Sturgeon considered quitting politics after first term

The former first minister spoke at an event in her constituency (Robert Perry/PA) Robert Perry

Nicola Sturgeon considered leaving politics after just one term at Holyrood, the former first minister has revealed. The SNP politician was first elected as a regional MSP for Glasgow in the first term of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

Speaking at an event in her Glasgow Southside constituency as she launched her memoir, Frankly, Sturgeon said she felt she had "failed" because she was unable to win her constituency. By that point, the future first minister had lost three constituency races - in 1992 and 1997 for Westminster and the Holyrood seat she contested in 1999.

Early political struggles

"I wasn't particularly happy in myself in the first term of Parliament," she said at the event as part of the Govanhill Book Festival. "This dream I'd had about being a politician was going to be realised and yet I felt I'd failed because I hadn't won the constituency."

She added: "I was really conflicted for the first few years and, of course, there was lots of teething problems with the Parliament as a whole, so it wasn't the happiest time in my political career." The former SNP leader described feeling uncertain about her political future during those early years.

Moment of doubt

"I guess I got to the end of that first session of the Scottish Parliament, not really sure whether I wanted to spend that much more time in politics," Sturgeon revealed. "That obviously changed and the rest is history, but that was a moment where I could easily, I think, have taken a step out and done something different."

Sturgeon would go on to win the seat, which was originally named Glasgow Govan, in 2007. She has since announced her plans to step down as an MSP at next year's election.

(PA/London) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.