Nicola Sturgeon resignation as it happened: Nicola Sturgeon resigns as first minister - RECAP
Ms 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.
In a shock announcement on Wednesday, the SNP leader said she believes the “time is now” to stand aside but denied reacting to “short-term pressures” after a series of political setbacks.
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Hide Ad“Since my very first moments in the job I have believed a part of serving well would be to know almost instinctively when the time is right to make way for someone else,” she said from her residence at Bute House in Edinburgh.
“In my head and in my heart I know that time is now. That it’s right for me, for my party and my country.”
The succession and timeline of the resignation as well as the successor of the first minister has not yet been made clear, however we will bring you live updates throughout the day in our live blog.
Nicola Sturgeon resigns as Scotland’s first minister - RECAP
Ireland’s premier Leo Varadkar hailed Nicola Sturgeon as a “true European”.
The Taoiseach said: “I pay tribute to Nicola Sturgeon following her decision to stand down as First Minister of Scotland.
“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.
“I wish Nicola and her family the very best for the future.”
Nicola Sturgeon leaves “no clear strategy for independence” as she stands down as Scotland’s First Minister, her predecessor Alex Salmond said.
Her one-time mentor turned political enemy said he “feels for” the SNP leader as she announced her resignation from the post on Wednesday.
Mr 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.
“There are two 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/election 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.
“It is to be hoped that those voices which wish to reunite the national movement emerge to win that contest.”
A new SNP leader could reunite the independence movement, Nicola Sturgeon’s predecessor Alex Salmond has said.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme whether he sees an opportunity for his rival party Alba, Mr Salmond said: “Well, what I see as an opportunity is to reset the independence movement”.
He noted it depends “a great deal on who succeeds” Ms Sturgeon, but added: “If you get somebody who is looking to reunite the movement, perhaps through the vehicle of an independence convention, whereby you take a range of parties, and indeed cross-party movements, and bring it under the same tent, then that would be a highly significant move.
SNP MP Joanna Cherry has called for a “neutral caretaker CEO” to take over from Nicola Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell.
Ms Cherry tweeted: “The SNP leadership and party management have been deeply bound together.
“I cannot see any circumstances in which Peter Murrell can continue as chief executive under a new leader who must be free to choose a successor.
“Meantime we need a neutral caretaker CEO.”