Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon will step down as both First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The 52-year-old announced this at a press conference in Edinburgh. She will remain in office until a successor is found.
Sturgeon said the reason for her resignation was not the current challenges facing the country and the party, but personal reasons. The decision was the result of a long process. Her remaining in office is not the right thing for her party, for the country, but also not for herself. “I’m a person, not just a politician,” said the 52-year-old. “I gave everything, but you can only do that for a certain amount of time.”
The office of head of government is “the best job in the world” and it was an honor for her to hold this office. But you can only do this job if you are willing to give everything for it. But that would only work for a certain amount of time, Sturgeon said. As a prime minister, you are never off-duty, you have no privacy, and things that are normal for other people – like having coffee with friends or going for a walk – are impossible for them. “It takes its toll on both you and the people around you,” said the SNP politician.
Sturgeon suffered a setback in the fight for Scottish independence
Sturgeon has long sought Scottish independence from the UK. After a majority of Scots voted to remain in 2014, Sturgeon attempted to initiate another vote in the wake of Brexit. Despite rejection by the British government, in June 2022 she presented her plans for a second referendum to be held in October 2023.
In recent months, however, Sturgeon has taken a serious hit. The Supreme Court of Great Britain put a stop to Scottish independence efforts in November. The judges ruled that another Scottish referendum on secession from the UK against the wishes of the British government would not be allowed. Sturgeon said at the time she was disappointed with the decision but accepted it. Independence must be achieved through legal and democratic means.
In addition, the dispute over a controversial gender law has recently weighed on the Scottish government. Among other things, the law, which the Scottish Parliament voted for last year, is intended to eliminate the requirement for a medical report as a prerequisite for changing the gender entry. The minimum age for an application should be lowered from 18 to 16 years. Trans people are people who do not feel they belong to the gender they were assigned at birth.
There was a lot of criticism of the decision, one of the most prominent voices being the “Harry Potter” author Joanne K. Rowling. She and her colleagues fear that men could take advantage of the simplified regulations to enter areas reserved for women, such as women’s changing rooms or toilets, for sexual motives. Supporters, on the other hand, see the law as a long-overdue reform that could make life easier for trans people and enable them to live self-determined lives.
Sturgeon has been First Minister since 2014, making him the longest-serving Scottish Prime Minister.