Nicola Sturgeon's term as first minister of Scotland began on 20 November 2014 when she was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed Alex Salmond's resignation following the defeat of the Yes campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. She is the first female and longest serving officeholder. Sturgeon's premiership was dominated by Brexit, which she used as an argument in favour of a second referendum on Scottish independence, however, opposition from the UK Government, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the ruling against her government holding an advisory referendum would be obstacles for Sturgeon securing her legacy of gaining Scottish independence. Sturgeon's term ended on 29 March 2023, following her resignation announcement on 15 February, in which she claimed occupational burnout was the reason for her resignation.
As a result of a majority of Scots voting to remain in the United Kingdom in the 2014 independence referendum, Salmond resigned as first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party. Sturgeon, who had served in his government as deputy first minister, emerged as the only candidate and was elected unopposed. As part of an agreement to introduce more devolved powers if Scotland voted to remain in the UK, the Smith Commission was set up, resulting in the Scotland Act 2016. Substantial control over income tax and limited social security powers were introduced, making Sturgeon the most powerful first minister in devolved history. She led the SNP through the 2015 general election where it enjoyed a surge in support, winning all but three of the fifty-nine seats in Scotland. The party replaced the Liberal Democrats as the third largest party in the House of Commons.
Despite losing her majority in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Sturgeon formed a minority government, securing a second term in office. In the 2016 European Union membership referendum a majority of people in Britain voted to leave the EU, despite a majority in Scotland voting to remain. In response, Sturgeon made calls for a Section 30 order, the transfer of power to hold a second referendum, which have been rejected by prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. Plans for a second referendum came to a halt in early 2020 amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sturgeon led the Scottish Government's response, implementing a series of lockdowns, restricting large aspects of social interactions and oversaw the rollout of the vaccine programme. Shortly afterwards, opposition parties held a motion of no confidence against Sturgeon after a parliamentary committee concluded she had breached ministerial code during the Alex Salmond scandal. The vote did not pass and Sturgeon was cleared of breaching the ministerial code by the independent barrister James Hamilton.
Sturgeon led the SNP to a fourth consecutive win, securing a third term in the Scottish Parliament in the 2021 election. The SNP fell a seat short of a majority and later announced a partnership agreement, known as the Bute House agreement, with the Scottish Greens, which created a pro-independence majority at Holyrood. Sturgeon renewed attempts to hold a second referendum, with a plan to hold a referendum on 19 October 2023; however, the UK Supreme Court ruled against it; as a result, Sturgeon intended to make the next UK general election a de facto independence referendum. Sturgeon became the first first minister in history to attend the accession council of a new monarch following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Her government introduced the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which sought to amend the Gender Recognition Act of the UK Parliament, allowing 16-year-olds to change gender and making it simpler for people to change their legal gender. The bill caused internal divisions within the SNP as she faced the biggest backbench revolt since her party entered office in 2007. The bill passed with the a majority support of the parliament, but the UK Government invoked section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 to block the bill from receiving royal assent, the first time section 35 had been used.
Scottish National Party leadership bid
On 19 September 2014, the day after the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum, Alex Salmond announced his intention to resign as leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland at the annual SNP conference in November, after a majority of Scots vote to remain part of the United Kingdom. Nicola Sturgeon, his deputy, quickly emerged as a likely candidate to succeed Salmond, and on 24 September, Sturgeon officially launched her campaign bid to succeed him as leader of the SNP at the November leadership election. It quickly became apparent that no other candidate would be able to receive enough required nominations to run a credible leadership campaign. During the speech launching her campaign, Sturgeon announced that she would resign as depute leader, triggering a concurrent depute leadership election; the MSPs Angela Constance and Keith Brown and the MP Stewart Hosie all nominated themselves to succeed Sturgeon as Depute Leader.
Nominations for the SNP leadership closed on 15 October, with Sturgeon confirmed as the only candidate. SNP convener Derek Mackay publicly congratulated Sturgeon as de facto leader in waiting, saying that she would be "a fantastic new leader" for both the SNP and for Scotland. On this date, Sturgeon also came out on top in a trust rating opinion poll, conducted for the SNP, which indicated that 54% of the Scottish population trusted her to "stand up for Scotland's interests". She was formally acclaimed as the first female leader of the SNP on 14 November 2014 at the Autumn Conference in Perth, with Hosie as her depute. This also made her first minister-designate, given the SNP's absolute majority in the Scottish Parliament. In her first speech as leader, Sturgeon said that it was "the privilege of her life" to lead the party she joined as a teenager.
On 18 November 2014, Salmond formally resigned as First Minister of Scotland and the election for the new first minister took place the following day. Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, stood for election. Sturgeon received 66 votes, Davidson received 15 and there were 39 abstentions. As mentioned above, the SNP's absolute majority made Sturgeon's election all but certain. Although, Salmond did not officially tender his resignation as First Minister until 18 November 2014, Sturgeon was not sworn in until two days later. From 18 November until her officially appointment on 20 November, she served as the acting First Minister, essentially the First Minister-elect.
First year in office On 20 November 2014, Sturgeon was officially sworn into the office of First Minister of Scotland at the Court of Session in Edinburgh after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by Queen Elizabeth II. On the day of her appointment she became the fifth and first female first minister. The same day of taking office, she was appointed to the Privy Council and therefore granted the style 'The Right Honourable'. On 21 November, she unveiled her Cabinet with a 50/50 gender balance, promoting Finance Secretary John Swinney to become her deputy first minister.
During her first First Minister's Questions after being sworn in, Sturgeon tried to strike a conciliatory tone, saying that she came into her new post "with an open mind and a willingness to hear proposals from all sides of the chamber."Nicola Sturgeon officially sworn in as Scotland's First Minister. STV News, 20 November 2014.
2015 Westminster landslide
Sturgeon took part in several Scottish and UK-wide TV election debates in the run up to the 2015 general election and according to opinion polls was regarded to have had a successful performance. The SNP went on to win a landslide victory in Scotland, with 56 out of 59 seats.
On 4 April 2015, a leaked memo from the Scotland Office alleged that Sturgeon privately told the French ambassador Sylvie Bermann that she would "rather see David Cameron remain as PM". This was in contrast to her publicly stated opposition to a Conservative Government on the run up to the election. The memo was quickly denied by both Sturgeon and the French consulate. It was later noted that the memo had contained a disclaimer that parts of the conversation may have been "lost in translation" and its release had been ordered by then Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael. Sturgeon stated that Carmichael had "engaged in dirty tricks" and that he should consider his position as an MP.
2016 Scottish Parliament election Sturgeon contested her first election as SNP leader at the 2016 election. The SNP fell two seats short of securing another overall majority, but remained the largest party in the chamber, with more than double the seats of the next-largest party, the Scottish Conservatives.
Sturgeon was formally nominated for a second term on 17 May, defeating Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie by a vote of 63 to 5, with 59 members abstaining.
Attempts for second independence referendum Sturgeon confirmed in June 2016 that the Scottish government had formally agreed to draft legislation to allow a second independence referendum to take place. As the constitution is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998, for a future referendum on Scottish independence to be legal under UK law, it would need to receive the consent of the British Parliament to take place.
Prior to the day the Prime Minister triggered Article 50, formally allowing the process of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, the Scottish Parliament voted 69 to 59 in favour of another independence referendum. By the end of that week, on 30 March 2017, Sturgeon wrote to the Prime Minister requesting a Section 30 order, formally devolving the responsibility and power to the Scottish Government to plan for and hold another referendum on Scottish Independence. Previously, May and David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, have both highlighted that as the negotiations begin with the European Union on the United Kingdom's withdraw, it is important for Scotland to work with the UK Government to get the best exit deal for both the United Kingdom and Scotland, stating that "now is not the time for another referendum".
Following the 2017 UK general election, Nicola Sturgeon announced that the Scottish Government would postpone legislation pertaining to the proposed second referendum on Scottish independence until at least autumn 2018, when it is believed that the outcome of Brexit negotiations should become clearer.
2016 EU membership referendum The UK Government held the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum to decide the future of the United Kingdom's European Union membership, in which all 32 council areas in Scotland voted by a majority for the United Kingdom to remain a member of the EU. Across Scotland, 62% of voters backed the UK remaining a member of the EU, with 38% voting for the UK to leave. Overall 52% of voters in the United Kingdom voted for Brexit (leaving the EU), with 48% voting to remain.
In response to the result, on 24 June 2016, Sturgeon said that Scottish Government officials would begin planning for a second independence referendum. Sturgeon claimed that it was "clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union" and that Scotland had "spoken decisively" with a "strong, unequivocal" vote to remain in the European Union. Sturgeon said it was "democratically unacceptable" that Scotland could be taken out of the EU "against its will".