Nicola Sturgeon reflects on her leadership during final First Ministers Questions
Nicola Sturgeon ended her final First Ministers Questions (FMQs) to a standing ovation after drawing on the work she has done in her years as First Minister (FM) and the female empowerment that came with it.
The FM stepped into the chamber for her final FMQs after more than 35 years in politics and 24 years as an active member of parliament, 16 years in government and more than eight years as leader of the SNP and Scotland.
Sturgeon recalled her time as first minister as all at once “challenging, exhilarating and exhausting.” casting back to three years ago today when she stood in Bute House delivering the announcement of a national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
And nothing she does in future will compare to the experience she has had for the last 3046 days calling the job “the privilege of a lifetime.”
Sturgeon admitted she had made mistakes and stated there were things she wished she had done differently in her years as leader. However, she is “proud of what has been achieved.”
Drawing attention to the widening access programmes for higher education with people from backgrounds like herself going to university.
“It is time for Nicola sturgeon the politician to make a bit of space for Nicola Sturgeon the person.”
She drew attention to John Swinney and her constituency party and constituents thanking them for putting time into her leadership.
She urged fellow politicians in the Scottish Parliament and those in the leadership race to always draw strength, energy and wisdom from the people of this “wonderful country” and to never forget that every day in the office is an “opportunity to make something better for someone somewhere in Scotland.”
“Words will never adequately convey the attitude and the awe I hold in my heart for the opportunity I have had to serve as your first minister. It truly has been the privilege of my lifetime.”
In an ode to her predecessors Sturgeon said: “You won’t get everything right, but it is better to aim high and fall short than to not try at all.”
