In a shock announcement, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon told a press conference on Wednesday about the moment she knew she was 100 per cent sure that it was the right time to stand aside.
Sturgeon, who guided the nation through the coronavirus pandemic and led the SNP to repeated election victories at UK, Scottish and local level, acknowledged the “physical and mental impact” of the role.
The SNP leader said she believes the “time is now” to step down and solidified her decision following the funeral of friend and long-standing independence activist.
The longest serving – and first female – First Minister said from her residence at Bute House in Edinburgh that she will remain in office while the SNP select her successor.
She said: “Yesterday morning, I attended the funeral of a dear friend and long-standing independence activist, a wonderful man by the name of Allan Angus.
Nicola Sturgeon said the 'time is now' to step down as First Minister of Scotland
Jane Barlow
“It was actually during that funeral service that I went from being 99 per cent certain about this decision to 100 per cent certain – though I know Allan would not be at all happy to have played any part in my departure, so I’m sorry, Allan.
"His funeral reminded me that the cause of independence is so much bigger than any one individual. That all of us who believe in it, contribute in different ways at different stages of our lives.
“Since I was 16, I have contributed as an activist and campaigner and a leader. And so now as we look to what I firmly believe, is the final stage in Scotland’s journey to independence, albeit a hard one, I hope to use all the experience and perspective I’ve gathered over these years to help get us there.”
She added that she "intend[s] to be there” when Scottish independence is won.
“Winning independence is the cause I have dedicated a lifetime to. It is a cause I believe in with every fibre of my being. And it is a cause I am convinced as being won," she said.
“I intend to be there as it is won, every step of the way.”
She has indicated she will continue on the backbenches as an MSP at Holyrood.
The First Minister has suffered a series of political setbacks in recent months as her Government sought to push through gender reforms, only for them to be blocked by Westminster.
Sturgeon said: “I’m a human being, and every human being every day wrestles with a whole load of conflicting emotions. And over the last number of weeks, probably since around the turn of the year, I’ve been struggling with just that.
“You know, 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. But then I realise that that’s maybe not as true.”
Sturgeon says her decision to resign was solidified after the funeral of a friend and independence activist
Jane Barlow
She added that standing down as First Minister would “free” the SNP to take a decision on how best to pursue independence “without worrying about the perceived implications for my leadership”.
“I feel that duty first and foremost to our country to ensure that it has the energy of leadership that it needs not just today but through the years that remain of this parliamentary term," she said.
“And right now, in a very particular sense, I feel that duty to my part too. We are at a critical moment. The blocking of our referendum as the accepted constitutional route to independence is a democratic outrage.
“My preference of using the next Westminster election as a de facto referendum is well known.
“By making my decision clear now I free the SNP to choose the path it believes to be the right one without worrying about the perceived implications for my leadership.”
