These, the assuaging words of then-First Minister Alex Salmond announcing his intention to resign the morning after losing the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014. After her own resignation last week, what is Sturgeon’s legacy to the UK constitution? While voters in the referendum had rejected independence, Scottish politics post-2014 was electrified by the constitutional debate and the referendum experience. The First Minister’s legacy to the constitution is therefore a story of two paradoxes. Whether that is best achieved via Sturgeon’s vision of Scottish independence or more radical constitutional reform within the UK is up for debate.

Source: The Guardian February 24, 2023 09:41 UTC