Nicola Sturgeon has claimed she could remain as an MSP for another two decades as speculation intensifies over the former first minister’s future.
The ex-SNP leader has passed her party’s internal vetting procedures so could put herself forward as a candidate for the next poll in 2026 – but has so far refused to confirm or deny whether she will stand again.
“I haven’t decided yet. I’m still mulling it over and weighing it up,” Sturgeon said when asked about the subject today.
“Being a member of the Scottish Parliament is a huge privilege. I’ve been fortunate to be in Holyrood since 1999 and it’s a hard thing to voluntarily give up.
“On the other hand, that’s a huge chunk of my life, and maybe it’s time to give other people a chance. So these are the things I’m weighing up, but I’ve not yet come to a final decision.”
Talking to the Bylines Scotland programme on Glad Radio, she added: “And I think if I whether I was to stand down soon or stay an MSP — with the consent of the people, obviously — for another 10 or 20, years, there’s always going to be a sense of unfinished business, because you always want to see improvements in the lives of people you represent.”
Sturgeon also hit out at some of her critics over the Gender Recognition Reform Bill – and claimed it was “bunkum” to claim she had allowed “gender politics” to dominate quite a lot of her time in government.
She added: “If, by gender politics, people are including promoting gender equality, making sure women got a fair crack at the whip, making sure women were properly represented in my cabinet, that we were encouraging and pushing companies to make sure women were properly represented on their boards, or making sure that we were tackling misogyny and sexism, I will never apologise for trying to do that.
“Because sexism, misogyny, the many ways in which women don’t get the same opportunities as men, is one of the biggest challenges we should take on as a society.
“If people are talking about trying to deliver greater dignity and respect for that tiny, tiny, tiny proportion of the population who are trans, I didn’t spend much time quantitatively on that.
“But do I regret trying to reduce stigma and discrimination and trauma and heartache for that tiny number of people in our society? No, because one of the things that burns passionately in me is a belief in equality, a hatred of discrimination and prejudice.”
She said some of her “loudest critics on that issue” were the “ones who don’t talk about anything else other than that issue.”
Sturgeon announced her resignation as first minister and SNP leader in February 2023. She was arrested by detectives in June that year in connection with Operation Branchform, but was later released without charge.
She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
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