I WAS shocked when I heard about the First Minister’s decision to resign.

In her farewell speech, she was honest, frank and reflective. She underlined both the immense opportunities and the big personal impact of leadership. It will have struck a chord with so many in politics, particularly for the huge number of women who look up to her and see what she’s accomplished.

She will leave Bute House with a legacy of progressive change and of leadership characterised by empathy, strength and dignity.

Political roles take a huge toll in terms of the time they take and the impact they have on us, our families and the people around us. I’ve seen that as a junior minister, and I don’t doubt that it will be even more so for the First Minister.

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Even the pressure of being seen and recognised in public is something that hangs over every woman in politics. This has only intensified more recently as our debates have become more hostile and the rhetoric has become more poisonous.

For the First Minister, this has been taken to a whole new level. Her role makes it very difficult to even pop to the shops or go to a cafe without it requiring a major security operation and serious considerations about personal safety.

On top of that, she has been targeted in the very cruel and misogynistic way that women so often are.

I know the bile that is directed at women on Twitter and other social media platforms, and it’s one of the reasons I don’t use them anywhere near as often as I used to.

My mentions and messages have shown the best of people, but also the worst – with vicious pile-ons often started by political opponents who have known exactly what they are doing. The venom fired at the First Minister has been even more intense and has continued relentlessly for the last decade.

All of this has made it even harder to encourage women and other underrepresented groups into politics.

So many wonderful women have told me that they look in horror at the abuse and the way that women in the public eye are treated and have concluded that it’s not for them.

How can we have good and representative politics when our political climate is becoming so toxic and unpleasant? We cannot let our current political climate become a norm.

Nicola Sturgeon represents the best of public service. She has led with empathy, compassion and dignity.

Like Jacinda Ardern before her, the First Minister’s departure stands in stark and marked contrast to that of Boris Johnson, who had to be dragged out of Downing Street kicking and screaming. Compare it to that of Donald Trump who provoked a riot and spread some of the most outlandish conspiracies rather than showing even a smidgen of vulnerability.

That is the toxic masculinity that has run rampant in the corridors of power for too long.

In comparison,the First Minister has shown a real commitment and dedication to a positive, progressive and collaborative politics.

She was at the centre of the Bute House Agreement between the Scottish Greens and the SNP Scottish Government and, despite the knocks she has received for it, she has been proud to put her feminism at the heart of her politics.

Whether it is the way that she has stood up for Scotland or how she guided us through the pandemic, she will leave a proud legacy and has changed Scotland for the better.

We are still committed to delivering on the bold and vital policies and the values laid out in the agreement, and I know that my Scottish Government colleagues are too.

We have already delivered big changes such as free bus travel for young people, the 150% uplift in the Scottish Child Payment, the rent freeze and tenants’ rights work and the more humane social security system. Those things will not go away. We will continue to work together to build on them.

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It is partially as a result of this record that the next first minister will be very well-placed to continue Nicola Sturgeon’s work, both in terms of capitalising on support for independence and in building the kind of society that she has dedicated her career to working towards.

There is no shortage of talent in the Scottish Government and in our Parliament, but we all know that the First Minister will be a very hard act to follow.

She is formidable, strong and one of the best and most charismatic politicians of the devolution era. She is also a woman of many talents, and I wish her all the very best in what she chooses to turn her hand to next.

She will leave as Scotland’s longest-standing and most popular First Minister. Having the opportunity to work with her in government has been an enormous privilege. I am grateful for her support and her friendship, and for the historic role she has played in Scotland and beyond.