Sturgeon: I was wrong to think my successor could 'reset' the SNP government

Nicola Sturgeon has admitted that she was wrong to believe a new leader could “reset” the SNP government following her resignation. 

Humza Yousaf succeeded Sturgeon as first minister a month after her departure in February 2023, but held office for just 13 months. 

He was viewed as Sturgeon’s most obvious replacement, beating current Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and now-Alba MSP Ash Regan in the race for leadership of the SNP. 

His time in Bute House was overshadowed by high-profile scandals, from the ongoing police probe into SNP finances to former health secretary Michael Matheson’s £11,000 iPad bill. 

Yousaf quit after his botched decision to end the Scottish Government’s power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens in April 2024. 

Speaking to the Institute for Government, Sturgeon said: “I think it turns out I was wrong about this, but I convinced myself that if I took myself out somebody else would be able to reset things. 

“Obviously that didn't happen and hasn't happened, but that's a more global phenomenon.” 

She added that she felt she had “become a polarising figure” in Scottish politics before tendering her resignation. 

Yousaf, who was also interviewed by the Institute in a series of conversations with former ministers of the UK’s devolved governments, said that he had external and internal opponents throughout his time as first minister. 

“I had those who had never accepted my victory in the leadership contest,” he said. 

“When you are technically a minority party within the parliament, small groups of people who are malcontent can still make your life really difficult.” 

The MSP for Glasgow Pollok, who recently announced his intention to stand down from parliament ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election, added that it was “wise” for Sturgeon to distance herself from his stint in power during the Operation Branchform investigation into party finances.  

Yousaf also revealed that his phone was “burning hot” with calls persuading him to scrap the coalition agreement before the Greens did. 

Green co-leader Lorna Slater, who served in Yousaf’s government, told the Institute that the ex-first minister’s decision to bin the power-sharing deal was a “miscalculation”. 

Sturgeon, who now serves as a backbench MSP, advised future first ministers not to “outsource your decisions to officials or political advisers”. 

She said: “You’re the boss effectively. 

“I don't say that as an ego thing, but you're accountable, you're elected, you're the one that has to stand or fall on your decisions.” 

Sturgeon said that the role of first minister means that “if you can't give it one hundred percent all of the time, you shouldn’t do it”. 

Meanwhile, Yousaf reminded his successors at the top of the Scottish Government to own their mistakes. 

“You are far better, if a mistake is made, being up-front about it, being open about it, and being honest about it,” he said. 

“And, for the most part, believe it or not, your opponents – be they in the political benches or in the media – will be far more forgiving of you than you might well expect.”