✕Close‘My time is now’: Nicola Sturgeon resigns as Scotland’s first minister
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Scotland first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced her resignation after more than eight years in the role.
In a shock announcement, the SNP leader told a press conference on Wednesday that she believes it is the right time to stand aside.
Ms Sturgeon’s popularity has flagged in recent months, with a poll by Panelbase this week showing 42 per cent of respondents now believing she should stand down.
The Scottish government leader has had a tricky few months. She has seen her planned reforms to the gender recognition process blocked by the UK government, and lost a court bid to hold a second independence referendum.
The longest serving – and first female – First Minister said from her residence at Bute House in Edinburgh that she will remain in office while the SNP select her successor.
“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,” she said.
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Sunak pays tribute to outgoing FM
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has thanked Nicola Sturgeon "for her long-standing” public service.
“I wish her all the best for her next steps,” he said.
“We will continue to work closely with the @scotgov on our joint efforts to deliver for people across Scotland.”
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 12:251676462704
‘Thank you'
Sturgeon finishes by paying tribute to the Scottish people, “whether you voted for me or not”.
She says serving the country has been the “privilege of my life”.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing, I do in future will ever come anywhere close,” she adds.
“Thank you from the very bottom of my heart”.
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 12:051676462420
SNP must reach across political divide – FM
She says that support needs to “grow further” if Scotland were to prosper outside the UK if it eventually left.
FM says to achieve that her party must reach across the political divide.
“My judgment now is that a new leader will be able to do this”.
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 12:001676462265
I believe there is a majority for independence
FM says that one of the difficulties in coming to her decision was that she was “confident” that she would lead her party to further electoral success.
She points out, at this moment in time, SNP is well ahead of other parties in the polls.
But the longer a leader is in office, Sturgeon adds, the more opinions about them become “fixed” and “very hard to change”.
Sturgeon says that polls come and go before saying she believes that there is now a “majority” for independence.
But that support needs to be solidified, she adds.
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 11:571676461839
SNP ‘free’ to choose own course on de-facto referendum
Sturgeon says her views as a leader would carry “enormous” and probably “decisive” weight when the SNP conference meets next month.
She says she can’t in “good conscience” force her party to choose an option endorsed by her but one which she would not be able to “see it through.”
FM adds that her decision to stand down leaves the SNP “free” to choose its own course on the issue of a de-facto referendum.
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 11:501676461596
‘Critical moment'
She says she owes it to her party to step aside during what she describes as a “critical moment” in Scotland’s politics.
FM cites UK government blocking of a second referendum, saying this “puts the onus on us” to decide how democracy can be “protected” in Scotland.
She said her plan to use the next Westminster elections as a de-factor poll on independence is “well known”.
“I’ve never pretended it’s perfect – no second-best option is,” she adds, saying there is “no alternative”.
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 11:461676461346
I have a duty to go now
FM says she could have “battled on” for another few months.
“But if the question is, ‘can I give this job everything it demands and deserves for another year?’ – let alone for the remainder of the parliamentary term…the answer is different.”
Sturgeon says that is her conclusion, adding that, given the scale of the challenges the country faces, she has a duty to walk away now.
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 11:421676461107
She says all of these factors take a toll on a person and “those around you”.
FM says leading Scotland through Covid pandemic was the toughest thing she has done.
It was only recently that I began to process the mental and physical stress of that time, Sturgeon adds.
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 11:381676460948
Watch: Nicola Sturgeon says she has been ‘wrestling with decision’ to resign as first minister
✕Snp Leader Sturgeon Says She Has 'Been Wrestling With Decision' To ResignMatt Mathers15 February 2023 11:351676460906
‘Brutal'
FM cites the difficulties of modern life as a politician.
She says that even going for a walk by yourself or a coffee with friends can be difficult.
She also references the coarsening of political discourse in recent years, saying it has become almost “brutal”.
Matt Mathers15 February 2023 11:35
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