Nicola Sturgeon says she feels society will look back and “feel a sense of collective shame” at the vilification of people who are transgender in recent times.

The former First Minister of Scotland announced she would not be seeking re-election next year. The politician entered the Scottish parliament in 1999 and rose to become the leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party from 2014 until 2023.

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She was widely criticised for her efforts to bring about reform in gender recognition process. Sturgeon’s government pushed to reduce the age someone could legally change their gender from 18 years of age to 16 years, and they also wanted to remove the requirement for someone to have a formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Under their proposed new rules people would only have to live as their chosen gender for six months rather than two years.

In December 2002 the Scottish Parliament voted to pass the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill but it was overruled by Westminster. It was the first time a provision in the section of the act that gives Scotland its own parliament had been invoked.

Announcing the end of her political career Sturgeon said she regretted “the inability to debate things civilly and respectfully”, and she would “never apologise for trying to make life better for one of the most stigmatised, discriminated against sections of our society”.

“What I regret about issue, what I regret about much of political discourse right now, and I take my share of responsibility for it, is the inability to debate things civilly and respectfully.

“On that issue, what I would say is we need to all, I think, be a bit more respectful in the debate that we have.” Sturgeon said.

“I think we’ll look back as a society – I hope it’s sooner rather than later, but who knows how long it will take – and feel a sense of collective shame at the way in which trans people have been vilified in our society, and I think all of us should perhaps reflect on that.”

The former leader might be leaving the job of politician, but she said she’d be looking for new ways of bringing about Scottish independence.

“To SNP members across the country: I may be leaving Parliament, but I will be by your side every step of the way as we complete our journey to independence.” Sturgeon said.