This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter. 

'With pals’. These words are regularly found on Nicola Sturgeon’s recent Instagram stories. Whether she’s out at the latest trendy bar in Glasgow’s city centre or she’s brunching it in the West End, the former First Minister is expressing her freedom from high office by reconnecting with friends. Although many seen in this glimpse of Ms Sturgeon’s social media posts are from her own party, some are not. 

The former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has had many political battles with Ms Sturgeon at FMQs. Across the chamber, they’ve forensically taken apart each other’s arguments, derided one another’s views on the constitutional question and, like all political adversaries, raised voices and given each other pretty unkind ‘looks’. 

Now, they are smiling with a glass of fizz on insta. ‘Gals night’ - the caption on the FM’s story read. No longer pitted against each other - they are sharing a cup (or, more appropriately, flutes) of kindness. 

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So, what’s in a friendship and why is it so shunned in the world of politics? Most likely, it is the fear of being seen as ‘all in it together’ and being associated with someone from a political party you want no connection with. 

It would have looked terrible if she posted a similar picture of her and the former Scottish Labour leader captioned ‘Kezi-babes <3’ after one of their infamous rows back in 2017 on IndyRef2. Bad Optics, leads to vote losses.

Friendship defined: ‘a relationship of mutual affection between people’ - also runs the risk of giving away too much by sharing emotions and truths you don’t want the other side to know. I hate to say it but, for many, politics is a game and you need to keep your cards close to your chest. 

This week, the unlikely duo of Humza Yousaf and Michael Gove spoke about the importance of good relations across the political divide on the former Conservative MPs new show, Surviving Politics. Mr Yousaf said he could personally reach out to people like his interviewer, Nadim Zahawi and Sajid Javid. 

He added: "Having those back channels for any government or any political parties where there’s disagreement, differences… those backchannels are worth their weight in gold."

Not quite friends but instead ‘back channel’s’ - something done in a covert way. The former First Minister couldn’t quite bring himself to call Tory and Labour politicians ‘mates’. For those in his own party, he could, but this still had limits. Calling them by their first names, Mr Yousaf said he was friends with John (Swinney) and Nicola (Sturgeon), however, this still had the caveat of ‘to a point’. His ‘true friends’, he said, were those he grew up with, played football with and those who knew him before he entered politics. 

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It is sad, the former First Minister lamented. And for the most part, I agree. The world of politics can be a hostile, unforgiving place and with the rise of tribalism and online abuse, this doesn’t help matters. Friendships should be encouraged but not to the point it risks sacrificing the needs of constituents. 

Going forward, maybe it’s not a night out in the town for John Swinney, Anas Sarwar and Russell Findlay but perhaps more cross-party work could be a start?