‘It takes its toll’: Nicola Sturgeon resigns as First Minister of Scotland, citing ‘brutality’ of politics

Nicola Sturgeon has announced she will resign as First Minister of Scotland, saying it is the best move for the Scottish independence movement - but also that the “brutality” of the job has taken its toll on her.

At a press conference at her official residence Bute House in Edinburgh on Wednesday morning, the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said she had asked the National Secretary to begin the process of electing her successor. She would continue in the role until a new SNP leader was elected.

“I’m very proud of what has been achieved in the years I’ve been in Bute House,” she said, but knowing when the time was right to make way for someone else was always part of the job. “In my head and in my heart, I know that time is now.”

Sturgeon said the only way to do the job was to give absolutely everything of yourself to it, and any one person could only do that for so long. “I’m not expecting violins here, but I am a human being as well as a politician,” she said.

“A first minister is never off duty… in this day and age, there is virtually no privacy. Even ordinary stuff that most people take for granted like going for a coffee with friends or for a walk on your own, becomes very difficult.”

The nature and form of modern political discourse meant there was a much greater intensity, “dare I say it, brutality”, to life as a politician than in years gone by, she said. “It takes its toll on you, and on those around you.”

Her leadership has been mired in controversy in recent months as her government sought to push through gender reforms, only for them to be blocked by the UK government. Meanwhile the last few weeks have seen her forced to deal with the housing of transgender prisoners in women’s facilities.

But Sturgeon said her decision was not a reaction to short-term pressures. “Of course there are difficult issues confronting the Government just now, but when is that ever not the case?”

“When it comes to navigating choppy waters, resolving seemingly intractable issues,or soldiering on when walking away would be the simpler option, I have plenty of experience to draw on”, she said. “This decision comes from a deeper and longer term assessment… I have been wrestling with it, albeit with oscillating levels of intensity, for some weeks.”

The First Minister will stand down without realising her key political mission of independence for Scotland, which she has been fighting for throughout her time in office. But she said stepping down was the right move for the cause.

“I’ve been trying to answer two questions: is carrying on right for me, and more importantly, is me carrying on right for my country, for my party, and for the independence cause I have devoted my life to?” she said. “In truth, I have been having to work harder in recent times to convince myself that the answer to either of them, when examined deeply, is yes.”

The SNP was at a critical moment in the fight for another referendum for Scottish independence, she said. Her preference had been using the next Westminster election as a de-facto referendum, but this would free the party to choose its own path collectively, “without worrying about the perceived implications for my leadership”.

Sturgeon said the longer any leader was in office, the more opinions about them become fixed, “and that matters”.

“I am firmly of the view there is now majority support for independence in Scotland. But  that support needs to become solidified, and it needs to grow further if our independent Scotland is to have the best possible foundation,” she said. “To achieve that we must reach across the divide in Scottish politics. My judgement now is that a new leader will be better able to do this. Someone about whom the mind of the country is not already made up - for better or worse.”

Sturgeon has held the role of Scottish National Party leader for more than eight years, having taken over from Alex Salmond in November 2014 following the independence referendum.

Sturgeon will leave office as the longest serving and first female First Minister since the creation of the Scottish Parliament, a time which saw her lead the SNP to repeated election victories at UK, Scottish and local level.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has thanked Nicola Sturgeon “for her long-standing service”, adding on Twitter: “We will continue to work closely with the @scotgov on our joint efforts to deliver for people across Scotland.”

Former prime minister Theresa May also paid tribute to Sturgeon. May tweeted: “We disagree on many issues but I’d like to thank you Nicola Sturgeon for your long, tireless service to our country and for the professional relationship we maintained as leaders.”

“I can assure you that there is plenty of scope to contribute from the backbenches,” she said.

Ireland’s premier Leo Varadkar hailed Sturgeon as a “true European”. “I had the pleasure to work with Nicola through the British Irish Council and met her on a number of occasions. I also welcomed her to Government Buildings in Ireland during my first tenure as Taoiseach.”

“I always found Nicola a very warm person, articulate and thoughtful, and a very capable politician, who showed huge commitment to her country. She was also a true European,” he said. “I wish Nicola and her family the very best for the future.”

Sturgeon’s predecessor, Alex Salmond, said: “There has been no question of Nicola’s talents as a first-rate political communicator and election winner and – having been there – I feel for her personally on the day of her resignation”.

But he said her departure left two big questions for the future. “One is that the movement has been left with no clear strategy for independence. The previously accepted referendum route has been closed and the de facto referendum... proposal is now, at best, up in the air.”

“Secondly there is no obvious successor. There are a range of able people in the SNP but they will now be tested in the fire of leadership inheriting a range of serious Government policy challenges,” he said. “It is to be hoped that those voices which wish to reunite the national movement emerge to win that contest.”

Alison Thewliss, the SNP MP for Glasgow Central and the party’s home affairs spokesperson, said she was “gutted” at news of Nicola Sturgeon’s impending resignation. She tweeted: “Absolutely gutted about this. Nicola has been an incredible leader.”

The SNP will meet next month to discuss the holding of treating the next UK election as a “de facto referendum”, with more than 50% of the vote being considered a mandate to begin negotiations for Scotland to become an independent country.