Scotland’s Sturgeon to resign as first minister

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon plans to resign, the BBC reported, without saying where it got the information. It’s unclear when she plans to leave office, the BBC said.

Sturgeon, 52, who has been head of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government since 2014, has called a press conference for 11 a.m. in Edinburgh.

If confirmed, Sturgeon’s decision to step down comes after an unusually torrid time.

While her Scottish National Party still dominates Scottish politics, a controversial gender recognition bill prompted the UK government to block legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament for the first time.

The resignation would also come a little over a month before the SNP heads into a special conference to decide how next to pressure the UK to hold another independence referendum.

Sturgeon has said she wants to make the next UK general election or the next Scottish Parliamentary election a de facto plebiscite on leaving the UK.

Read: UAE’s Masdar acquires UK-based Arlington Energy to expand footprint