SNP not in a mess, it's growing pains - Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has said the SNP is not "in a mess" and is going through "growing pains" as she faced questions about a membership row.

The comment was made by interim chief executive Mike Russell as he replaced Ms Sturgeon's husband, Peter Murrell.

The party has lost 32,000 members since December 2021, but initially denied the decline to a newspaper.

Mr Murrell took responsibility for misleading the media and resigned on Saturday.

The BBC was told he had been set to face a vote of no confidence by the National Executive Committee (NEC) had he not stepped down.

• SNP in 'tremendous mess', interim chief says

• What next for SNP as post-Sturgeon era looms?

• SNP chief executive resigns over membership row

The first minister was asked about Mr Russell's remarks during an appearance on ITV's Loose Women.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Mike was referring to some of the issues around the leadership race.

"The SNP is not in a mess, it's going through some growing pains right now - they are necessary but they're difficult. But I'm stepping down from a party that hasn't lost an election since 2010 in Scotland."

The power couple - Nicola Sturgeon is the outgoing FM of Scotland and Peter Murrell was chief executive of the SNP

The first minister told Loose Women that the party had "mishandled" the situation.

On the denial of membership numbers to the media, she said: "We were asked a specific question, not about what's the size of your membership, but have you lost 30,000 members because of X and Y?

"We answered in that sense, we should have framed it in a bigger way. So these things are all opportunities to learn and reflect."

A timeline of the SNP membership row

12 February - The Sunday Mail reports that the SNP has lost 30,000 members over the gender reform bill and a stalled independence referendum.

14 February - The SNP describe the Sunday Mail's report as "wholly inaccurate", with party media chief Murray Foote describing it as "drivel".

15 February - Nicola Sturgeon resigns as first minister and SNP leader, triggering a leadership contest.

24 February - The candidates to replace Ms Sturgeon are confirmed as Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes.

15 March - Ash Regan and Kate Forbes call for clarity on membership numbers in an open letter to SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.

16 March - The SNP publishes its membership numbers, revealing it has about 72,000 members - 32,000 fewer than the 104,000 it had two years ago.

17 March - SNP media chief Murray Foote resigns over the party's response to the Sunday Mail's story on party numbers.

18 March - SNP chief executive Peter Murrell resigns, taking responsibility for misleading the media about membership numbers.

27 March - New SNP leader due to be announced.

Earlier Mr Russell told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland the three leadership candidates could have confidence in the contest.

All three have pledged to reform the SNP's operations.

Ms Sturgeon said it was important for the party not to "throw the baby out with the bath water" and lose things that have made them successful in the past.

She added: "Perspective is important in these things. We don't know this for sure because other parties in Scotland don't tell us what their membership figures are but on the most recent assessments, even with that decline, the SNP has more members in Scotland than all of the other parties combined.

"We are the only mass membership party in the country."

Sturgeon discusses miscarriage

Ms Sturgeon last appeared on Loose Women in April 2022 when she discussed her anxieties about going through menopause and coping with it while in a public role.

On Monday she spoke to the panel about having a miscarriage at the end of 2010 - and how she had not yet processed the experience.

Last week the Scottish government announced a memorial book for those who experience pregnancy or baby loss prior to 24 weeks.

Nicola Sturgeon said looking at this picture, taken at a 2010 commemoration of the Ibrox disaster, people could see she was in "a lot of pain"

"These are the things that often get dismissed in politics as soft soap but I think they're really important because they go to the heart of the values you have as a country," Ms Sturgeon said.

"You can find a photograph of me at an event actually while I was still having a miscarriage at a public commemoration... Looking at that photograph now, it's clear that I'm in a lot of pain - and so how do you deal with it?

"I think back then if there had been some way of recognising it that would have brought a lot of comfort at a really difficult time."

'Definitely no Strictly'

Looking towards her final days as first minister this week, Ms Sturgeon said she hopes to continue championing issues that are important to her.

She said she would not follow in the footsteps of Matt Hancock who took part in ITV's I'm A Celebrity reality show, adding: "I can say categorically, definitely no Strictly, definitely no jungle.

Asked "What about Bake Off?", she said: "I can't cook or bake."

On the subject of her legacy, Ms Sturgeon said it is for others to decide - but she is most proud of policies like the Scottish Child Payment, the baby box scheme and the rise in young people from working class backgrounds attending university.

She said: "These are the things I'm proudest of because I think in years to come, the impact of these kind of measures will be seen."