Nicola Sturgeon has announced she will stand down after eight years as first minister, telling a press conference “the time is now”.
In a shock announcement on Wednesday, the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said she was not reacting to “short-term pressures” after a series of political setbacks.
The longest-serving – and first woman – first minister told a hastily arranged press conference she will remain in office while the SNP selects her successor.
“In my head and in my heart I know that the time is now. That it’s right for me, for my party and my country,” she said.
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Ms Sturgeon, who guided the nation through the Covid-19 pandemic and led the SNP to repeated election victories at UK, Scottish and local level, acknowledged the “physical and mental impact” of the role. “If the question is: can I battle on for another few months? Then the answer is yes, of course I can,” the 52-year-old said.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar paid tribute to Ms Sturgeon following her decision to stand down as first minister.
He said: “I had the pleasure to work with Nicola through the British Irish Council and met her on a number of occasions.
“I also welcomed her to Government Buildings in Ireland during my first tenure as Taoiseach.
“I always found Nicola a very warm person, articulate and thoughtful, and a very capable politician, who showed huge commitment to her country. She was also a true European. I wish Nicola and her family the very best for the future.”
[ ‘A friend of Ireland’: Departing Nicola Sturgeon praised by Irish politiciansOpens in new window ]
Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill has paid tribute to her friend and colleague, saying her resignation is something she very much regrets.
“As a colleague, as a friend, we’ve had a very close working relationship over many, many years, we have many shared interests and I have no doubt in my mind that she will always be regarded as one of the most formidable leaders of our generation,” she said.
Asked whether she feels Ms Sturgeon has left the fight for Scottish independence “half done”, Ms O’Neill said she thinks Scottish independence is “very much on the cards”.
The DUP leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, sent his best wishes to Ms Sturgeon, saying “we are on different sides of many debates but her length of service and electoral success must be recognised.”
From her residence at Bute House in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said: “Since my very first moments in the job I have believed a part of serving well would be to know almost instinctively when the time is right to make way for someone else.”
“But if the question is: can I give this job everything it demands and deserves for another year, let alone for the remainder of this parliamentary term, give it every ounce of energy that it needs in the way that I have strived to do every day for the last eight years? The answer honestly is different.”
The first minister has suffered a series of political challenges in recent months as her Government sought to push through gender reforms, only for them to be blocked by Westminster.
She insisted the row surrounding a transgender double rapist being sent to a women’s jail “wasn’t the final straw”, but said it is “time for someone else” to lead the party.
Ms Sturgeon acknowledged the “choppy waters” but insisted her resignation was not in response to the “latest period of pressure”.
“This decision comes from a deeper and longer-term assessment,” she said.
Ms Sturgeon rose to power unopposed after the independence referendum in 2014, in which the electorate vote to remain in the UK. She took over from Alex Salmond, the political mentor with whom she would come into conflict in the years to come over the handling of sexual harassment allegations made against him.
Last year, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish government does not have the power to hold another independence referendum, as Westminster blocked the move.
Her surprise exit led political commentators to draw parallels with the sudden resignation last month of Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand’s prime minister.
Ms Sturgeon had planned to fight the next general election as a de facto referendum on Scottish independence, but her exit now raises questions about the immediate future of the cause itself.
Although she said she would not be leaving politics, Ms Sturgeon said her resignation as Scotland’s first minister “frees the SNP” on the issue of Scottish independence “to choose the path it believes to be the right one without worrying about the perceived implications for my leadership”.
She added: “The longer any leader is in office, the more opinions about them become fixed and very hard to change, and that matters.
“Individual polls come and go, but I am firmly of the view that there is now majority support for independence in Scotland.
“But that support needs to be solidified and it needs to grow further if our independent Scotland is to have the best possible foundation.
“To achieve that, we must reach across the divide in Scottish politics and my judgment now is that a new leader would be better able to do this.
She said “I intend to be there” when Scottish independence is won”.
“Winning independence is the cause I have dedicated a lifetime to. It is a cause I believe in with every fibre of my being. And it is a cause I am convinced as being won.”
Ms Sturgeon vowed to continue as a Member of Scottish parliament (MSP) on the backbenches at Holyrood and said her lifelong cause of independence is “being won”.
Ms Sturgeon refused to answer questions about whether she had been interviewed – or expects to be questioned – in a police inquiry into £600,000 of party funds raised from members to fight an independence campaign.
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak thanked Ms Sturgeon for her “long-standing service”, while his Scottish secretary, Alister Jack, said Ms Sturgeon had been a “formidable politician”.
But Mr Jack added: “Her resignation presents a welcome opportunity for the Scottish Government to change course, and to drop its divisive obsession with independence.
“I want to see a Scottish Government that works hand-in-hand with the UK Government to realise our full potential as a country.”
Sir Keir Starmer will also be closely following the next steps as the rise of the SNP to the detriment of Labour has played a role in keeping the party out of power in Westminster.
Ms Sturgeon indicated she will continue as a backbencher “until, certainly, the next election” for Holyrood, which is due in 2026.
She described being first minister as “the privilege of my life”, adding: “Nothing, absolutely nothing, I do in future will ever come anywhere close.”
Among those paying tribute to Ms Sturgeon was her potential successor, and current Scottish health secretary, Humza Yousaf, who said he was “gutted” to see her standing down.
However, SNP MP Joanna Cherry, who has clashed with Ms Sturgeon particularly over gender issues, called for “reform and healing” in their party.
“Our party needs a leadership election that is about policies and not personalities,” she said.
“We must restore the SNP’s tradition of internal party democracy, open respectful debate and intellectual rigour, and we must also put the welfare of everyone living in Scotland back at the heart of our endeavours.”
Potential candidates to succeed Ms Sturgeon include external affairs secretary Angus Robertson, secretary for finance and economy Kate Forbes, and Deputy First Minister John Swinney.
It is understood the SNP national executive committee will meet soon to discuss a timetable for the leadership election.
After the appointment of a new leader, MSPs will be asked to vote for a new first minister, with the agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens enough to secure their victory.
Former prime ministers Theresa May and Gordon Brown paid tribute to Ms Sturgeon, with Conservative Mrs May saying: “We disagree on many issues but I’d like to thank you Nicola Sturgeon for your long, tireless service to our country and for the professional relationship we maintained as leaders.
“I can assure you that there is plenty of scope to contribute from the backbenches.” – Additional reporting PA
