Good evening. In a shock announcement, Nicola Sturgeon has said she is stepping down as Scottish First Minister and SNP leader. We have analysis of what it means for the next general election, as well as for the future of Scotland and the UK.
Evening briefing: Today's essential headlines
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- Brianna Ghey | Death was 'extremely brutal and punishing'
- Politics | Corbyn won't stand for Labour at election, says Starmer
- Education | Five days of teachers’ strikes to go ahead
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Sturgeon admits she has become a 'polarising' figure
Less than a month ago, a defiant Nicola Sturgeon announced she had “plenty in the tank” to carry on as SNP leader as she insisted she would lead Scotland to independence. The 2024 general election, she said, would be a de facto referendum on the future of the Union, and a massive show of support for her party would leave Westminster with no choice but to allow another poll.
However, today, Ms Sturgeon admitted she had become a polarising figure for voters, as she formally announced her resignation after eight years in the job.
Gordon Rayner writes that the First Minister's demise was suddenly fast-tracked by a row that no one saw coming. It was on January 24 that Isla Bryson, a transgender woman, was convicted of raping two women. Despite having committed the rapes as a man, and still having male genitalia, Bryson was sent to a female prison to await sentencing.
Only weeks earlier, the Scottish Parliament had passed a new law, championed by Ms Sturgeon, that allowed trans people to change their legal gender without a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria - a move that was blocked by the Westminster government.
Although Ms Sturgeon insisted the Bryson case had nothing to do with the new law, and later intervened to have Bryson sent to a male prison, the fiasco prompted a meltdown in the SNP. Alan Cochrane writes that Ms Sturgeon is now leaving her trans mess for someone else to clear up.
Speaking at Bute House in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said she had told the SNP to begin the process of electing a new party leader and she "will remain in office until my successor is elected" - the full transcript of her speech is here.
Ms Sturgeon said she is of the view that there is now a majority of support for Scottish independence, but that support "needs to be solidified".
However, Alex Salmond, Ms Sturgeon’s predecessor as Scottish first minister, said there is "no clear strategy" for securing independence and "no obvious successor" to the outgoing SNP leader.
Allister Heath argues that woke extremism has destroyed both Ms Sturgeon and Scottish independence. One Telegraph reader wrote that Ms Sturgeon’s resignation is "Scotland’s real independence day" - you can read the reaction of other readers to the shock news here.
Labour look to launch comeback in Scotland
Senior Labour figures believe Ms Sturgeon’s resignation gives the party an opening to reverse its near decade-long slump in Scotland and help them win Number 10. Since the immediate aftermath of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, when Scots voted to stay in the UK, Labour dropped markedly in the polls as the SNP soared.
But with Ms Sturgeon calling time on her leadership, the SNP's months ahead have been plunged into uncertainty, opening the door further for a Labour comeback.
Our political editor Ben Riley-Smith writes that it could end up helping Sir Keir Starmer in his push to win back Downing Street, with the next UK-wide general election expected in 2024. “It is game on,” one senior figure involved in Labour’s Scottish strategy told The Telegraph after the news broke.
The building blocks of Labour’s attempt to take seats off the SNP are already being put in place - a dozen candidates have been announced, with party figures privately upbeat about the calibre of politicians putting their names forward.
Who is leading the SNP succession race?
Ms Sturgeon's departure means that the SNP will have its first leadership contest in almost two decades.
A new leader is expected to be announced within the next six to eight weeks following a vote of party members, in a race in which the party’s push for independence will be the crucial issue.
The move threatens to unsettle the party, with Kate Forbes, the party’s finance secretary before she departed on maternity leave, emerging as a frontrunner for the job. Ms Forbes is a member of the Free Church of Scotland, which conforms to a strict interpretation of the Bible, and was rumoured to be sceptical of Scotland’s gender reforms that were blocked by the UK Government.
We take a look at some of the other possible successors here.
Comment and analysis
- Patrick O'Flynn | First, Ardern. Now Sturgeon. Trudeau will be next
- Ross Clark | Poor old Nicola Sturgeon, crushed by her own egomania
- Jeremy Warner | Putin has given oil a new lease of life
- James Corrigan | If I was a Wales player I would go on strike too
- Madeline Grant | Customer service AI is programmed to infuriate us
World news: British medic killed in Ukraine named
A British man killed while working as a medic in Ukraine has been named as Jonathan Shenkin, 45, from Glasgow. In a tribute posted on social media, his family said he died in December after enlisting in the Ukrainian army. He "died as a hero in an act of bravery as a paramedic", they said. He is the eighth British man known to have died in Ukraine since the war began. Meanwhile, Kyiv's military administration said six Russian balloons were spotted over the Ukrainian capital today and most were shot down after being engaged by air defences.
Interview of the day
Bafta Rising Star hopeful Naomi Ackie: ‘I don’t look remotely like Whitney Houston’
The London actress, who could win the Rising Star Bafta for her Whitney biopic, on fighting sensationalism and navigating the fan backlash
Sport news: Southampton talks with Marsch hit snag
Talks between Southampton and Jesse Marsch have broken down, with interim manager Ruben Selles set to lead the club against Chelsea on Saturday. As reported by Telegraph Sport, the 39-year-old Selles has been seen as a viable potential longer-term option ever since Nathan Jones was sacked and the club is also looking into the possibility of bringing in a more experienced coach to work alongside him. They were also assessing other options and held positive talks on Monday with Marsch, who was sacked just over a week ago as Leeds United manager.
Editor's choice
Theatre | ‘It’s as if theatres are worried about offending’: why British playwriting is in crisis
Travel | Britain's maps are getting an overhaul – do you know your ‘campsites’ from your ‘castles’?
Business news: Waitrose slashes grocery prices
Waitrose is to cut prices across hundreds of grocery staples as it battles to win back cash-strapped middle class shoppers. The supermarket chain said it had invested a record £100m in cheaper items with nearly a quarter of price cuts being lowered by 20pc. Matt Oliver reports that the shake-up comes after a difficult year for Waitrose, in which the grocer’s market share fell and bosses revealed a drop in half-year sales. Fresh vegetables, meats and cheese are among the 300 Waitrose own-brand items getting cheaper - find out which other items are going down in price by clicking here.
Tonight starts now
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Three things for you
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And finally... for this evening's downtime
Does Waitrose Essentials really taste better than other budget brands? | Waitrose is slashing the price of its budget range but promises a continued commitment to quality – some of our journalists have put this to the taste test.
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