Nicola Sturgeon

After more than eight years as the head of her country's government, Nicola Sturgeon will resign from her First Minister post, she announced Wednesday.

"In a way, it was a surprise because [she said she was going to go on], but then any leader would say that because you become a lame duck the second you say you're going to resign." Sturgeon will remain first minister until the Scottish National Party can elect a new leader. Both referenced the nasty tone of political discourse and the emotional strain that comes with serving in office. [told the BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-scotland-64648879) there was "plenty left in the tank" and that she hoped to be the very politician who could lead Scotland to independence. But when is that ever not the case?" [Journalists in the country were surprised](https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-scotland-64648879/page/2) to be invited to Sturgeon's residence on short notice during the Scottish parliament's recess. A person could essentially be one gender legally on one side of the Scottish-English border and then another gender legally a mile away. "This decision is not a reaction to short-term pressures. [ embroiled in a separate fight with the U.K. prime minister, for a Section 30 order,](https://www.npr.org/2022/06/14/1105025412/first-minister-of-scotland-unveils-campaign-for-scottish-independence) which would grant Edinburgh the power to hold such a vote. Or will it go the direction the rest of the U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the law would undermine U.K.-wide legislation because residents in other parts of the Kingdom do need to undergo a medical exam to change their gender.

First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced her intention to resign from her position as First Minister and leader of the Scottish National ...

Sturgeon is the first woman to serve as First Minister of Scotland, and her resignation marks the end of an era for Scottish politics. During her time as First Minister, Sturgeon has been a strong voice for Scottish independence and has worked to strengthen Scotland's economy and social services. Sturgeon has served in these roles for over eight years and was previously Deputy First Minister for the best part of eight years before that.

Sturgeon became the leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) in the wake of its 2014 independence referendum when the country voted 55% to 45% to ...

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. Sturgeon became the leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) in the wake of its 2014 independence referendum when the country voted 55% to 45% to remain as part of the United Kingdom. LONDON - Nicola Sturgeon is set to resign as first minister of Scotland on Wednesday after eight years in the job, the BBC reported, leaving office with no clear successor and with the question of independence unresolved.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday confirmed her surprise resignation, announcing an election would take place to replace her as Scottish ...

Sturgeon, 52, became the leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) in the wake of its 2014 independence referendum when the country voted 55% to 45% to remain as part of the United Kingdom. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday confirmed her surprise resignation, announcing an election would take place to replace her as Scottish National Party (SNP) leader. - An election will take place to replace Sturgeon as Scottish National Party leader.

The leader and independence campaigner cited the "intensity" and "brutality" of modern politics as factors in her resignation.

Sturgeon said she wanted to spend more time in her role as an aunt, and noted the way in which her job took over every area of her life, especially in recent years. “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. We give all that we can, for as long as we can, and then it’s time. “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,” she said at a news conference. And then play hundreds of other games in 4K with up to 120 frames per second. There was a time, not long ago, when the world roster of leaders suddenly looked much more gender-balanced than it ever had before, with Adern powering ahead, 37-year-old Sanna Marin taking over Finland’s leadership in 2019, several other woman running Nordic countries, and Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan, just to name a few.

Sturgeon steered her SNP to unrivalled dominance in Scotland and built on her popular support with her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sturgeon has headed the semi-autonomous administration in Edinburgh since 2014. Email [email protected] or call 0860 52 52 00. It’s the second such breach linked to China in less than a year and threatens to fan political tensions

What does the future hold for Scottish independence and the SNP after Nicola Sturgeon?

[positive support](https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2023/02/15/nicola-sturgeon-seen-doing-good-job-scots-most-her) that few others – especially the several Conservative prime ministers who have come and gone during her tenure – could match. [The recent case](https://theconversation.com/isla-bryson-scotlands-transgender-prisoner-policy-was-assessed-as-not-affecting-women-198909) of transgender prisoners within Scottish jails led to a very public debate, and the reversal of the Scottish Prison Service’s policy that allowed trans prisoners to be accommodated based on their self-declared gender. As she underlined in her resignation speech, she has come to represent these issues and debates in the public eye. Alex Salmond’s Alba Party has also been [very critical](https://www.thenational.scot/news/23314433.alba-call-special-holyrood-election-indyref-strategy-update/) of the plan. SNP MP Stewart McDonald was particularly vocal, highlighting this move as [damaging for the independence movement](https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,de-facto-referendum-will-not-deliver-independence-snp-mp). The latter was a rare occurrence: transgender issues, and the bill on gender recognition in particular, have highlighted a divide within the SNP – a party legendary for its internal discipline and focus. No party has achieved this level of support in Scotland since the 1950s, although the SNP came very close in its landslide UK general election of 2015. Sturgeon’s resignation opens the door for a reconsideration of this approach. [indyref2](https://theconversation.com/why-nicola-sturgeon-is-pushing-so-hard-for-indyref2-now-127883)”. [Jacinda Ardern](https://theconversation.com/jacinda-ardern-the-politics-of-kindness-is-a-lasting-legacy-198186) resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister a few weeks ago, Nicola Sturgeon assured voters she still had plenty [left in the tank](https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/nicola-sturgeon-insists-there-is-plenty-left-in-the-tank-and-that-she-hopes-to-be-leader-to-take-scotland-to-independence-3996354). Sturgeon had announced that her “plan C” was to approach the next general election as a de facto referendum on independence. And the

Scottish National party leader to give a press conference in Edinburgh at 11am.

He has experience running SNP election campaigns and, alongside Swinney, is one of the few veterans of the Salmond era. He is not liked on the left of the party after forcing through a change of SNP policy to support However, Swinney briefly served as SNP leader in the early 2000s after Alex Salmond unexpectedly quit as party leader. “I have spent almost three decades in frontline politics, a decade and a half on the top or second-top rung of government. John Swinney, her trusted deputy first minister and one of few senior figures in her small inner circle, could throw his hat into the ring. Of course there are difficult issues confronting the government just now, but when is that ever not the case?

So began the inevitable parsing of her resignation speech, itself praised for its honesty and humility – particularly in contrast to recent UK prime ministerial ...

Those who know Sturgeon well highlight her comments on Wednesday on the polarisation of Scottish politics, and its “brutal” nature – especially for women. Jeane Freeman, whose friendship with Sturgeon was cemented when she worked as her health secretary during the pandemic, told the Guardian: “It’s inevitable that going through something as relentless and all-consuming takes its toll, as I know personally. That Sturgeon was ready to leave the role she has occupied since she seamlessly replaced Alex Salmond in 2014 was no secret. MP Amy Callaghan toppled the former Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson in 2019 and Sturgeon’s delighted fist-pumping reaction, caught unintentionally on camera, went viral at the time. While she leaves the independence question in deadlock, she insisted her decision to step down was anchored in what was right “for the country, for my party and for the independence cause I have devoted my life to”. I will always be a feminist.” But Sturgeon is a woman who likes to craft her own narrative. [harassment complaints made against the former first minister](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/aug/30/alex-salmond-inquiry-upheld-five-sexual-harassment-complaints), constant calls for her to quit, and ultimately her being [cleared](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/22/nicola-sturgeon-cleared-of-knowingly-breaching-ministerial-code) of misleading parliament. In her resignation speech she warmly thanked “my SNP family”, the party she joined as a serious-minded 16-year-old in the 1980s, when support for independence was marginal and membership was not about forging a career in politics. She The superlatives flooded in from supporters and opponents alike, describing Scotland’s first female first minister, who has led her party to political dominance for nearly a decade, as “formidable”, “unparalleled”, “tireless”. [Nicola Sturgeon](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/nicola-sturgeon) in the hours before she publicly announced her resignation as Scotland’s first minister, it was the timing and not the fact of her departure that came as the almighty shock.