Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of leaving a “toxic” political legacy that divided and damaged Scotland by pushing gender self-ID among other contentious agendas after announcing she will stand down as an MSP. The Telegraph has more.
The former First Minister said she would not contest next year’s Scottish Parliament election, marking the end of her front-line political career.
In a statement posted on social media following months of speculation, she said “the time is right for me to embrace different opportunities in a new chapter of my life”.
Senior SNP figures lavished praise on her record in office, focusing in particular on her providing “important national leadership at a time of crisis during the Covid pandemic”. [Oh dear, no lessons learned there then.]
But the Tories said she was the “most divisive Scottish politician of the devolution era”, highlighting her “toxic” plans to allow biological men to self-identify as women.
The Crown Office prosecution service also confirmed that she remained under investigation as part of the long-running criminal inquiry into the SNP’s finances.
It emerged last September that Police Scotland detectives who had been investigating her as part of Operation Branchform had asked prosecutors for guidance on the next steps.
In January she disclosed she was divorcing Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former Chief Executive. He has been charged with embezzling funds from the party and she has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Ms Sturgeon is the latest in a series of SNP big hitters to announce they are standing down as MSPs at the May 2026 election, including Humza Yousaf, her short-lived successor as First Minister and party leader.
In a letter to local SNP members posted on Instagram, the Glasgow Southside MSP said: “I am writing to let you know that I have decided not to seek re-election to the Scottish Parliament next year.
“Reaching this decision has been far from easy, 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.” …
Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Tory Deputy Leader, wished Ms Sturgeon well but added: “We cannot forget the deep divisions in our country that Nicola Sturgeon created, fostered and encouraged.
“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.”
Worth reading in full.
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