London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Nicola Sturgeon quits to let new leader build case for Scottish independence

Nicola Sturgeon quits to let new leader build case for Scottish independence

Nicola Sturgeon resigned as Scottish first minister on Wednesday, saying her dominance over her party and the country was no longer the asset it once was in the fight for an independent Scotland.
In power since 2014, she said she had become too divisive - and too tired - to reach across the political divide, and she wanted to step away from the "brutality" of modern politics to focus on "Nicola Sturgeon the person".

Her unexpected departure will have implications for her Scottish National Party (SNP), for the fight for independence and potentially the outcome of the next national election if it helps the opposition Labour Party to regain some of the seats it once held in Scotland.

"This is really hard for me," Sturgeon, 52, said. "My decision comes from a place of duty and of love, tough love perhaps, but love nevertheless, for my party, and above all for the country."

She became leader of the SNP in the wake of a 2014 independence referendum when Scotland voted 55% to 45% to remain part of the United Kingdom.

She steered her party through a series of resounding electoral victories and earned a reputation as the best political communicator in Britain. Those skills were evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when she avoided many of the mistakes made by politicians in Westminster.

But in recent months the path she was seeking for a new independence referendum was blocked by Britain's Supreme Court, and she became embroiled in a row over transgender rights that angered some of her own supporters.

She said on Wednesday she would stand down as first minister and leader of the SNP once a successor was found.

Sturgeon told a news conference in Edinburgh that while she believed there was majority backing for independence in Scotland, the SNP needed to solidify and grow that support.

"To achieve that, we must reach across the divide in Scottish politics," she said. "And my judgement now is that a new leader will be better able to do this. Someone about whom the mind of almost everyone in the country is not already made up for better or worse."

Echoing Jacinda Ardern's comment that she had "no more in the tank" when she quit as New Zealand's leader in January, Sturgeon said the brutality of modern politics had taken a toll and she could no longer commit to give "every ounce of energy" that the job entailed.

Sturgeon, who saw off four British prime ministers during her time in office, stands down with no obvious successor, and with the matter of independence unresolved.

Her predecessor Alex Salmond said there was no clear strategy for securing another independence referendum.

RESOUNDING SUCCESS

Sturgeon led her party to a thumping success in the UK's 2015 election, winning 56 of 59 seats in Scotland before she retained control over the devolved parliament at more recent elections.

But the SNP suffered a blow in November when the United Kingdom's top court ruled that her government could not hold a second referendum without approval from the British parliament.

Successive Conservative governments in London have said the 2014 referendum was a once-in-a-generation decision and should not be repeated so soon.

Anthony Wells, head of European Political and Social Research at YouGov UK, told Reuters that Sturgeon's strength at the top of the SNP had contained internal disputes over the direction of the party. She also helped to blunt criticism of its domestic record in areas such as health and education.

"Without somebody clearly with her hand on the tiller, I guess it will be a bit chaotic," he said.

According to polls, support for independence rose above 50% in the wake of the Supreme Court defeat but has since slipped back.

Possible candidates to replace Sturgeon include Kate Forbes, the 32-year-old cabinet secretary for finance, John Swinney, a 58-year-old deputy first minister, and Angus Robertson, a former deputy leader of the party.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×