Nicola Sturgeon Resignation - 15/2/23

I was asked to comment on the First Minister’s resignation by the local press.

These comments are copied below:

"“I was as shocked as anyone when the news broke about the First Minister resigning. I am gutted she has decided to step down from the role she carried out with such grace and dignity. But as she referenced in her press conference, she is a human being at the end of the day - and serving as FM and party leader since November 2014 will have been extremely tiring and stressful.

“I commend her for her leadership over the last eight years and her service to the party for more than 30 years.

“She was a true leader in every sense of the word – personified through overseeing some of the most unprecedented times in our country’s history, namely the covid pandemic.

“As well as being strong and courageous in her leadership, I feel she changed the dynamic of mainstream party leaders. She was everything that her Westminster-elite opposition wasn't: transparent, personable and forward-thinking. At the point of resignation, she was still, by far,  the most popular leader of any political party in the UK.

“Nicola will be sorely missed but I wish her well and look forward to her still being a force and fighting for change from the backbenches at Holyrood.”