NICOLA Sturgeon has insisted politicians should not assume people being tempted by Nigel Farage’s politics are "bad people" as she urged progressive parties to “grow a backbone”.
The former first minister was speaking at the Wigtown Book Festival about her memoir Frankly when she was asked about people becoming disillusioned with established political parties.
Insisting people were becoming “alienated” from traditional parties, she urged politicians on the left to start “taking on the nonsense” of Reform UK leader Farage and start offering “better solutions”.
Asked by journalist Gavin Esler, who chaired the event, whether voters are disillusioned with the established parties she said: “People are alienated from traditional politics. Those problems are not imagined. They're real. And no politician worth their salt should pretend that if people are being tempted by Farage, it makes them bad people.
“But Farage is selling snake oil, and he's looking for scapegoats. Farage’s analysis is that it's all immigrants that are causing the problems. But the idea that the UK's problems are down to immigration is just nonsense.
“The problems the UK are suffering right now largely stem from the financial crisis exacerbated by Brexit. Who was the chief proponent of Brexit? Yes, I am talking about you, Mr. Farage.”
She added: “So, for goodness sake, can politicians of the left and progressive politicians find a backbone, start taking on the nonsense Farage is spouting and come up with better solutions to the problems people are experiencing.”
Sturgeon argued that politicians should focus on tackling issues like child poverty and “the yawning gap between the richest and the poorest”.
She specifically criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response to Reform.
She said: “If I've got a real gripe, and I'm sure I've got more than one, with Keir Starmer right now it is that instead of offering better alternatives and better solutions than Farage, he seems to legitimise Farage by effectively saying ‘yeah, yeah, immigration is the problem’.”
The former SNP leader singled out the issue of identity cards, saying there’s a debate to be had but she’s instinctively against them.
Starmer revealed last week his Labour Government's plans for digital IDs to be made mandatory for people working in the UK by 2029.
Sturgeon described it as an idea that plays into the hands of those who blame immigration for the UK’s problems.
Elsewhere in the interview, Sturgeon spoke about how she has made a start on a “counterfactual” political thriller.
Asked if she planned to write a murder mystery, she said she has a project in its early stages and has discussed the idea of a novel with her friend the Scottish crime writer Val McDermid.
She said: “I am going to give it a go. And I've kind of started, and let's just say it's in the realms of a political thriller. It's a bit of a counterfactual political thriller.
“I did think when I first started, though, that the problem I might have – given the long years I've spent in politics – is there are probably too many people I want to kill. So, you might have a murder literally on every page.”
