Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called time on her Holyrood career by announcing that she will not seek re-election next year.

The ex-SNP leader said in a statement that the decision had been “far from easy”. Her announcement has divided opinion on her legacy, with loyalists proclaiming her success in “changing” Scotland, while critics of her record say she leaves behind a track record of failure.

In her statement, she said she had “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.”

Ms Sturgeon is Scotland’s longest-serving first minister and the first woman to hold the position. After eight years in the role she resigned in March 2023, just ahead of a police inquiry in the party’s finances.

In June that year she was arrested and released without charge. She insists she has done nothing wrong.

Her husband Peter Murrell, who had served as the SNP’s chief executive, has since been charged with embezzling SNP funds.

In January, Ms Sturgeon announced that the couple were ending their marriage.

Some will say that she has little choice other than to leave, given the police inquiry that has hung over her and her now-estranged husband for two years and shows no sign of being concluded any time soon.

Her supporters point to her management of the Covid pandemic, which was contrasted with the chaotic approach by Boris Johnson. Others say she used the crisis for further political point-scoring, a claim she has denied.

She is among a handful of MSPs who were elected in 1999 when the parliament resumed and in her letter to constituents she highlighted progress in areas such as the Scottish Child Payment and expanded early years education.

Critics say that is a short list of achievements and that her tenure as First Minister was unimpressive. Her record on the economy was dominated by the over-budget ferries, slow growth, a skills shortage and higher taxes.

The dial barely moved forward on many of her other priority areas, including independence and education.

In her letter, she said: “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.” .

She joins a long list of MSPs who have decided not to seek re-election. They include her successor as First Minister Humza Yousaf, the Finance Secretary Shona Robison and the Business minister Richard Lochhead. Yesterday Christina McKelvie said she will not seek nomination as the SNP candidate for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency. 

 First Minister and SNP Leader John Swinney said: “Nicola Sturgeon has served Scotland with distinction during her time in public life – as an MSP, as a government minister and as First Minister. 

“Her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic stands as a particular example of a personal strength and commitment to the public good.  At a uniquely difficult time, Nicola provided the reassurance, the calm head and the commitment to public health that people in Scotland needed.

“Nicola has changed our country for the better – including policies like the Scottish Child Payment, the extension of funded childcare and the Baby Box.  Her leadership on The Promise to care-experienced children will also ensure lasting change.

“I am grateful to Nicola for everything she has done for our country – and for her friendship over the years.  I wish her all the best in this next chapter of her life.”

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton was among those to take an opposite view. She said: “We wish any departing MSP well, regardless of their party or politics.

“But 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.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said: “Whatever you think of her legacy, Nicola Sturgeon’s impact on Scottish politics has been undeniable.  

“The SNP have been in power for too long, and the departure of another big figure is further proof of their decline.

“For so many people across Scotland, it feels like nothing works anymore. Next year, they will have a chance to draw a line under SNP division and neglect.”