The departure of Nicola Sturgeon occurred at the appropriate time, perhaps even a little bit late. She was not only one of the most important leaders the United Kingdom has seen in recent times, but she was also one of the most polarizing. Her capacity to stoke the Scottish people’s sense of distinction from that of England gave the independence movement fresh cause for optimism; but, this cause, which she used as the yardstick by which to judge herself above all others, has been gaining less traction and appears to be on hold for the time being.
In the early months of the outbreak, there could not have been a more striking contrast between Boris Johnson and Sturgeon than the neat and ordered demeanor of Sturgeon. That was without a doubt one of her shining moments. She made several lockdown decisions for Scotland by utilizing the powers granted to her by the devolved government. These decisions were never much distinct from those made for England, but they were frequently revealed just a few hours earlier.
She made use of the platform, with the cameras on her, to drive home the idea that Scotland could create its own regulations, despite the fact that analysts believe these elements had little impact on the death rate – although poverty and other health support factors make it difficult to compare the two – despite the fact that these factors make comparisons difficult. Her experience in the aftermath of Brexit was her second greatest moment. She stated that because Scots cast an overwhelming majority of their votes to remain in the European Union (EU), they should have the right to secede from the United Kingdom and join another union.
In particular, younger people responded by supporting the independence cause in large numbers. But two recent failures demonstrated that her star was beginning to fade. She was advised that Scotland simply did not have the authorities to hold one on its own if Westminster said no, which is exactly what the UK government did, causing her to lose the struggle to organize a second independence referendum in November, which took place in the Supreme Court. She was ultimately unsuccessful in her endeavor. It was difficult to understand how her drive for independence could ever make any forward.
And the proposed improvements to the gender recognition procedure in Scotland have been blocked by the government of the United Kingdom; nevertheless, anxiety over her proposals within Scotland meant that this setback did not gain her the support at home that she had hoped for. She was also accused of engaging in partisan politics by pushing through unpopular policies only for the sake of their ability to unsettle the administration in the United Kingdom.
