Nicola Sturgeon steps down as first minister to let new leader build case for Scottish independence

Nicola Sturgeon has resigned from her position as Scotland’s first minister, acknowledging.

That her previous commanding influence over both her party and the country is no longer an advantage in the push for Scottish independence, reported the news agency, Reuters.

After being in office since 2014, Nicola Sturgeon admitted that she had become excessively polarising and exhausted to bridge the political gap, and therefore wished to distance herself from the harsh realities of modern politics in order to concentrate on her personal life.

Her sudden resignation will have repercussions not only for her Scottish National Party (SNP), but also for the independence campaign, and it may impact the results of the upcoming national election if it facilitates the opposition Labour Party in reclaiming some of its former seats in Scotland.

“This is really hard for me,” Sturgeon, 52, said. “My decision comes from a place of duty and of love, tough love perhaps, but love nevertheless, for my party, and above all for the country,” Sturgeon was quoted as saying by the news agency, Reuters.

Following the 2014 independence referendum, in which Scotland voted by a margin of 55% to 45% to remain in the United Kingdom, she assumed the leadership of the SNP. She guided her party through several decisive electoral triumphs, and was widely regarded as the most accomplished political communicator in the UK.

Her abilities were particularly apparent during the Covid pandemic, as she avoided many of the errors committed by Westminster politicians. However, in recent months, her efforts to pursue a new independence referendum were stymied by the UK Supreme Court, and she became embroiled in a dispute over transgender rights that upset some of her own supporters.

During a press conference in Edinburgh, Sturgeon stated that despite her conviction that there was a majority in favor of independence in Scotland, the SNP must fortify and expand that backing. “To achieve that, we must reach across the divide in Scottish politics,” she said. “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.”

Similar to Jacinda Ardern’s statement in January that she had “no more in the tank” when she resigned as New Zealand’s leader, Sturgeon also expressed that the harshness of contemporary politics had exacted a toll, and that she was unable to continue dedicating “every ounce of energy” required by the job.

Despite defeating four British prime ministers during her tenure, Sturgeon departs without an apparent successor and with the issue of independence still unresolved. Her predecessor, Alex Salmond, noted that there was no clear plan for attaining another independence referendum.