For her sake and Scotland's, Nicola Sturgeon should not run again as an MSP

Thanks to her charisma and rhetoric, she was someone progressives in England would lament not being able to vote for, perhaps unaware of the gap between that language and delivery. Voters referred to her as “Nicola”, as if she was a friend, rather than a confident leader of a country. She was the SNP’s biggest selling point, if you were a supporter, and the main source of frustration if you weren’t.

Never was this stronger than during parts of the Covid pandemic, where compared to the lying clown car of an administration that was Boris Johnson’s government, Sturgeon seemed professional, competent, and caring. But then, compared to Johnson, a bull in a China shop seems restrained.

Having been First Minister for 3,051 days, Sturgeon has now been cleared by the SNP’s vetting process to stand in next year’s Holyrood election. A big name no longer at the forefront of politics, but instead choosing to serve from the backbenches. She absolutely shouldn’t.

For the good of the SNP, for her own sake, and perhaps the good of the country, it’s time for Sturgeon to walk away. The era of her being a bulletproof politician who could get away with anything is over. To stay would make her an anchor around the neck of the SNP, a former asset now tainted not just by police digging up her garden, but a record of delivery the public have a new view of in the aftermath.

That’s not just my view, it’s in the data. A YouGov tracker from last year had her disliked by 53 per cent of the population. In the list of Scottish politicians, she was only just ahead of George Galloway. George Galloway. Half of Scots thought she had been good for Scotland, but 37 per cent thought the country was now a worse place to live. Even if people liked her, there was still doubt Scotland had got better.

We saw at the general election that the public were fed up of the SNP, after years of power and a series of high-profile scandals. The party is on better footing now, but is still in dire need of a reset. Her hanging around will be a stick to beat the SNP with, a living example opposition parties can point to as why it’s time for a change in Holyrood.

For her personally, there also must be better things to do. She’s got a memoir coming out this year, why not enjoy it? Do the book tour, go on the speaking circuit, maybe join a podcast. She could even go on holiday, take the campervan out. What is there left for her to do in Holyrood?

Sturgeon quite possibly took the SNP as far as she can go. It’s time for her to follow her own advice, and walk away.