Sturgeon hired Godley despite Yousaf ‘divisive’ warning
A freedom of information response shows Sturgeon approved Godley’s £10,000 Covid commercial fee, despite Yousaf raising concerns. On August 30, Mr Yousaf’s private secretary emailed the First Minister’s Office to say that My Yousaf felt using Ms Godley could “be divisive” and “there may be many people who purposely switch off if she is fronting it”. Yousaf wanted an unnamed male celebrity to front the public health campaign instead as he would “be a better candidate, given his broader appeal”. Sturgeon’s office replied:
FM (First Minister) is content to clear but agrees with Cab Sec comments. FM is very supportive of Janey Godley and she has been hugely helpful to our Covid messaging but she is perceived to be on one side of the political debate in Scotland and so may not speak to the maximum number of people.
Poll: Majority want Sturgeon to stay as First Minister
A Panelbase poll, commisioned by The Sunday Times, indicates that 52% of respondents would prefer if Sturgeon remained as First Minister for the rest of this parliament, while 34 per cent of the 2,038 voters surveyed between November 9 and 15 said they would like her to leave the position. The poll also indicates that a majority of Scots don’t know who they would back to be the next First Minister if Sturgeon steps down, with 64 per cent of voters have no view on who the next leader of the SNP should be. Pottential successors include Kate Forbes on 7% and John Swinney on 6%. Curtice:
While her ubiquity might reflect her effectiveness as a communicator, a strong leader is also one who enables their colleagues to shine, and gain the experience and authority needed to become a potential successor.