Nicola Sturgeon to resign as First Minister of Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon is to resign as First Minister of Scotland. The announcement is expected to be made in a press conference at 11am today in Edinburgh.

Sturgeon has been in the position since 2014 when she took over from previous Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond. She was the first woman to hold the position.

She has led the party to victory in each election since. Sturgeon has also led the campaign for a second Scottish independence referendum.

During her time in office, Sturgeon has been at the forefront of many signifcant points in Scottish politics. One of the most recent is the gender recognition bill.

Despite the bill passing through the Scottish parliament at Holyrood, it was rejected by Westminster. This was due to some ministers believing it would have “significant impact” on equalities.

Scottish National Party member of parliament for Glasgow South Stewart McDonald tweeted following the news of the resignation. He said: “Nicola Sturgeon is the finest public servant of the devolution age.

“Her public service, personal resilience and commitment to Scotland is unmatched, and she has served our party unlike anyone else. She will be an enormous loss as First Minister and SNP leader. Thank you!”

Who could replace Nicola Sturgeon as first minister of Scotland?

With the resignation all but confirmed, attention will now turn to who will replace her. One of these is current financial minister Kate Forbes who is currently on maternity leave.

Other names which could be in contention include currently deputy first minister John Swinney. Although despite being deputy to Sturgeon, there is no guarentee he will throw his hat in the ring.