Nicola Sturgeon to step down from Holyrood

Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to stand down as an MSP, she has announced.

The ex-SNP leader confirmed she would not seek re-election at the Holyrood election in May next year.

In a statement published on social media, she said making the decision had been "far from easy".

She added: "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."

Sturgeon resigned as first minister in March 2023 after eight years in the role.

She is Scotland's longest-serving first minister and the first woman to hold the position.

Her resignation as party leader marked the beginning of a tumultuous period for her and the SNP.

In June 2023 she was arrested and released without charge as part of a police investigation into SNP finances. She insists she has done nothing wrong.

Her husband Peter Murrell, who had long served as the SNP's chief executive, has since been charged with embezzling SNP funds.

In January, Sturgeon announced that the pair had decided to end their marriage.

The Glasgow Southside MSP is one of the original MSPs elected in 1999.

In her letter to constituents, she highlighted policies introduced during her time in office such as the Scottish Child Payment and expanded early years education.

She said: "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."

Sturgeon led the SNP to a series of election victories at UK, Scottish and local level.

In 2022, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Holyrood did not have the power to stage another independence referendum - a move blocked by the UK government.

Sturgeon was succeeded Humza Yousaf as first minister.

He lasted just a year in the role, stepping down last April after a decision to rip up a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens left him facing a vote of no confidence.

Yousaf announced in December last year that he is to stand down as an MSP at the 2026 Holyrood election.

Following Sturgeon's latest announcement, Yousaf posted on X: "I am excited to see what Nicola goes on to do next.

"She is one of the most talented politicians of our generation. I am personally grateful for her advice, trust, and friendship over the years. With every good wish NicolaSturgeon."

Yousaf was replaced as first minister by Sturgeon's deputy John Swinney, who after a poor showing at July's general election has seen support for SNP stabilise in the polls.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said her party wished any departing MSP well "but we cannot forget the deep divisions in our country that Nicola Sturgeon created, fostered and encouraged".

She added: "By any objective analysis, her record as first minister is one of failure. Scottish education standards collapsed on her watch and the poverty-related attainment gap, which she promised to eradicate, widened.

"She presided over a drugs-death emergency, a ferries scandal, a crisis in our NHS, crumbling roads – and all while raising taxes on hard-working Scots, which stifled economic growth.

"Her reckless gender self-ID policy betrayed women, her soft-touch approach to justice betrayed victims and her shameful deletion of Covid WhatsApp messages denied bereaved families answers and highlighted the secrecy and cynicism that characterised her government."