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Anniversary to remember for Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon insisted the Government was working to "make sure we get that (cancer) strategy right"
Nicola Sturgeon insisted the Government was working to "make sure we get that (cancer) strategy right"

You could be forgiven for thinking – with dozens of seats among the SNP benches lying empty – that Nicola Sturgeon’s anniversary had been forgotten by her party.

As the MSPs trickled in, that atmosphere was certainly muted, notable only for its quiet din.

But if the first minister, who was marking her one year in office at First Minister’s Questions, felt like the wife who had just been given Tesco value flowers and hastily purchased box of Ferrero Roche’s, she didn’t show it.

Indeed, she knew she would not have to worry. For Scottish Labour, the ever dutiful secretary, served up all the anniversary treats she could have wished for.

Kezia Dugdale’s attacks – focusing on health inequality and cancer deaths – had the earnest, worthy twang that the young leader has made her trademark.

They are certainly issues of genuine concern, but the first minister passed them off with her usual mix of guts, bravado and evasion.

As she entered full swing, gorging herself on the sweet indulgences from the Labour leader, the backbenches finally came alive – and it felt like an anniversary.

The greatest cheer, which came when Sturgeon suggested Labour was now in a battle for second place with the Scottish Conservatives, was the champagne moment.

And as Dugdale gave way to Ruth Davidson, the party continued.

Sturgeon was quick to jump on the “anniversary gift” from the Scottish Conservative’s – a confidential briefing note for the party’s MSPs accidently sent to everyone under the sun including, it seems, the FM herself.

As the SNP members filed out any qualms about the event had disappeared. This, they seemed to say, would be an anniversary to remember.

And they would be wise to do so. While the marriage between the SNP and the electorate is strong at the moment, history tells us they will – eventually and inevitably – run off with the secretary.