Nicola Sturgeon is Scotland’s longest-serving first minister
(Picture: Jane Barlow / PA Wire)After holding the reigns of the Scottish National Party for eight years, Nicola Sturgeon announced her resignation from her role as first minister on Wednesday (February 15), saying that she wants to “spend a little more time on Nicola Sturgeon the person, the human being”.
Ms Sturgeon said: “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.”
The SNP is now in the process of selecting Sturgeon’s successor, with some of the likely contenders including Deputy First Minister John Swinney, Health and Social Care Secretary Humza Yousaf, and Secretary for Finance and Economy Kate Forbes.
President of the SNP, Michael Russell, said that he expected the process of finding a new leader to be “shortened” and there to be a “contested election”.
As a keen advocate pressing for another independence referendum, her departure could be seen as a setback to the Scottish independence movement.
She insisted that her resignation would free 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”.
Ms Sturgeon has been embroiled in controversy in recent months, as her Government tried to push through gender reforms, which were ultimately thwarted by Westminster. She also faced a debate over the placement of transgender inmates in women’s prisons.
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation raises Labour’s hopes of winning Scottish seats at the next General Election, and gaining an overall majority.
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