Sturgeon announces his resignation: “The time was right”

Nicola Sturgeon announces his resignation of first minister of Scotland and leader of the Party Scottish National (SNP) at a press conference in Edinburgh. Likewise, he has informed that he will remain in office until a successor is chosen and that he has asked the general secretary of the SNP to start the process for it.

Sturgeon has claimed that it is not a decision arising from “short-term pressures” and that it is not as sudden as it seems. “In my head and in my heart I knew this was the right time,” she said. She has suggested that the wear and tear of recent times has led her to make this decision now.

The prime minister has defined the responsibility of leading the country as “difficult at times” and has opined that the only way to do it is to “give it your all”. In this sense, she has mentioned the “physical and mental impact” that the role has had on her.

Although she has denied that the main reason is the controversy that arose as a result of the reform of the gender change law, she has stated that “her opinions have become barriers to debate.” This measure has created great controversy both inside and outside his SNP party, and the British government has already announced that it will be blocked.

In his intervention before the media he also spoke about the referendum. His preference remains to use the upcoming general elections on October 19 as a de facto consultation. He also believes that “Scotland is closer to independence than in 2015” and hopes that her successor will “take them to it.”

Nicola Sturgeon joined the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and in 2004 became the SNP Leader MP. Ten years later, after he failed to win the Scottish independence referendum, Ella Sturgeon replaced former Scottish Prime Minister Alex Salmond. In 2015 and 2019 her party Ella SNP won elections to the Scottish Parliament.

Since her appointment as First Minister of Scotland, she had become the most recognizable face of Scottish independence at the international level. In October she announced her intention to hold a new referendum for independence on October 19. However, the British Justice ruled that Scotland cannot call this consultation unilaterally, understanding that these are “matters reserved for the British Parliament.”