Joanna Cherry has claimed the SNP will "throw Nicola Sturgeon under the bus" after the former first minister criticised John Swinney's Holyrood election campaign. Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe, the former SNP MP said previously loyal allies of Sturgeon were clearly angry with her comments.
Cherry criticises Sturgeon's Fringe remarks
Cherry, who lost her Edinburgh constituency at the 2024 general election, said she found it "quite odd" that Sturgeon had chosen to attack Swinney given the respect he holds within the party. She later quit the SNP but has not ruled out a political comeback if Stephen Flynn becomes leader.
Sturgeon had used her own Fringe appearance last weekend to dismiss Cherry's memoir as "s***", despite admitting she had not read it. Sturgeon also faced backlash for a 6,000-word foreword in the paperback edition of her book, Frankly, claiming the SNP's May election pitch lacked "vision or big-picture thinking" and was "detached from the big issues bearing down on people's lives".
Cherry hits back at Sturgeon
Cherry said: "I'd like to say to her directly, don't worry Nicola, I'm not obsessed with you. Unlike you I have a very happy and meaningful career to fall back on." She added that, unlike Sturgeon, she has "a very strong and happy relationship with my girlfriend and I'm very open about my sexuality".
Cherry went on to claim the independence movement is now "fractured" and lacks leadership. "The independence movement has been greatly damaged and fractured by events of recent years," she said. "They thought Alex Salmond was a messiah, and then chucked him under the bus. And then they thought Nicola was the messiah, and to my astonishment, it looks like the party will probably throw Nicola under the bus."
Sturgeon's loyalty questioned
Cherry added: "As I understand it, she has been very critical of John Swinney - which I find extraordinary. She said things that she ought to know would be picked up on. John Swinney has been so loyal to her. And he is very well-respected within the party."
She noted Swinney had "spent a lot of political capital defending Nicola" and said it was "quite odd" she would be so critical of him. Cherry also wondered whether Sturgeon is "positioning herself for a defection, although probably not to the Scottish Greens". Sturgeon has previously said she would never quit the SNP.
