IT would be fair to say Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that she’s quitting Holyrood has provoked a somewhat varied response.
Two opposing tribes were out of the traps like whippets as soon as the ex First Minister broke the news on Instagram.
Nicola Sturgeon announced she won’t stand for election next year[/caption]
There was a divisive farewell for the divisive politician[/caption]
Let’s call the first bunch the Sorrowful Farewell Fellowship. These pearl-clutchers were clearly distraught that Saint Nic was abandoning the parliamentary crusade for all things holy.
Then there was the other lot, who I’ll name the Two-Finger Salute Crew. Their wishes of good riddance to bad rubbish were as plentiful – if not more – so than those of the sorrowful squad.
All in all, a predictably divisive farewell for a particularly divisive politician.
There were others whose reaction would have been more along the lines of “Oh, her – I thought she’d gone two years ago.”
I fit into another category – a fictional support group where weary-looking folk sigh a lot and point out that Ms Sturgeon has a book coming out in five months’ time, and we’re now living through and helping her to write the final few chapters.
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After all, she wants people – or at least reviewers – to read right to the end.
Drama is needed for that memoir. Perhaps an account of weeks, months, spent agonising over whether to stay in parliament, or to go.
Would Saint Nic’s work now be better pursued in Holyrood or elsewhere to maximise benefit for the entirely worthy causes she so dearly cares about?
In the end, and tortured by this decision, she sorrowfully bows out.
But she vows to selflessly continue her life-long fight for a better world, as an outsider, freed from the shackles of convention and the Scottish Parliament’s building’s terrible mobile phone reception.
When the book is turned into a movie, there will be a standing ovation at this point from the audience as she’s welcomed on stage to collect the 2028 Nobel Peace Prize.
Back in the real world, this decision was highly likely to have been made two years ago when Ms Sturgeon stood down as First Minister.
Who wants to sit around in Holyrood for the rest of their lives as a has-been?
Certainly not Nicola Sturgeon, as her attendance record has shown since 2023.
So, it’s goodbye to the former First Minister next year.
However, the sorrowful should not mourn and the good riddance gang should keep some bile in reserve.
Because it’s highly unlikely we won’t be seeing a lot more of Ms Sturgeon over the next years and beyond.
In fact, my support group is braced in case of more announcements in the coming weeks and months.
That book doesn’t come out until August. And, frankly, those final chapters won’t write themselves.
Sturgeon’s full letter
Dear friends,
I am writing to let you know that I have decided not to seek re-election to the Scottish Parliament next year.
As members of the SNP in Glasgow Southside, I wanted you to be the first to know.
I also wanted to put on record my heartfelt thanks to all of you for the unstinting support, loyalty and friendship you have shown me over the years in which I have had the privilege of being your MSP.
It means more to me than you will ever know.
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.
Whoever you choose will have my full support and I look forward to campaigning alongside you to ensure that Glasgow Southside remains an SNP-held constituency.
Being one of the original 1999 members of the Scottish Parliament and, by the time of the election, having served in it for twenty-seven years – almost exactly half my life – has been an honour beyond words.
It is also one that I could never even have imagined when I joined the SNP at just sixteen years old.
The gratitude I owe to my constituents, past and present, for the trust they have placed in me knows no bounds.
I will continue to represent them to the best of my ability until I step down next year-assisted by my dedicated office staff, to whom I also owe grateful thanks.
Glasgow Southside is a wonderful constituency.
Indeed, in my (completely unbiased) opinion, it is the best in Scotland.
With its rich diversity of culture, faith and ethnicity, it is in many ways a microcosm of what a vibrant, successful country should look like.
Like every area, Glasgow Southside faces challenges. I have done my best every day as an MSP to help overcome these.
While my successor must continue that work, they will also be representing a constituency in which much progress has been made.
There is new and improved housing across the constituency. The iconic – and rebuilt – Citizens Theatre will soon re-open its doors, paving the way for the further regeneration of the Gorbals.
Govanhill Baths is continuing its journey back to being the beating heart of its community.
A new footbridge spanning the Clyde now links Govan to the north of the city.
Anyone who takes a walk through Shawlands or Pollokshields or down Victoria Road will know that these are now amongst the most exciting, up and coming parts of our city.
I am so proud to have represented all of the fantastic communities that make up Glasgow Southside – its people, places and landmarks will be in my heart forever.
Of course, for most of my years as an MSP, I have also been a Minister in the Scottish Government.
I hope that the policies I have been able to implement, particularly as First Minister – from the Scottish Child Payment and expanded early years education, to investment in housing and new hospitals – have benefited my constituents as much as they have people across the rest of Scotland.
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.
Indeed, given the challenges facing the world today, it is more important than ever that progressive voices, inside and outside of Parliaments, continue to speak up for fairness, equality and dignity for all.
Be in no doubt that I will always speak out and stand up for what I believe in.
In making this announcement, it is inevitable that I feel a mixture of sorrow and anticipation. I am sad to be closing the book on this remarkable and deeply fulfilling chapter of my life; but I am also hugely excited about the start of a new phase, in which I will discover different ways to advance the causes I care so much about.
I hope to stay in touch with all of you along the way.
With my love, gratitude, and eternal friendship,
Nicola
