Image source, PA Media

Jim Sillars, the former deputy leader of the SNP, said that Sturgeon had been "paying the price of a whole series of strategic mistakes and a level of incompetence in government".

In a scathing contribution to BBC Radio 5 Live, Sillars said that the chief mistake Sturgeon made was that after the Brexit vote she said she would call a referendum - although the Scottish parliament never had the power on its own to hold it.

"From 2016 right up until the present time we’ve had six wasted years in pursuing something that could never actually take place... She brought egg on the SNP’s face," Sillars said.

He also said that the work on pushing for independence "hasn't been done", as polls show.

"The lesson we learned from the Salmon/Sturgeon era is that if you engage in the cult of personality and build up a figure that cannot be criticised then it’s going to end in failure and end in tears," Sillars said.

"I hope the next leader takes the lesson from that and doesn’t surround themselves with acolytes who tell them how good they are and actually is wide open to people who say, no, you’re wrong, let’s have a discussion about that. That hasn’t happened."

What happens now that Sturgeon has given her notice?published at 15:23 Greenwich Mean Time 15 February 2023

15:23 GMT 15 February 2023

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

One of the reasons that Nicola Sturgeon has announced her intention to resign, rather than quit straight away, is that her formal resignation starts an official timetable at Holyrood.

As soon as her resignation letter is sent to the King, the Scottish Parliament has 28 days to elect a replacement first minister, or face another election.

So Sturgeon will remain in post until her party chooses her successor as SNP Leader.

The SNP's rule book states that candidates must have at least 100 nominations from party members from at least 20 local branches. The vote is run by postal ballot, on a one-person-one-vote basis.

The timetable for that process is still to be agreed. But with a special conference to decide on whether to use an election as a de facto independence referendum due next month, time is tight.

Some in the party have suggested the conference should be delayed until a new leader is in place.

Reality Check

Nicola Sturgeon was asked repeatedly by journalists at her press conference about the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils, which the SNP pledged to "substantially eliminate" within a decade, in their 2016 programme for government., external

Journalists told the first minister the gap “remains pretty wide”.

She did not directly answer the question.

The latest figures from the Scottish government compare the gap in attainment by the most and least deprived pupils between 2016-17 and 2021-22, and suggest that it has not narrowed very much, although Covid may have affected the figures.

The report compared the proportion of pupils achieving the expected levels based on the judgment of their teachers from the most deprived 20% and the least deprived 20% of the population.

On literacy, the gap was 22.1 percentage points in 2016-17 and 21.3 percentage points in 2021-22.

On numeracy, the gap was 17.6 percentage points in 2016-17 and 17.8 percentage points in 2021-22.

You can see these figures in charts 1 and 2 in this report, external.

Glasgow Southside resident Hussein says he respects Nicola Sturgeon for her stance on trans rights - but thinks she has not delivered on key promises.

"She’s been in power for so long," he says. "I remember one of the SNP’s key pledges was to eradicate child poverty which they’ve totally failed on so I think there does need to be change to actually carry out what the SNP said they would do."

Hussein adds that housing in his area is a difficult issue on which he feels Ms Sturgeon has been absent.

"There’s been a lot of half measures – like she’s passed on a lot of austerity that she could have stopped and I think that’s really affected the community in a bad way," he says.

Jennifer also lives in Glasgow Southside, where she says Nicola Sturgeon has been "really present" in the last couple of years.

"It's really impressive considering all the things that have been going on," she says.

She adds that New Zealand's former prime minister Jacinda Ardern "set a precedent" for saying politicians are human.

Jennifer says: "When the time comes it’s better to step aside than to stay past your welcome. I think if that’s what Nicola Sturgeon has decided I think we have to respect that."

Tommy Glassford is a support worker in Nicola Sturgeon's constituency, Glasgow Southside, and says he is pleased to see her go.

"I think she’s been a liability to Scotland," he says. "Her constituency is a disgrace."

Glassford's work involves visiting users of support services, and he says some have had issues with pest infestations.

"And their flats are clean, it's just the back gardens and the rubbish left lying about," he says.

Speaking about her in the role as first minister, he adds: "Scotland has been polarised, you’re either extreme for her or against her and that’s always been a bad thing. We’ve got to try and be as one and Scotland isn’t that way."

The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn says Nicola Sturgeon has been an "inspiration".

In a tweet, he says Sturgeon has been a "formidable leader and dedicated public servant".

Flynn adds: "She has made Scotland a better place and for that I will always be thankful."

Image source, Stephen Flynn/Twitter

Sturgeon leaves without sustained majority for independencepublished at 14:14 Greenwich Mean Time 15 February 2023

14:14 GMT 15 February 2023

James Cook
Scotland editor, BBC News

The idea of an SNP politician leading a powerful devolved government in Edinburgh would have been extraordinary when Sturgeon was a teenage campaigner.

Running that administration for eight years is no small achievement.

And yet she was campaigning for something even more extraordinary — for Scotland to become a nation again.

The backdrop was a cost of living crisis; Scotland’s departure - against its wishes - from the European Union; and an unpopular Conservative government at Westminster.

Surely these circumstances would have provided a solid platform on which to build support?

Sturgeon did keep the flame burning after independence was rejected by a majority of Scotland’s voters in 2014 and yet she leaves office without sustained, significant majority support for turning her dream into reality.

One of the most impressive politicians of her generationpublished at 14:05 Greenwich Mean Time 15 February 2023

14:05 GMT 15 February 2023

James Cook
Scotland editor, BBC News

Nicola Sturgeon will be remembered as one of the most impressive politicians of her generation, delivering a string of landslide election victories for the SNP.

In her early years as first minister she packed out stadia with adoring fans.

Then the first minister was widely praised for her leadership during Covid when her approval ratings soared to extraordinary highs.

But Sturgeon is in politics for one thing above all others, and ultimately history will record that she did not deliver it.

As she pointed out herself in her resignation speech, she has been campaigning for Scottish independence since she was a teenager in Ayrshire in the 1980s.

Image source, Getty Images

Adding to the chorus of reaction following Nicola Sturgeon's resignation, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says she "served with dedication and passion" and he wished her "all the best for her next steps"

"Nicola Sturgeon has been at the forefront of not just Scottish but UK politics for over two decades," he tweeted.

Starmer also took the opportunity to talk up Labour's chances in the Scottish parliament, saying his party "stands ready to be the change that Scotland needs".

The "wealth of talent" Nicola Sturgeon referred to when asked about her successor takes the form of both well known SNP stalwarts and the new generation of ministers.

Our graphic above shows some of the figures believed to be in the frame to replace her.

Sturgeon's predecessor Alex Salmond earlier told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that there were "half a dozen candidates who'll fancy their chances" - without naming any.

Nicola Sturgeon has been photographed waving from a window as people gather outside Bute House.

It was taken shortly after she held her resignation press conference in Edinburgh.

Image source, Getty Images

In her resignation speech, Nicola Sturgeon mentioned that she was looking forward to spending more time just being an aunt.

One of her nephews tweets that he is "immensely proud" of "Auntie N", external.

Cameron Coyle, a SNP youth officer in Dunfermline, includes a picture of his extended family with Sturgeon in the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood.

He adds: "You are, and always will be, my inspiration."

Image source, Getty Images

The deputy first minister John Swinney has written on Twitter, external: "I am very sorry Nicola Sturgeon has decided to step down as first minister and as SNP leader.

"She has given outstanding leadership to our country, government and party."

He says she has "achieved much" particularly with her leadership during the Covid pandemic.

"She has delivered breath-taking electoral success, winning every election during her leadership, and securing two Scottish Parliament victories," he added.

"It has been my privilege to support her as deputy first minister.

"She has my warmest good wishes for the future and heartfelt thanks for all that she has done for Scotland, for the cause of Independence and the Scottish National Party."

Image source, PA Media

Alex Salmond, the Alba party leader and Nicola Sturgeon's predecessor, says he "feels for her personally" on the day of her resignation.

He says there are two questions for the future - the first around the strategy for independence and the second addressing the issue of who will take her place.

"The previously accepted referendum route has been closed and the defacto referendum/election proposal is now, at best, up in the air," he says.

"It is to be hoped that those voices which wish to reunite the national movement emerge to win that contest,” he adds.

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

First ministers don’t tend to give big news conferences when Holyrood is in recess. There have been exceptions, especially during Covid, but there was no expectation of a big announcement during this February break.

So, when I heard Nicola Sturgeon was calling a news conference for 11:00, my instinct was that this could be something big.

When I asked Scottish government sources - speculatively - if she was resigning, no one would or perhaps could give a clear answer. I then phoned almost everyone I could think of who might be in the know, to try and piece together the nature of the announcement.

Not everyone answers in these moments and those who do tend to speak in code but the message was crystal clear, Scotland’s longest serving first minister had decided to call it a day.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, here's a brief summary of the day's events:

• Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that she is resigning as Scotland's first minister
• The FM told a press conference at Bute House "in my head and in my heart" that this was the right time to step down
• Sturgeon is also stepping down as SNP leader but will remain in office until her successor is elected

• The FM wants the SNP to fight the next general election as a de facto referendum
• However there has been some opposition to the plan within the SNP
• In addition, recent months have seen controversies over gender reforms, which have been blocked by the UK government
• Sturgeon said her decision was not a reaction to short-term pressures, but came from "a deeper and longer-term assessment"
• Tributes have poured in from party colleagues and from across the political spectrum
• Speculation has begun about who will replace her as SNP leader and first minister.

Brian Taylor, a former BBC Scotland political editor, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think [Sturgeon] is - to use a word Scots will know - I think she’s scunnered - a combination of tired, fed up, seen it all, done it all."

"The health stats are as bad as they are in England...the education problems are bad... above all the economy is stubbornly stuck.

"Perhaps adding to that is the issue of independence. The strategy with the independence referendum is thwarted, it’s been thwarted by the UK supreme court, it’s been thwarted by the UK government refusing to concede a temporary power for the Scottish government to hold a new referendum. There’s no real strategy.""I think she’s just had enough." Taylor concluded.

Nicola Sturgeon said she wasn't expecting "violins" of sympathy to be played for her, but that the requirements of family life came into conflict with "giving absolutely everything to this job".

Image source, Getty Images

Former prime minister Theresa May has thanked Nicola Sturgeon for her service to the UK, and assures her there is life after leadership.