'Queen of Scots' Sturgeon emerges as star of UK election
Edinburgh
THE steely and polished Scottish independence leader Nicola Sturgeon has emerged as an unlikely star of Britain's unpredictable election race and could decide who is prime minister after Thursday's election.
Once little known south of the border, Ms Sturgeon's formidable performances in election debates have made her one of the most talked-about figures in the campaign - despite not running for a seat in Westminster herself.
The Scottish First Minister has criticised austerity and advocated the Scottish National Party (SNP) as a "progressive force" with quick humour and a clipped Scottish accent that have cut a swathe through Britain's male-dominated politics.
Right-wing newspapers have dubbed her the "most dangerous woman in Britain" and a Conservative attack poster depicted her as a puppet master pulling the strings.
Nevertheless, she is the most popular political leader in Britain according to a TNS poll, which gave her a 33 per cent approval rating compared with 7 per cent for Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.
Labour leader Ed Miliband scored minus eight in the TNS poll, which adds negative ratings to positive for a net score.
Although it failed to win independence for Scotland in a referendum last year, the SNP has enjoyed a surge in support that has seen its membership quadruple since the September vote.
The party is expected to oust Labour from its traditional strongholds in Scotland and become the third largest party in the British parliament.
Neither the Conservatives nor Labour are predicted to win enough seats to govern alone - and Ms Sturgeon has offered to help Mr Miliband become prime minister.
"We have a chance to kick David Cameron out of Downing Street," Ms Sturgeon told Mr Miliband in a TV debate last month. "Don't turn your back on it. People will never forgive you."
Mr Miliband has insisted that he will not do a "deal" with the SNP, though he could form a minority government and pass bills with their support.
"It is clearly evident that Nicola Sturgeon's performance during the campaign has resonated well with the electorate... even amongst those outside Scotland who cannot choose to vote SNP," said Tom Costley, head of pollster TNS Scotland. "Her strong performance in the media coverage of the campaign also appears to have counteracted the attempts... to paint the SNP as 'a clear and present danger' to Britain."
A former lawyer labelled "Queen of Scots" by some media, Ms Sturgeon cuts a distinctive figure with her short hair and colourful tailored suits, and argues for socially conscious policies that she says Labour has left behind.
The 44-year-old was born in the industrial town of Irvine, south-west of Glasgow, in 1970 to an electrician father and a mother who remains active in local SNP politics. She joined the SNP aged 16, becoming politicised in the 1980s under Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who was widely disliked in Scotland. AFP
