Nicola Sturgeon is a giant in Scottish public life. A woman who made it to the very top in a country where macho men – notably her predecessor Alex Salmond – have dominated.
But how did she use power? Her legacy will be one of grand rhetoric, little delivery and the promotion of a crank gender ideology.
She was a formidable communicator, but under her leadership, Scotland’s schools slid down international rankings, the NHS creaked under pressure and the dream of independence stagnated.
She was always better at managing expectations than delivering results, and the longer she stayed in office, the clearer that became.
As a woman in Scottish politics, she faced a different standard from her male counterparts. No man is ever called a nippy sweetie.
Sexually harass like some men do, and your defenders crawl out of the woodwork. Be a woman with a view and you’ll be told to stay in your lane.
And yet, for all the challenges she faced as a woman in politics, she made it harder for others. The hostility faced by women who disagreed with her, particularly on gender recognition reform, was unprecedented.
Sturgeon had the power to lift women up, but she too often used it to silence those who did not fall in line.
The SNP under her leadership became a party where dissent, particularly from women, was met with scorn.
Women who had spent their lives advocating for equality, who had fought for protections in law, suddenly found themselves treated as obstacles to progress.
The debate over gender recognition reform was not just a policy disagreement; it became a defining moment for women’s rights in Scotland. A moment where Sturgeon chose to stand against those who had once been her allies, and with those men who claim to be women.
She was Scotland’s first female First Minister, but that alone is not a legacy. Leadership is about what you do with power, how you use it to bring others forward.
For all her skill as a political operator, she leaves behind a Scotland where women feel less secure in their rights, less certain of their protections, and more wary of speaking up.
Beyond that, her departure marks the end of an era. But it is not necessarily the beginning of something better. The SNP is weaker than at any point in the last 15 years, divided over its future.
Scotland’s public services are in decline. And the women who once thought her leadership would open doors for others now see how quickly those doors can be shut.
Nicola Sturgeon got the job. But in the end, she did not have the ability to deliver.
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