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Has Nicola Sturgeon done a good job as Scotland’s first minister? Take our poll and have your say

As the dust slowly settles following the shock resignation of Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, we ask: has she done a good job?

Rising to power unopposed after the ill-fated independence referendum in 2014, the SNP leader admitted the top job “takes its toll on you and all around you”.

But she also said it “sustained and inspired me in good times and in the toughest hours of my toughest days”.

Ms Sturgeon’s popularity has plummeted in recent times, with a poll earlier this week finding four in ten voters wanted her to quit.

If you can’t see the poll, click here

She will leave office as the longest serving and first female first minister since the creation of the Scottish Parliament – but will not see her dream of independence come to fruition under her leadership.

The 52-year-old has been mired in controversy in recent months as her Government sought to push through gender reforms, only for them to be blocked in Westminster.

She also whipped up a storm by claiming the next General Election would be a ‘de facto’ referendum on independence.

Ms Sturgeon, who took over from Alex Salmond, said her decision to bow out wasn’t a reaction to ‘short term pressures’, saying she feared her polarising figure may be holding back the battle for independence.

Her departure has been met by despair within her party.

Fellow SNP MP Stewart McDonald posted: “Nicola Sturgeon is the finest public servant of the devolution age”, while SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn MP said: “Nicola Sturgeon has been the outstanding political leader across Scotland, and indeed the rest of the UK, for a generation”.







What do YOU think? Let us know in the comments below
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Jane Barlow/PA/Imagemaker)

What do you think? Has Nicola Sturgeon done a good job as Scotland’s first minister? Take our poll above and expand on your decision in the comments below