Nicola Sturgeon paid £25,000 to appear as guest on ITV’s election night coverage

Nicola Sturgeon was paid £25,000 to appear as a pundit on ITV’s coverage of the general election.   

The former first minister took part in the studio analysis alongside Ed Balls and George Osbourne. 

She also declared over £2,800 for accommodation as part of the work.   

The entry stated: “The cost of car travel to and from the studio for rehearsals and the live programme was £329.15 (plus VAT).” 

Her fee along with other costs totalled over £28,000.   

The sum was paid to her company Nicola Sturgeon Ltd. 

The Scottish Parliament website does not show the fee on the Register of Interest.   

The former first minister was also paid £700 in September from the New Statesman for a review of Boris Johnson's new book. 

During ITV’s coverage, Sturgeon described the election result for the SNP as “devastating”. She added that her party suffered from “Tory unpopularity” but that it wasn’t “the whole story”. 

She said: “The scale of swings to Labour suggests that a big chunk of Scotland wanted to give the incumbent government of 17 years standing a bit of a bloody nose.” 

Despite saying John Swinney was still the best person to lead the SNP into the Scottish Parliament elections in 2026, at times she was critical of the party’s campaign.   

Sturgeon pointed to the lack of focus on independence and said it would be the “easy solution” for people to “take refuge in somehow it’s all my fault”. 

The SNP’s election campaign was overshadowed by Police Scotland’s investigation into allegations of embezzlement in the SNP.   

Sturgeon and former party treasurer Colin Beattie had previously been arrested for questioning and later released without charge.   

Her husband and former chief executive of the party Peter Murrell was charged with embezzlement in April.   

The police’s investigation is still ongoing. 

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “If ever there was a reward for failure, it was this. Nicola Sturgeon probably reckons she earned every penny of her huge fee for having to squirm on live TV as her own toxic legacy led to SNP seats tumbling on election night, but this declaration exposes her shameless hypocrisy.

“Having the ITV fee paid to her company is clearly a ruse to avoid paying the higher rates of income tax her incompetent SNP Government have imposed on hard-working Scots and which she personally championed.

“So much for those with the broadest shoulders bearing the heaviest burden. It’s hard not to conclude that Nicola Sturgeon is an utter fraud.”