MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Scotland at the crossroad: Nicola Sturgeon steps down; SNP needs a new leader to fight for independence

“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”

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unexpectedly has announced her resignation after more than eight years in the role. The Scottish National Party leader said she knew “in my head and in my heart” this was the right time to step down. Ms. Sturgeon said she would remain in office until her successor was elected.

She is the longest-serving first minister and the first woman to hold the position. However Ms Sturgeon insisted her resignation was not in response to the “latest period of pressure”, which has included controversies over gender reforms, trans prisoners and the strategy on independence.

She acknowledged there had been “choppy waters”, but said her decision had come from “a deeper and longer-term assessment”.
“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.
“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.
”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.
“And so today I am announcing my intention to step down as first minister and leader of my party.”

The first minister said she had been struggling with conflicting emotions since around the turn of the year.

“I get up in the morning and I tell myself, and usually I convince myself, that I've got what it takes to keep going and keep going and keep going,” she said.
“But then I realize that that's maybe not as true.”

She said there were two questions - whether carrying on was right for her, and whether it was right for country, her party and the cause of independence.

Ms Sturgeon said the answer to both questions was no.

“We are at a critical moment,” she said. “The blocking of a referendum as the accepted, constitutional route to independence is a democratic outrage.
”But it puts the onus on us to decide how Scottish democracy will be protected and to ensure that the will of the Scottish people prevails.“

She said that support for independence needed to be ”solidified“ and to grow further.

”To achieve that we need to reach across the divide in Scottish politics, and my judgment now is that this needs a new leader,“ she said.

Nominations to elect her successor have now opened. Names to have been suggested as potential candidates include John Swinney, Kate Forbes and Angus Robertson.

This is a bombshell which will send shockwaves through Scottish politics.

That's not just because Nicola Sturgeon has been a key figure for so long - an MSP since the Scottish parliament was opened in 1999, and its longest-serving first minister.

It's also because her government stands at a pivotal moment in the pursuit of the SNP's founding goal, of Scottish independence. The party is holding a special conference next month to decide how it should move the issue on, in light of the UK government's refusal to engage with plans for a referendum.

And with no clear successors waiting in the wings, if Ms Sturgeon isn't running the independence campaign, it's not clear who will be placed to call the shots.

Ms Sturgeon said she was ”not leaving politics“ and would continue to fight for Scottish independence. She added that the intensity and ”brutality“ of life as a politician had taken its toll on her, and those around her.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to Ms Sturgeon ”for her long standing public service“.

He said they ”didn't agree on everything“ but had successfully worked together on freeports”.

One of the reasons that Nicola Sturgeon has announced her intention to resign, rather than quitting straight away, is that her formal resignation starts an official timetable at Holyrood.

As soon as her resignation letter is sent to the King, the Scottish Parliament has 28 days to elect a replacement first minister - or face another election.

Ms Sturgeon will remain in post until her party chooses her successor as SNP leader.

The SNP's rule book states that candidates must have at least 100 nominations from party members from at least 20 local branches. The vote is run by postal ballot, on a one-person one-vote basis.

The timetable for that process is still to be agreed. But with a special conference to decide on whether to use an election as a de facto independence referendum due next month, time is tight.

Some in the party have suggested the conference should be delayed until a new leader is in place.