The environment women operate in in public life is much more hostile than it used to be

Former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon opens up on misogyny, miscarriage, menopause - and moving on.

- By HANNAH STEPHENSON

NICOLA STURGEON is no stranger to hitting the headlines, from political fall-outs to personal slurs, questions about her sexuality and a highly publicised police investigation into party finances, from which she was exonerated after nearly two years.

Now, the former First Minister of Scotland and SNP leader has detailed all the issues which have affected her both in and out of the spotlight in her memoir, Frankly.

She charts the ups and downs of her journey, the misogyny, the election wins and losses, the famous fallout with her predecessor Alex Salmond, the rumours she was having a lesbian affair with a former French ambassador to the UK, the transgender prisoners’ row and the aforementioned police investigation, which concluded in March.

Despite all the turbulent times and the resilience she has shown, Nicola says she is still the shy, unconfident person she was growing up, suffering imposter syndrome from her early university days and through her career.

“I'm still all these things,” she chuckles. “I think there always will be that little voice in my head, that kind of imposter syndrome voice, questioning whether I’m up to all the things I’m doing.

“I've come to the conclusion over my years in politics, that that's got the capability of holding you back. But if you use it properly it’s also your superpower because it makes you work harder and strive harder and double down on proving yourself.”

The shyness was overshadowed by a burning ambition, from growing up in a working-class family in a former mining village in Ayrshire, the daughter of an electrician and a dental nurse, to becoming First Minister.

There seemed to be little awareness of work/life balance and she talks about the conflict she felt when she became pregnant at 40 and the miscarriage that followed.