Reality check for Holyrood after Sturgeon's exit

NICOLA Sturgeon has been alongside Alex Salmond - a towering figure of the devolution era.

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She was his deputy and ally before becoming our longest-serving first minister, holding the post for eight years.

Announcing that she is quitting front-line politics seems like the end of an era. And as she exits the scene, she may look back with regret on how it has all ended.

She cut a calm and reassuring figure during the Covid pandemic and was a great communicator - in contrast to bungling and out-of-touch Boris Johnson.

She also stood up to the Tories over their Brexit madness when Labour seemed to wobble on the biggest issue of the age.

But the reality is Sturgeon presided over a near-decade of decline.

The NHS is in a much worse state than when she took over, with hundreds of thousands of Scots on waiting lists.