Devolution paved the way for Nicola Sturgeon to thrive - but she brought Scottish independence no closer to reality | Adam Boulton
Tony Blair was never passionate about devolution.
His government drove it through in Scotland as a debt of honour to his late predecessor as Labour leader, John Smith, before bringing devolution in systematically, by consent of referendums, for Wales, London and - the great prize - Northern Ireland.
From the point of view of prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Scottish devolution was one of the best things Blair delivered.
The air was toxic for a visiting English journalist in the 1980s and 1990s before the Holyrood parliament was established, such was the resentment at detached rule from London.
For all the passionate debate which followed the establishment of devolved government, independence became something to talk about rather than a certain direction of travel.
A generation on and an independent Scotland seems less likely than it did at the dawn of devolution. Nicola Sturgeon was a star beneficiary in that devolution generation.
As she stands down as party leader and first minister that era has come to a close, both in political substance and her style of doing politics.
Leaders in Scotland and beyond don't behave like she does anymore.
Having become an SNP activist as a teenager, Sturgeon stood and failed to be elected twice for a Westminster parliamentary seat and four times for local council seats in Scotland until 1999 when she was in the first cohort of MSPs elected to the new Scottish parliament.
She owed her success to the newly-introduced proportional representation system. She lost in Glasgow Govan constituency but was high up on the SNP's list at regional level.
By 2004, Sturgeon was the SNP's deputy leader and leader of the Opposition in Holyrood because her mentor Alex Salmond did not have a seat in it.
After the 2007 election in Scotland, she became deputy first minister. All this was achieved while Tony Blair was prime minister and eight years before either Keir Starmer, who is eight years older than her, or Rishi Sunak, who is 10 years younger, became MPs.
By the time they were elected to the Commons in 2015, Sturgeon was already first minister of Scotland. She took over as SNP leader without a context when Salmond resigned following the defeat of "Yes", by 55% to 45% in the independence referendum.
Scottish politics are more intimate than those at Westminster. Everyone knows everyone. There are fewer people to get to know. Scotland's population of 5.45 million people accounts for just 8% of the UK. There are 129 MSPs in Holyrood's single chamber compared to 650 MPs in the Commons. PR also usually leads to more co-operation between members of different parties.
A 'people person'
Sturgeon thrived in this cosy environment.
In spite of her natural shyness, nobody disputes that she is a good communicator and a 'people person'. This was evident during the COVID pandemic when her fluent and simple daily news conferences contrasted with the stilted lectures emanating from Boris Johnson's Downing Street.
Even though Scotland's health outcomes from the virus are not much different from the rest of the country, Sturgeon proudly describes that period as the toughest of her term in office.
From Tony Blair onwards, political leaders at Westminster have become less accessible to those working around them.
They give few news conferences and extended interviews and are protected from direct contact by phalanxes of aides. They go out on fewer meet-and-greets with the public than the Royal Family.
Sturgeon did not remain aloof. For most of her time as first minister she dived happily into photo-opportunities, sometimes to her embarrassment as when she was pictured in a cafe without a facemask.
She also made herself available frequently to journalists.
Opinions are mixed on the external appearance of the Scottish parliament which was designed by the Spanish architect Enric Miralles. Those who work inside the building speak highly of its informal but efficient atmosphere.
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A few years ago I was sitting in a corridor with Sky News' long-serving Scotland correspondent James Matthews when the first minister walked by, on her own, no entourage.
More surprisingly she broke off and came over for a chat greeting us both by our first names. She even took part in James' latest project which had something to do with getting people to put their autographs on a sofa. (Don't ask!) Alex Salmond was similarly approachable when he was first minister.
I cannot imagine the prime minister or leader of the Opposition at Westminster behaving with such casual openness today.
As often happens when leaders are in power for a long time, things soured. Sturgeon became less accessible as her public prominence rose.
Polarising politics
On Wednesday she explained "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 a walk on your own becomes virtually impossible".
She also suggested that the SNP would be better served by a leader "who is not subject to quite the same polarised opinions, fair or unfair, as I am now, I feel more and more each day that the fixed opinions people increasingly have about me… are being used as barriers and to reasoned debate".
Sturgeon deserves credit for identifying a problem with a frankness that few male leaders could match. But her self-knowledge only goes so far. She is partly responsible for the trend to polarisation in politics because she herself has become more dogmatic.
Vehement stances taken over serious sexual harassment allegations against Alex Salmond - of which he was ultimately acquitted - allowed a legal process to be seen as a personal feud between the former first minister and his sometime protege Sturgeon.
The two issues Nicola Sturgeon placed at the top of her political agenda in her final year - self ID and gender recognition and indyref 2 as soon as possible - are intrinsically divisive and polarising.
She is also out of step on both questions with the clear majority of public opinion in Scotland, which in any case does not regard them as pressing matters, compared to health, education and other social and economic issues.
In her resignation address, Sturgeon argued that replacing her will strengthen the political will behind her pet causes. It is equally likely that the new SNP leadership will de-emphasise them along with her ambitious attempt to turn the next general election into a "de facto" independence referendum.
Questions over successor
Nicola Sturgeon will always be celebrated as the first woman first minister.
The only person who has served as long as first minister and SNP leader is Alex Salmond, who now belongs to Alba, a rival nationalist party. With a certain amount of schadenfreude, Salmond argues that Sturgeon's mistake was to allow her drive for independence to overshadow the responsibilities of government.
Salmond says the independence cause would be stronger if it was taken forward by a broad coalition, including people from other parties - as happened with the Yes campaign before the 2014 referendum. Meanwhile, the SNP leader would have more energy to devote to running services in Scotland.
Sturgeon admits she has tired "after giving absolutely everything yourself… in truth that can only be done, by anyone, for so long". Approaching 16 continuous years in power, there is a danger the SNP may be exhausted as well.
The lack of an obvious successor to Sturgeon is one symptom of this.
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In the approaching elections in the UK and Scotland there is an opportunity for the Scottish Labour Party to regain a good deal of the ground it has lost to the SNP.
Devolution is not just an alternative power-sharing model which obviates the need for independence for some people. When nationalist parties are elected, the demands of running a devolved government get in the way of single-minded pursuit of independence.
New Labour never intended or expected the SNP to be so dominant in Scotland for so long. But, as Sturgeon drops out, devolution is working just fine for unionists.
