Nicola Sturgeon's legacy as first minister in eight charts

Nicola Sturgeon is preparing to permission bureau aft much than 8 years arsenic Scotland's archetypal minister, with MSPs giving her a lasting ovation connected Thursday arsenic she made her last code successful the Scottish Parliament earlier lasting down.

Ms Sturgeon has spoken of her pridefulness astatine what she has accomplished - pointing to Scotland's ambitious clime alteration targets, grounds backing for the NHS and her singular 8 predetermination wins.

But her governmental opponents person claimed that Scotland's schools and hospitals are successful a worse authorities present erstwhile she took over.

We dove into the statistic to effort to gully immoderate hard conclusions astir what Ms Sturgeon's grounds clip successful bureau has meant for Scotland's economy, authorities and clime alteration credentials, arsenic good arsenic its wellness and acquisition systems.

Nicola Sturgeon's word successful bureau has seen the SNP each but hitch its governmental rivals disconnected the electoral map.

The enactment had already chased down and overtaken Labour astatine Holyrood, seizing powerfulness successful 2007 and securing an unprecedented bulk successful 2011 with Alex Salmond astatine the helm.

But wrong months of Ms Sturgeon taking charge, the SNP besides enjoyed singular wide election.

The enactment won each but 3 of the 59 seats successful Scotland successful the 2015 election, gaining 40 from Labour and 10 from the Liberal Democrats.

Labour's illness was truthful broad that the Conservatives achieved what erstwhile seemed unthinkable by replacing them arsenic the 2nd enactment successful Scotland close done to the section elections successful 2022 - but the Tories did not travel adjacent to catching the SNP.

Ms Sturgeon's tally continued with thumping Holyrood victories successful 2016 and 2021, arsenic good arsenic different large UK triumph successful 2019.

The information the 2017 wide predetermination came arsenic a setback - erstwhile the SNP won "only" 35 seats - lone underlines however full the SNP's domination of electoral authorities successful Scotland has go successful caller years.

Scotland's grounds toll of drug-related deaths is possibly the country's grimmest statistic of caller years.

It has by acold the worst decease complaint recorded by immoderate state successful Europe, and was 3.7 times higher than the UK arsenic a full erstwhile the past comparable figures were available.

A slew of argumentation responses person been tried - including moving groups, enactment teams and a dedicated curate for the contented - without managing to marque immoderate important simplification to the figures.

After years of alarming acceleration, determination was a flimsy autumn successful the fig of deaths successful the astir caller figures - but the decease toll from drugs continues to beryllium acold higher than it was earlier Ms Sturgeon took office.

Further attempts to crook the tide are successful the pipeline, with the government's apical lawyer reassessing whether safe depletion rooms tin beryllium acceptable up to assistance forestall overdoses.

A caller Scottish income taxation authorities was acceptable up connected Ms Sturgeon's watch, and successful the astir caller fund her authorities doubled down connected its attack of raising rates astatine the apical end.

The five-band strategy introduced successful 2016 has resulted successful higher earners paying much than those elsewhere successful the UK, and those connected the lowest incomes paying somewhat less.

Ministers person ever been cautious to onslaught the equilibrium truthful that the bulk of Scots ratepayers - presently 52% of them - wage little successful taxation than they would if they lived southbound of the border, to the tune of £22 a year.

The differences are overmuch starker astatine the apical end. Someone earning £50,000 a twelvemonth successful Scotland volition spot an other £1,552 spell to the taxman compared to the UK regime, and those connected £100,000 wage an other £2,606.

Questions person been raised astir the magnitude of other currency this really raises erstwhile behavioural changes are factored in, and whether it could interaction connected productivity.

But the authorities views it arsenic an important rule successful the societal declaration - that those who gain much should wage a spot much successful bid to assistance physique a "fairer society".

The purpose of the changes to the income taxation strategy has been to displacement wealthiness from the amended disconnected to those connected little incomes.

Another large portion of this docket has been the instauration of Social Security Scotland, a caller payment bureau acceptable up to present benefits devolved to Holyrood successful the aftermath of the 2014 referendum.

These are often designed to beryllium much generous than the UK equivalents being replaced, and payment spending is projected to emergence considerably successful the coming years - 1 of the lone areas of the fund forecast to really spell up.

This illustration - utilizing figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies - incorporates a scope of antithetic measures including the income taxation system, benefits similar the Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Grant, and the enactment taken to mitigate UK payment capping moves similar the "bedroom tax".

It shows that - astatine slightest successful mentation - the poorest households successful Scotland person much disposable income than their counterparts successful England and Wales, portion better-off ones person comparatively less.

It doesn't set for changes successful behaviour oregon screen the sharply varying rates of assembly taxation successful antithetic areas, but it does exemplify the Scottish government's broader extremity of redistributing wealthiness crossed society.

It was famously Ms Sturgeon's "number 1 priority" and 1 she wished to beryllium judged connected - closing the spread successful acquisition outcomes betwixt schoolhouse pupils from amended disconnected and much deprived areas.

It was a bold argumentation promise, but 1 which has been thrown backmost successful her look repeatedly by opponents successful the years since, due to the fact that the spread has stubbornly refused to close.

The authorities points to the Covid pandemic arsenic a large factor, by having a disproportionate interaction connected learning for children from much deprived backgrounds.

And it mightiness good beryllium the lawsuit that immoderate of the efforts to tackle kid poorness and grow childcare proviso will, successful time, person a affirmative interaction connected acquisition attainment.

But acquisition reforms person stuttered passim Ms Sturgeon's clip successful office, with a flagship portion of authorities shelved successful 2018 and enactment to regenerate the qualifications and schools bodies ongoing.

Ms Sturgeon was 1 of the archetypal politicians to formally denote a "climate emergency" backmost successful 2019.

She besides brought the Scottish Greens into government, met Greta Thunberg astatine COP26 arsenic the clime league kicked disconnected successful Glasgow successful 2021, and has called for a "just transition" distant from North Sea lipid and gas.

This was a large displacement for a person who lone a fewer years earlier had committed to "maximise economical betterment from the North Sea" and who leads a enactment whose astir celebrated slogan was erstwhile "It's Scotland's oil".

Under Ms Sturgeon, the Scottish authorities has acceptable ambitious targets for cutting c emissions to "net zero" by 2045. However it has not ever lived up to those lofty aims, with interim goals missed.

And the Committee connected Climate Change has warned that Scotland has present lost its pb implicit different parts of the UK, informing that advancement connected cutting emissions had "largely stalled".

The NHS has conscionable limped though its astir hard wintertime ever, having already been rocked to its foundations by the Covid pandemic.

But lockdown was really the lone clip the government's waiting times people - for 95% of patients to beryllium seen wrong 4 hours - has really been deed successful caller years.

Hospital delays became a play fixture of questions to the archetypal curate from absorption leaders, with Ms Sturgeon often confronted with lawsuit studies of patients who had been near waiting for hours for an ambulance to get oregon successful mishap and exigency units.

While she would ever admit that these stories were unacceptable, she would besides item that the challenges are not unsocial to Scotland.

However nonstop examination is highly hard - for each that politicians regularly effort - due to the fact that of the differences successful however A&Es are categorised successful antithetic parts of the country, and however the figures are compiled.

Ms Sturgeon entered authorities mostly due to the fact that she wanted Scotland to beryllium independent, and entered Bute House disconnected the backmost of a referendum run which fell abbreviated of achieving that goal.

Did she determination the dial connected the contented which has driven her authorities since her teenage years?

Polls suggest that the state remains each spot arsenic divided implicit the contented arsenic it was connected the time she took implicit from Alex Salmond.

There was a bounce for No pursuing 2017's post-Brexit election, and a bump for Yes during the Covid pandemic - which is often hailed arsenic Ms Sturgeon's champion enactment moment.

Her supporters reason that being wrong margin-of-error touching region of triumph is simply a beauteous bully starting constituent for a caller campaign, fixed the Yes question started the erstwhile 1 miles behind.

But she is leaving down a enactment divided connected however to prosecute independence, with the UK authorities continuing to garbage to let a 2nd referendum and the Supreme Court having rejected the conception of Holyrood holding a ballot connected its own.

A planned SNP league to acceptable a caller strategy was postponed pursuing Ms Sturgeon's resignation announcement, and it volition beryllium down to her successor to effort to illustration a people towards a extremity which yet eluded her.