LONDON: Nicola Sturgeon resigned as Scottish first minister on Wednesday, saying her dominance over her party and the country was no longer the asset it once was in the fight for an independent Scotland.
In power since 2014, she said she had become too divisive – and too tired – to reach across the political divide, and she wanted to step away from the “brutality” of modern politics to focus on “Nicola Sturgeon the person”. Sturgeon became leader of the Scottish National Party in the wake of a 2014 independence referendum when Scotland voted 55% to 45% to remain part of UK.
She steered her party through a series of electoral victories and earned a reputation as the best political communicator in UK. Those skills were evident during the Covid pandemic when she avoided many of the mistakes made by politicians in Westminster.
But in recent months the path she was seeking for a new independence referendum was blocked by UK’s Supreme Court, and she became embroiled in a row over transgender rights that angered even some of her own supporters. In a surprise announcement, she said she would stand down as first minister and leader of SNP once a successor was found.
Sturgeon said she had been “wrestling” with whether it was time step down for weeks and acknowledged the “physical and mental impact” of the job had taken their toll. She said that while she believed there was majority backing for independence in Scotland, the SNP needed to solidify and grow that support. “To achieve that, we must reach across the divide in Scottish politics. And my judgement now is that a new leader will be better able to do this. Someone about whom the mind of almost everyone in the country is not already made up for better or worse.”
Echoing Jacinda Ardern’s comment that she had “no more in the tank” when she quit as New Zealand’s PM in January, Sturgeon said the brutality of modern politics took a toll and she could no longer commit to give “every ounce of energy” that the job entailed.
In power since 2014, she said she had become too divisive – and too tired – to reach across the political divide, and she wanted to step away from the “brutality” of modern politics to focus on “Nicola Sturgeon the person”. Sturgeon became leader of the Scottish National Party in the wake of a 2014 independence referendum when Scotland voted 55% to 45% to remain part of UK.
She steered her party through a series of electoral victories and earned a reputation as the best political communicator in UK. Those skills were evident during the Covid pandemic when she avoided many of the mistakes made by politicians in Westminster.
But in recent months the path she was seeking for a new independence referendum was blocked by UK’s Supreme Court, and she became embroiled in a row over transgender rights that angered even some of her own supporters. In a surprise announcement, she said she would stand down as first minister and leader of SNP once a successor was found.
Sturgeon said she had been “wrestling” with whether it was time step down for weeks and acknowledged the “physical and mental impact” of the job had taken their toll. She said that while she believed there was majority backing for independence in Scotland, the SNP needed to solidify and grow that support. “To achieve that, we must reach across the divide in Scottish politics. And my judgement now is that a new leader will be better able to do this. Someone about whom the mind of almost everyone in the country is not already made up for better or worse.”
Echoing Jacinda Ardern’s comment that she had “no more in the tank” when she quit as New Zealand’s PM in January, Sturgeon said the brutality of modern politics took a toll and she could no longer commit to give “every ounce of energy” that the job entailed.