Nicola Sturgeon announces her resignation from Scottish politics - here are her reasons

Nicola Sturgeon said she would "leave it to others" to criticise her legacy, as she spoke of her “sense of relief” after announcing her decision to stand down from the Scottish Parliament next year.

The former first minister confirmed she would not contest the 2026 Holyrood election, admitting she had known “for some time” this would be the case.

And she said she was "proud" of her achievements as she stressed Operation Branchform – the name of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances – had “not at all” had an impact on her decision.

Opponents called Ms Sturgeon the most divisive politician of the devolution era, but Ms Sturgeon rejected this as “tosh”.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon | Getty

First Minister John Swinney said Ms Sturgeon could be proud of “changing the lives of people in Scotland for the better”.

He said: “She’s made an extraordinary contribution to the work of the Scottish Parliament, and particularly to the Scottish Government, as our longest serving first minister.”

Ms Sturgeon led the Scottish Government between 2014 and 2023 and has been an MSP since the dawn of devolution, representing Glasgow Southside since 2007.

Speaking to journalists in Edinburgh on Wednesday, she said she had known “for some time” what her plans were. “Once you say it out loud, there’s a sense of relief,” she said.

“I feel sad, because we are talking here about me turning the page on my life, so far. I’ve dedicated my life to trying to make Scotland a better place, I’ve dedicated my life to public service.”

In an earlier announcement on Instagram, Ms Sturgeon said reaching the decision had been “far from easy”, adding: “However, I have known in my heart for a while that the time is right for me to embrace different opportunities in a new chapter of my life.”

Ms Sturgeon was Scotland’s longest serving first minister, taking over from her mentor Alex Salmond following the loss of the independence referendum in 2014.

During her time in charge, she led the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and was responsible for setting up Scotland’s devolved benefits agency. She shocked the political world in early 2023 by announcing her resignation.

In the months following this, the SNP was rocked by an ongoing police investigation into its funding and finances. Ms Sturgeon, her husband Peter Murrell - the party’s former chief executive - and former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie were all arrested as part of the probe.

Both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie were released without charge. Mr Murrell was charged with embezzlement in April last year. At the start of this year, Ms Sturgeon announced she and Mr Murrell had separated.

A raft of other SNP MSPs have already announced they will be standing down in 2026, including Cabinet ministers Shona Robison, Fiona Hyslop and Richard Lochhead, as well as former government ministers Joe FitzPatrick and Elena Whitham, and party veteran Christine Grahame.

Asked if Operation Branchform had an impact on her decision to stand down as an MSP, Ms Sturgeon said: “Not at all.”

She said her biggest regret was losing the independence referendum.

During her time in Bute House, Ms Sturgeon said education would be her number one priority, specifically targeting the gap in attainment between the richest and poorest pupils – a gap which she and her successors have struggled to deal with.

“Of course, I regret that I didn’t do more under my time in leadership to close the education attainment gap,” she said.

“But I’m also proud that there are more young people from backgrounds like mine going to university than ever before, that we doubled early years education and we’re lifting children out of poverty.”

The former first minister also touted her achievements in office, including abolishing prescription charges as health secretary, being the first female first minister and introducing the Scottish Child Payment through Scotland’s devolved benefits system.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: “We wish any departing MSP well, regardless of their party or politics. But we cannot forget the deep divisions in our country that Nicola Sturgeon created, fostered and encouraged.

“By any objective analysis, her record as First Minister is one of failure. Scottish education standards collapsed on her watch and the poverty-related attainment gap, which she promised to eradicate, widened.

“She presided over a drugs-death emergency, a ferries scandal, a crisis in our NHS, crumbling roads – and all while raising taxes on hard-working Scots, which stifled economic growth.

“Her reckless gender self-ID policy betrayed women, her soft-touch approach to justice betrayed victims and her shameful deletion of Covid WhatsApp messages denied bereaved families answers and highlighted the secrecy and cynicism that characterised her government.”