Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced she will resign after 8 years in the role, saying she is a “human being”, and believes now is the right time to make way for someone else to take the lead.
“A first minister is never off duty. Particularly in this day and age, there is virtually no privacy,” Sturgeon said. “Even ordinary stuff that most people take for granted like going for a coffee with friends, or for a walk on your own, becomes very difficult.”
“I am a human being. And every human being every day wrestles with a whole load of conflicting emotions. And over the last number of weeks, probably since around the turn of the year, I’ve been struggling with just that.
Sturgeon said Scotland deserved nothing less than a First Minister who was able to “give absolutely everything” to the job. “It’s the only way to do it,” she said.
“Since the very first moment in the job, I have believed that part of serving well would be to know, almost instinctively, when the time is right to make way for someone else.
“And when that time came, to have the courage to do so, even if many across the country, and in my party, might feel it too soon.
“In my head and in my heart I know that time is now. That it is right for me, for my party and for the country.”
Her sentiments echoed words spoken by former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently, who also stressed she was “human” in her resignation speech, and that she no longer “had enough in the tank” to continue.
Sturgeon noted in her speech it was time for a new leader to step in and take on the fight of Scottish independence.
“To achieve that, we must reach across the divide in Scottish politics,” she said. “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.”
We take a look at some of Nicola Sturgeon’s key leadership moments
The fight for Scottish independence
Sturgeon has been a key figure in the push for Scotland’s independence, and has attempted to get a referendum on the issue off the ground. Her attempts have been stifled by the British parliament, who have resisted calls for a Scottish referendum. The UK’s top court has ruled that a referemndum cannot take place without approval from Britain.
Sturgeon has said labelled the decision a “democratic outrage”.
“It puts the onus on us to decide how Scottish democracy will be protected and to ensure that the will of the Scottish people prevails.”
Sturgeon steps down as leader with the issue of independence unresolved, but hoping a new leader could push forward the issue.
First woman to serve as First Minister
Sturgeon has been a trailblazer for women in politics, becoming the first woman to lead the Scottish National Party and serves as First Minister.
As First Minister, she has been an advocate for gender equality, pursuing multiple policies that have improved the lives of women in Scotland. Under her leadership, Scotland became the first country in the UK to publish a Women’s Health Plan, while the Scottish National Party (SNP) has established a Workplace Equality Fund to better outcomes for women in the workplace.
Sturgeon has also pursued policies on domestic violence, criminalising psychological abuse. Scotland also became the first country in the world to make period products free – Sturgeon said at the time she proud to vote for the legislation.
She has also been a supporter of transgender rights, overseeing the passage of legislation in the Scottish parliament to make it easier for people to legally change their gender identity. The legislation was ultimately blocked by the UK parliament, to the dismay of LBGTQI+ groups.
Criticism of Boris Johnson during pandemic
Sturgeon was critical of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s response to COVID-19 and his personal breaches of lockdown rules.
“People, over the last two years, have been unable to see loved ones on their death beds, have been unable to go to funerals and comfort other loved ones during bereavement, have had long periods of absence from those nearest and dearest to them,” she said.
“To find that it appears that those making the rules in Downing Street, on a serial basis, were breaching those rules, is deeply angering people and deeply upsetting people – and that has to be understood and acknowledged.”
What happens now?
Sturgeon will remain in parliament and continue as First Minister until a new leader is elected. There is no obvious successor to the role, although there are a few names being put forward, including 32-year-old Kate Forbes and deputy first minister John Swinney.