Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise upcoming departure as Scotland’s First Minister is seen as a game changer as the party sets its sights on the next general election.
Insiders hope the end of her nine years leading the Scottish National Party will kick-start Labour ’s revival north of the border, further bolstering hopes of toppling the Tories.
Leader Keir Starmer said yesterday: “Labour stands ready to be the change that Scotland needs.”
Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, said: “Scotland is desperate for change, it does need new ideas, it does need new passion.”
With Labour riding high in UK-wide polls and on course for a Westminster majority, he said that support in Scotland is key to securing a return to power for the first time since 2010.
Mr Sarwar, who hosts his party’s spring conference in Edinburgh this weekend, added: “For 12 years, I don’t think people in Scotland have believed a UK Labour government was possible, and I think that is changing now.
“People believe that change is possible. Our challenge is to demonstrate that hope and belief of a Labour government can be made a reality, to persuade people that is only possible if we are making significant gains and have significant representation in Scotland.”
Labour won 41 of 59 Scottish seats at the 2010 election, with the SNP on just six.
But in 2015, eight months after the independence referendum when Scotland voted to stay in the UK, the SNP claimed 56 seats, with Labour holding just one.
Since then, Labour has been battling to rebuild north of the border.
Ms Sturgeon’s high profile has been a barrier to a decisive breakthrough as she regularly enjoyed top popularity ratings and Labour struggled to tackle the SNP’s core messages.
But in recent weeks her leadership has been under mounting scrutiny amid unrest over transgender rights reforms and how best to pursue the dream of “the Nats” – secession from the UK. The 52-year-old, who succeeded her mentor Alex Salmond as First Minister in November 2014, has watched her popularity plummet.
A poll published last weekend found 42% of voters wanted her to quit immediately. Yesterday she said she would go once a successor is found.
She said: “I’ve believed that part of serving well would be to know almost instinctively when the time is right to make way for someone else.
“In my head and in my heart I know that time is now.”
In a highly personal speech during which she appeared close to tears, Ms Sturgeon, who is married to senior SNP figure Peter Murrell, added: “Giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it – the country deserves nothing less.
“But in truth that can only be done by anyone for so long. For me, it is now in danger of becoming too long.”
Ms Sturgeon denied that her decision was a reaction to “short-term pressures” and insisted that the recent controversy about a transgender double rapist being sent to a women’s jail “wasn’t the final straw”.
Her bombshell announcement at her official residence, Bute House in Edinburgh, triggered an SNP leadership race.
The winner is expected to be in post by March 19 when the party holds an extraordinary meeting to thrash out plans to fight the next general election as a de facto independence referendum.
Ms Sturgeon hatched the controversial plot after the UK Government and Supreme Court scuppered her bid for a second vote on separation.
Paying tribute to her yesterday, Mr Starmer said: “Nicola Sturgeon has been at the forefront of not just Scottish but UK politics for over two decades. She’s served with dedication and passion. I wish her all the best.”
PM Rishi Sunak said: “I wish her all the best for her next steps.”
