Why has Nicola Sturgeon resigned as First Minister of Scotland?

It came just two weeks after Ms Sturgeon insisted she had "plenty in the tank", and placed a £50 bet with Conservative leader Douglas Ross that she would not stand down before the next Holyrood election.

What has changed? Here's what the First Minister said about her decision to step down.

It's not about the GRA reform bill

The controversial reform to the Gender Recognition Act has been a hot topic in recent weeks.

The bill, which would allow people to change their assigned gender without the need for a medical diagnosis.

It was passed at Holyrood by the SNP, the Scottish Greens, Labour and the Liberal Democrats but blocked by the Westminster government using Section 35 of the Scotland Act.

The case of Isla Bryson, a convicted rapist who was sent to a women's prison while in the process of transitioning, was highlighted by those who feel the bill represents a danger to women and single-sex spaces.

However, Ms Sturgeon made clear that she had not been motivated by that or other recent events.

She said: "Though I know it will be tempting to see it as such, this decision is not a reaction to short term pressures.

"Of course, there are difficult issues confronting the government just now. But when is that ever not the case.

"I have spent almost three decades in front line politics - a decade and a half on the top or second top rung of government.

"When it comes to navigating choppy waters, resolving seemingly intractable issues, or soldiering on when walking away would be the simpler option, I have plenty experience to draw on.

"So if this was just a question of my ability - or my resilience - to get through the latest period of pressure, I would not be standing here today."

Pressure of the job

While Ms Sturgeon made clear she was not "expecting violins", she highlighted the difficulty of the job as one reason for her departure.

She explained: "I’ve been First Minister for over 8 years; and I was Deputy First Minister for the best part of 8 years before that.

"These jobs are a privilege.

"But they are also - rightly - hard.

"And, especially in the case of First Minister, relentlessly so.

"Now to be clear, I am not expecting violins - but I am a human being as well as a politician."

Time for family

Ms Sturgeon also highlighted the toll the job has taken on her family and loved ones.

She said: "When I entered government in 2007, my niece and youngest nephew were babies, just months old.

"As I step down, they are about to celebrate their 17th birthdays.

"Exactly the age to be horrified at the thought of your auntie suddenly having more time for you.

"My point is this.

"Giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it. The country deserves nothing less.

"But in truth that can only be done, by anyone, for so long. For me, it is now in danger of becoming too long.

"A First Minister is never off duty.

"Particularly in this day and age, there is virtually no privacy.

"Ordinary stuff that most people take for granted, like going for a coffee with friends or for a walk on your own becomes very difficult.

"And the nature and form of modern political discourse means there is a much greater intensity - dare I say it, brutality - to life as a politician than in years gone by.

"All in all - and for a long time without it being apparent - it takes its toll, on you and on those around you."

Covid burnout

Ms Sturgeon was praised for her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, but admitted it took a toll on her.

She said at her news conference: "Leading this country through the Covid pandemic is, by far, the toughest thing I’ve done.

"It may well be the toughest thing I ever do. I certainly hope so.

"Now, by no stretch of the imagination was my job the hardest in the country during that time.

"But the weight of responsibility was immense.

"And it’s only very recently, I think, that I’ve started to comprehend, let alone process, the physical and mental impact of it on me.

"So, what I am saying is this.

"If the only question was, can I battle on for another few months, then the answer is yes. Of course I can.

"But if the question is can I give this job everything it demands and deserves for another year, let alone for the remainder of this parliamentary term - give it every ounce of energy that it needs, in the way that I have strived to do every day for the past 8 years - the answer, honestly, is different."

Referendum question

Ms Sturgeon has dedicated her political career to Scottish independence, and the SNP were due to hold a special conference to discuss the possibility of a 'de facto referendum' on the issue and how that would be handled.

The First Minister stated that she felt her voice would hold huge sway in the outcome, and that she didn't want to lead the party down a road she may not be around to walk.

Ms Sturgeon said: "My preference of using the next Westminster election as a de facto referendum is well known.

"I’ve never pretended it is perfect - no second-best option ever is - nor that there are no alternatives.

"That is why I have always been clear that the decision must be taken by the SNP collectively, not by me alone.

"But I know my party well enough to understand that my view as leader would carry enormous, probably decisive, weight when our conference meets next month.

"And I cannot - in good conscience - ask the party to choose an option based on my judgment whilst not being convinced that I would be there as leader to see it through.

"By making my decision clear now, I free the SNP to choose the path it believes to be the right one, without worrying about the perceived implications for my leadership - and in the knowledge that a new leader will steer us on that path."

Division

Ms Sturgeon also stated that she felt she personally had become too divisive to ensure a solid and consistent majority for independence.

She said: "I feel more and more each day that the fixed opinions people increasingly have about me - as I say, some fair, others little more than caricature - are being used as barriers to reasoned debate.

"Statements and decisions that should not be controversial at all quickly become so.

"Issues that are controversial end up almost irrationally so.

"Too often I see issues presented and as a result viewed - not on their own merits - but through the prism of what I think and what people think about me.

"It has always been my belief that no one individual should be dominant in any system for too long.

"But while it’s easy to hold that view in the abstract, it is harder to live by it.

"With this decision, I am trying to do so."