Farewell Nicola Sturgeon. The former first minister took to the professional platform that is Instagram today to announce that she will be stepping down as an MSP at the next election. After much speculation, the SNP’s ex-Dear Leader has confirmed that she does not plan to stand for Holyrood in 2026 – after spending more than a quarter of a century in the Scottish Parliament. Talk about a long slog, eh?
Writing on the social media platform today, Sturgeon told her faithful followers that:
I have decided not to seek re-election to the Scottish parliament next year. As members of the SNP in Glasgow Southside, I wanted you to be the first to know. Reaching this decision has been far from easy. 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, and to allow you to select a new standard bearer. Whoever you choose will have my full support and I look forward to campaigning alongside you to ensure that Glasgow Southside remains an SNP-held constituency.
I joined the SNP in 1986 because I wanted to play my part in building a fair and prosperous Scotland and I have dedicated my life to that task ever since. I believed then that winning our country’s independence was essential to Scotland reaching her full potential, and I still do. Even though I am preparing to leave elected politics, I hope to contribute in different ways to making that ambition a reality. Indeed, given the challenges facing the world today, it is more important than ever that progressive voices, inside and outside of parliaments, continue to speak up for fairness, equality and dignity for all. Be in no doubt that I will always speak out and stand up for what I believe in.
Not that Sturgeon’s time in frontline politics has gone without a hitch. The ex-FM experienced a bitter and controversial fall out with her former mentor and onetime first minister Alex Salmond that caused deep and irreparable splits in their party. More cracks appeared after Sturgeon stepped down as FM in 2023 when a rather unedifying leadership battle ensued – in part thanks to the lack of a clear successor for the job. The baffling police investigation into the SNP’s funds and finances then took a dramatic turn, with the house Sturgeon shared with her former husband Peter Murrell raided by police – with officers probing the purchase of women’s razors, gardening equipment and, er, a luxury campervan.
While support for both the SNP and independence rose during the pandemic, it has plummeted over the last two years and Sturgeon is not leaving a happy party in her wake. The Glasgow MSP may be ‘sad to be closing the book’ on this chapter of her life, but Mr S rather doubts too many of her colleagues will be feeling the same…
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