‘You will have to wait’: Nicola Sturgeon won’t rule out return to Holyrood

Nicola Sturgeon has said Scots will “have to wait” and see whether she runs again as an MSP.

The former first minister was stopped by journalists at Holyrood on Thursday and was asked whether she would seek a return to the Parliament.

“You will have to wait,” she said, before walking away.

Sturgeon has been tight-lipped about whether she will launch a bid to return as the MSP for Glasgow Southside in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.

She submitted her application to the party to be considered for the election last year but that does not guarantee she will seek re-election.

Sturgeon has been an MSP since the Parliament’s opening in 1999 and served as Scotland’s first minister for nine years until her resignation in 2023.

Following her exit from Bute House, she was arrested by police as part of their investigation into the SNP’s funding and finances. She was later released without charge.

She announced last month that was getting a divorce from her husband Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP who was charged with embezzlement in the same investigation.

In 2023, Sturgeon announced she had begun writing a “deeply personal” memoir covering her life in politics.

She set up a company, Nicola Sturgeon Limited, as she sought work outside of Holyrood.

Her register of interest showed she received a £75,000 advance for the book from her publisher, while she later received £25,000 as payment for her time on ITV’s General Election coverage.

She was also paid £2,700 for three book reviews in the New Statesman, including one on Boris Johnson’s memoir.

Ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, a number of MSPs have decided not to run again, including Sturgeon’s successor Humza Yousaf.

Others, such as finance secretary Shona Robison, have said they are yet to make up their minds on a re-election bid.