence referendum.
At an event in Aberdeen, Sturgeon also addressed the contested issue of transgender rights in Scotland, saying the country had "collectively lost its mind" on the subject and asserting she would "never accept" that the rights of women and trans people are necessarily in conflict. Her comments followed a period of intense public scrutiny over proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), proposals that were ultimately blocked by the UK government under then-Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and that helped fuel a broader public and political backlash.
The debate over GRA reform has generated high-profile cases and controversies that have shaped public opinion and political fortunes. Supporters of reform have argued the changes were intended to ease the legal process for a small, often persecuted minority. Opponents have pointed to incidents and legal disputes they say demonstrate risks to single-sex spaces and women's rights. Among the cases cited in public debate is the ongoing employment tribunal brought by Sandie Peggie, a nurse who is suing NHS Fife and a trans-identifying doctor for discrimination and harassment after raising objections to sharing facilities. Another widely reported case involved Adam Graham, who identified as "Isla Bryson" and whose placement in a women's prison after conviction prompted a wider debate about offender placement and public safety.
Sturgeon has faced criticism from those who say her public remarks and past campaigning have deepened divisions. Critics on the right and some on the left charged that her book tour has been used to settle scores with political opponents and to reinforce long-standing grievances. At the Aberdeen event she criticised Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, calling his "ego" "brittle" and accusing his policy promises of amounting to "snake oil." She warned about what she described as a "normalisation in this country of far-Right language and rhetoric and attitudes and opinions," and urged left-leaning politicians to address voters' economic concerns to counter right-wing appeals.
Supporters of Sturgeon’s interventions said the former first minister was articulating concerns about economic and social pressures and defending a progressive agenda. They have pointed to her record of campaigning for Scottish independence and to long-standing public uses of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, in political language as evidence of her rhetorical style.
Observers note the interplay between Sturgeon's personal style and the political consequences of past policy choices. During her premiership, she frequently quoted Burns in speeches and online posts, an approach that some found effective and others saw as opportunistic. Her resignation as first minister in 2023 followed a period in which controversies over gender reform, public sector decisions and internal Scottish National Party (SNP) dynamics created sustained pressure on her leadership.
Controversies linked to cultural institutions and public-sector decisions have also entered the wider conversation. Media coverage and campaigners highlighted a temporarily withdrawn decision by the National Librarian Amina Shah concerning the inclusion of a gender-critical book in an exhibition, an action that was later reversed amid debate about censorship and editorial independence.
The exchanges on the book tour underscore the continuing salience of three issues in Scottish and UK politics: constitutional change, the handling of transgender rights in law and policy, and the tone of political debate. Sturgeon’s supporters argue her public defence of past decisions and use of Burns reflect a longstanding political strategy; her critics say those same features show a lack of self-awareness and a tendency to personalise political disputes.
As Sturgeon continues appearances to promote Frankly, the responses suggest the debates she helped shape remain unresolved. Legal challenges, public opinion and parliamentary decisions have all contributed to a landscape in which questions about how to balance rights, safety and recognition are expected to remain prominent in Scottish and UK political discourse for the foreseeable future.