Scotland leader Nicola Sturgeon quits to let successor build case for independence

LONDON — Nicola Sturgeon said on Wednesday (Feb 15) she will resign as first minister of Scotland on Wednesday after eight years in the job, leaving office with no clear successor and with the question of independence unresolved.

She told a news conference at her official Bute House residence in Edinburgh that she would remain leader of Scotland's devolved government until a successor is found. She said the decision was not linked to recent short-term issues.

"This decision comes from a deeper and longer term assessment," she said, adding she had been wrestling with the decision for weeks.

"Giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it," Sturgeon said. "But in truth, that can only be done by anyone for so long. For me it is now in danger of becoming too long."

Sturgeon became the leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) in the wake of its 2014 independence referendum when the country voted 55 per cent to 45 per cent to remain as part of Britain.

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".

She steered her party through a series of resounding electoral victories and earned a reputation as the best political communicator in Britain.

Those skills were evident during the Covid-19 pandemic when she avoided many of the mistakes made by politicians in Westminster.

But she suffered a blow in November when the UK's top court ruled that the Scottish government could not hold a second referendum without approval from the British parliament.

Successive Conservative governments in London have said the 2014 referendum was a once-in-a-generation decision and should not be repeated so soon.

Sturgeon said in response that she would turn the next British general election into a de facto referendum to ramp on pressure on Westminster to grant another vote.

Support for independence rose above 50 per cent in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling but it has slipped back in recent months.

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Sturgeon, 52, had also recently become embroiled in a row over transgender policies after Scotland passed a bill to make it easier for people to change their legal gender.

The Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak responded by saying it would block the Bill, the first time it had invoked the power to veto a Scottish law, because it would have a broader impact on the UK.

Scotland was then forced to review the management of trans prisoners and stop transgender people with a history of violence against women being placed in female prisons.

In a surprise announcement, she said she would stand down as first minister and leader of the SNP once a successor was found.

Sturgeon told a news conference in Edinburgh 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 leader 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.

The 52-year-old, who saw off four British prime ministers during her time in office, stands down with no obvious successor.

Resounding success

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She led her party to a thumping success in the UK's 2015 election, winning 56 of 59 seats in Scotland before she retained control over the devolved parliament at more recent elections.

Her departure will have implications for the SNP, for the fight for independence and for the drive by Britain's opposition Labour Party to win enough seats in the UK to beat Sunak's Conservatives in an election expected next year.

Any hit to the SNP's electoral prospects could both help Labour regain some of the seats lost to the nationalists in areas of Scotland that it once dominated.

Anthony Wells, head of European Political and Social Research at YouGov UK, told Reuters that Sturgeon's strength at the top of the SNP had contained internal disputes over the direction of the party, and helped to blunt criticism of its domestic record in areas such as health and education.

"Without somebody clearly with her hand on the tiller, I guess it will be a bit chaotic," he said.

Possible candidates to replace Sturgeon include Kate Forbes, the 32-year-old cabinet secretary for finance who was first elected as a lawmaker in 2016, and John Swinney, a 58-year-old deputy first minister.

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