LONDON (AP) — Scotland’s independence movement needs a new leader — and a new plan.
With the resignation of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the decades-long campaign by Scottish nationalists to secede from the United Kingdom is losing its star politician and strongest communicator, at a time when efforts to hold a new vote on independence are at an impasse.
The Times of London said Thursday that Sturgeon’s departure was a “huge boost to unionism,” and a “generational setback” to the independence cause. Financial Times columnist Robert Shrimsley said simply: “Nicola Sturgeon ran out of road.”
Sturgeon took the U.K. by surprise when she announced her resignation on Wednesday after eight years in office, saying she knew “in my head and in my heart” it was time to leave.
She will remain first minister for several more weeks while the Scottish National Party picks a new leader, a job for which there is no clear favorite. Potential successors include Angus Robertson, a Sturgeon ally who serves as Scotland’s constitution secretary, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf. But none of the contenders has Sturgeon’s profile or proven political skills.