Mhairi Black 'uncomfortable' with Nicola Sturgeon's 'cult of personality'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Mhairi Black has said she was "uncomfortable" with the "cult of personality" around Nicola Sturgeon when she was SNP leader.The party's deputy Westminster leader said the former first minister was a "massive asset" but claimed the SNP should have focused more on the independence movement.Black said that Sturgeon leaving her role last year was "quite healthy because I'm a big believer [that] politics should be about policy as opposed to personality".The MP also said the police investigation into the SNP looked "terrible" and she "always had my issues" with how the party was being run.Black, who represents Paisley and Renfrewshire South, is standing down as an MP at the general election.Sturgeon announced her resignation as first minister and SNP leader in February last year.She was asked in an interview with Times Radio if the "cult of personality" around Sturgeon was a problem for the SNP.Black replied: "For me personally, yes, it always made me quite uncomfortable.

But as I say, I do think she's certainly one of the best, if not the best, performing politicians that I've seen."She said the party often focused too much on Sturgeon rather than the independence movement as a whole.She said: "There's a balance to be struck and I'm not convinced that we always got the balance right."Regarding the police investigation in which Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell were arrested, Black admitted that it did not look good.She said she "always had my issues with how [the party is] run or how decisions have been arrived at".Black added: "So I would say yes, I was aware that there's things I don't think that's right, but of course you've got a full-time job in front of you, so you try and influence things when you can."The MP also