To be Scotland’s first female First Minister, and then the country’s longest serving First Minister, is an incredible achievement.
There are thousands upon thousands of young women in Scotland and further afield today who stand taller and believe they can be anything they want to be – including the most powerful politician in the country – because they saw Nicola Sturgeon lead the way.
She is a formidable politician and she leaves office on her own terms and in a strong position to define her own legacy.
Hundreds of thousands of column inches will be frantically battered into computers over the coming days, analysing what this means for the future of her party, the independence movement and the next UK General Election.
Others will focus on her domestic record and its highs and lows.
Some will look for alternative explanations for why she is stepping down as First Minister, and why now.
In the spirit of sisterhood, I believe her.
That was the most breathtaking and candid resignation speech I have ever heard. And I doubt you’ll ever hear one like it from a male politician.
It was a speech where perceived weakness was presented as strength.
A speech which centred on knowing when to go. Or when there’s not enough “gas in the tank” – a phrase now trademarked to another figurehead of female leadership, Jacinda Ardern.
Sturgeon balanced commitment to Scotland and loved ones
She also spoke openly and frankly about the cost of high political office on the individual.
Not just to your own health and general wellbeing, but to your ability to go to the shops, meet friends for a coffee or open your front door with wet hair and in tracky bottoms.
Everyday things which most people take for granted become risks to be assessed, because 99.9% of the population don’t just know who you are, they know what they think about you.
These might strike you as trivial matters. But they are, in reality, enormous. And over time they build a claustrophobia that must feel crushing to someone of Nicola Sturgeon’s prominence.
For, as she reminded us in her resignation speech, she is more than the day job.
She is a daughter, a sister, an aunty and a wife. All relationships that have no doubt been affected by the unrelenting demands of the job.
The families of prominent politicians have to look on in horror as the person they love is annihilated by often faceless, but always sad, little bullies on the internet.
Loved ones live in fear of the day that online warfare becomes a real world act of anger or violence.
‘Working class girl from Irvine knew what mattered’
I spent my political career in opposition to Nicola Sturgeon on so many fronts. So forgive me for taking the time to detail some of her successes that may get missed in the footnotes of history.
They are actions that make me proud to live in this country, which has been shaped by decisions she took in our national Parliament.
Children who grew up in the care of the state go to university now on a full bursary and leave with no debt.
They also have a right to return to care and are no longer declared homeless on their 16th birthday.
Thousands more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and poor postcodes get into and graduate from university because of targets she set and improvements to the support system she made.
This working class girl from Irvine knew why that mattered.
Nicola Sturgeon legacy on equality is impressive
Nicola Sturgeon championed LGBT rights, first with equal marriage and now with the Gender Reform Act.
In doing so, she proved there’s no contradiction between feminism and LGBT activism.
She also championed the agency of women in war torn countries with Scottish Government to help them rebuild and reform.
And she has taken the first steps towards making misogyny a hate crime in what will be ground-breaking and world leading legislation later this year.
This combined with major reforms of sexual offence laws and vastly expanded state funded childcare will be a legacy for women that will stand the test of time.
Her commitment to equality has been steadfast, absolute and utterly progressive.
So in the spirit of sisterhood and the pursuit of equality, I say thank you First Minister
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