Scotland’s leader and flag-bearer of independence, Nicola Sturgeon, surprised everyone by announcing her resignation on Wednesday, citing her inability to do the job well and her position as a polarizing figure in the country, reported news agency AFP. The 52-year-old leaves her position as leader of Scotland and head of the SNP, the largest party in the devolved government, after coming under increasing criticism for her advocacy of transgender rights and her strategies for independence.
#BREAKING Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon confirms resignation, announces election will take place to replace her as SNP leader pic.twitter.com/dyfin8lXkQ
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 15, 2023
She stated that she would continue in her position as first minister until the SNP selects a new leader.
“This decision comes from a deeper and longer-term assessment,” Sturgeon said in a hastily arranged press conference quoted by AFP, insisting her departure was “not a reaction to short-term pressures”.
“I know it may seem sudden, but I have been wrestling with it — albeit with oscillating levels of intensity — for some weeks.”
When Sturgeon took office in 2014, she became the first woman to lead Scotland and pledged to continue advocating for Scottish independence.
As she advocated for a second referendum on the topic, she was in charge of the SNP’s unprecedented electoral success.
She took over following the most recent poll, which showed that Scots didn’t want to break away from the rest of the UK by more than 10 percentage points. Since then, she has been persistently trying to get another vote.
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The UK government, which must approve a second referendum, has said that the one in September 2014 was a once-in-a-generation event and won’t let another one take place.
The SNP won a fourth consecutive term in power in Edinburgh in 2021 on the promise of conducting a new poll and winning the most votes.
However, it was one vote short of a majority and allied with the Greens to maintain power.
In 1999, the Labour government in London’s devolution reforms led to the formation of Scotland’s parliament and executive.
However, the independence movement has stalled since 2021, as evidenced by a flurry of recent opinion polls indicating a decline in support for independence in Scotland.
After the Supreme Court sided with the UK government in blocking a new vote in November, some critics, even within the ruling SNP, have blamed Sturgeon for failing to come up with a winning strategy.
After becoming involved in a debate regarding whether transgender women can be housed in all-female prisons, she has also come under fire for her support of transgender rights.
Despite this, as recently as a month ago, she insisted that she would continue in the position, stating to the BBC that she was “nowhere near” ready to step down in the wake of Jacinda Ardern’s shocking resignation as prime minister of New Zealand.
SNP MP Stewart McDonald praised Sturgeon, calling her “the finest public servant of the devolution age” and describing her departure as an “enormous loss.”
He added, “Her public service, personal resilience and commitment to Scotland is unmatched, and she has served our party unlike anyone else.”
