Nicola Sturgeon to jet to Iceland to give 'lessons in leadership' talk

Ms Sturgeon, who is still an MSP but will stand down at next year’s election, is following a busy summer promoting her memoir ‘Frankly’ with a series of events in the coming weeks.

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In October she will be speaking to author and rapper Darren McGarvey in London for “a revealing, deeply personal exploration of the dangerous stories we tell ourselves about trauma”. It is part of a three-event series which also features former SNP MP Mhairi Black and comedian Frankie Boyle.

Then in November she will travel to Iceland to talk alongside former Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir at the Reykjavík Global Forum. The talk is on ‘lessons in leadership’, and the forum is described as “a diverse, action-oriented community of trailblazing women leaders and their allies working to empower more women to attain and retain power”.

In the same month she will be appearing at the Aye Write book festival in Glasgow.

With speculation over how Ms Sturgeon will spend her time after she steps down in May 2026, the events perhaps give an insight. She also knows she can pull in the crowds - her recent appearance at the Edinburgh Book Festival is proof of that - and is capitalising on that for as long as she is able to on the political talking circuit.

But she is still a sitting MSP for another eight months. She has been criticised since she stepped down from the top office for being “missing in action” from what is still her day job.

That criticism is not slowing down with the announcement of the talks in London and Iceland.

Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells told The Scotsman: “Nicola Sturgeon has given up any pretence that she is interested in serving her constituents in Glasgow Southside.

“Fresh from her self-indulgent tour promoting her memoirs, now she is set to swan off again, rather than focusing on the issues that matter to them in parliament.

“Her constituents - and Glasgow as a whole - are facing huge challenges right now but the former first minister is missing in action.

“They deserve better than a part-time MSP whose mind is clearly elsewhere and counting down the days until she no longer has to turn up to Holyrood at all.”

In response, a spokeswoman for Ms Sturgeon said: “While the increasingly irrelevant Tories continue to obsess over Nicola, she will continue to speak her mind and use her voice to stand up for what she believes in.”