SNP shame: 'Showbiz Sturgeon' blows £3,500 of taxpayers' cash sending out Christmas cards

Nicola Sturgeon blew £3,500 of taxpayers' money on sending out more than a hundred Christmas cards
Nicola Sturgeon blew £3,500 of taxpayers' money on sending out more than a hundred Christmas cards
Andrew Milligan
Georgina Cutler

By Georgina Cutler


Published: 18/01/2023

- 13:30

Updated: 14/02/2023

- 10:22

The SNP leader spent £3.5K of taxpayers’ money on sending out more than a hundred Christmas cards to political figures

The First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon spent more than £3,000 of taxpayers’ money on sending out Christmas cards with several being sent to America.

One card was even addressed to American president Joe Biden and Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, along with various other Malawian figures.


Figures reported by the Scottish Daily Express revealed that the Scottish government blew £3513.08 on the Christmas operation, which is almost £200 down from 2021’s figure of £3,707.69.

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon unveils her 2022 Christmas card during her visit to Sunnyside Primary School in Glasgow where children at the school were involved in a competition to create the design. Picture date: Monday December 12, 2022.
Nicola Sturgeon chose last year's Christmas card from a school competition
Andrew Milligan

The cost of sending out festive cards has surged since 2020 which cost the Scottish government just £1806.07 - almost £2,000 less.

Last year’s official Christmas card was chosen from a school competition in Scotland where nine-year-old Evita Ye from Sunnybank Primary School in Glasgow created the winning design.

The card, which focuses on the fight against climate change features a snow globe with the words: “The future is in our hands.”

At the time, Sturgeon said: “I’d like to congratulate Evita and all the pupils at Sunnyside for their striking and creative designs. Climate change is already having a massive impact around the world and if we don’t take the right action, things will only get worse.

“I’ve been hugely impressed to hear about the actions pupils at Sunnyside have been taking, and I want to thank each and every one of them for getting involved – with such enthusiasm – in the most important issue facing our world.

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon wearing a school hoodie given to her by pupils after unveiling her 2022 Christmas card during her visit to Sunnyside Primary School in Glasgow where children at the school were involved in a competition to create the design. Picture date: Monday December 12, 2022.
Christmas cards were sent to countries all over the globe including America
Andrew Milligan

“The school was a natural choice to design my card and I’m pleased to be able to help spread their calls for unified action on climate change.”

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres was also among those to receive a Christmas card from Sturgeon.

Other key names on the Christmas card list were Kamala Harris, the vice-president of the USA, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Iceland Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and President Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson.

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