Nicola Sturgeon ’s mum has revealed she is delighted to finally get her daughter back. Joan Sturgeon said she and husband Robin are proud of their girl’s achievements as Scotland’s First Minister but can’t wait until it is all over.
Former SNP councillor Joan, 70, said: “For the past few years, she has been Nicola the politician, who never switches off. Now, as a family, we get her back. We’re immensely proud of her. We’re all delighted. She’s done a brilliant job.”
Granny Joan, the former provost of North Ayrshire Council, told how she met with her daughter, who was born and raised in Dreghorn, after her resignation speech last Wednesday at Bute House in Edinburgh. In her speech, Sturgeon had said she was looking forward to more time with her family, including her niece and nephew – the children of her sister Gill, an NHS worker.
Joan said: “I saw her on Wednesday and she looked great. Better than she has. She’s happy and that’s what matters. She’s done such a good job for so long but now was the right time.”
Her resignation comes as publishing and PR experts said the Glasgow Southside MSP could make more than £1million when she leaves office, from book deals, speeches and celebrity appearances. The First Minister, who has kept a diary for most of her life and is a prolific reader, could command a six-figure advance for a tell-all book and would be a popular addition to any speakers’ circuit.
She could also try her hand at a TV talk show or cross the Atlantic to the US and make even more cash. London publishing consultant Janey Burton said: “I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Nicola Sturgeon had been offered six figures for an advance, say between £150,000 and £250,000.
“She wouldn’t get the kind of advance Barack Obama would get, or even Boris Johnson, because she is First Minister of a smaller country so less widely known but there would still be huge interest in a book.
"There will be agents ringing her office now trying to get meetings with her and they will be trying to get her as much money as they possibly can. I would be very surprised if the big publishers hadn’t tried to contact her already.”
While Sturgeon is unlikely to command the millions which former PM Theresa May or Johnson have raked in since their departures from office, she could still make a hefty sum on top of her regular MSP salary of £66,662. Serialisation of her book could earn her at least £50,000 and she could pocket fees of up to £15,000 for speaking engagements.
Her memoirs could outsell her rival and former mentor Alex Salmond’s literary efforts, according to Olivia Beattie, the editorial director at Biteback Publishing, which specialises in political books.
She said: “I’d be very surprised if her book didn’t outperform Alex Salmond’s. They would be different propositions, of course, because his was exclusively about IndyRef rather than a broader memoir but she also has far more widespread appeal, especially among women.”
Diane Banks, chief executive of Northbank Talent Management in London, said Sturgeon would also be in demand for after-dinner or corporate speaking events – or even hosting a talk show or a podcast. She said: “There’s always interest in outgoing leaders’ political memoirs.
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