SNP to announce Nicola Sturgeon’s successor
The announcement of the winner of the SNP leadership contest, with candidates Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf, and Kate Forbes, is scheduled to take place in Edinburgh later today.
The successful candidate will then face a vote at Holyrood on Tuesday before being confirmed as Scotland’s new first minister.
The SNP has not had a leadership contest since 2004, and this is the first time since then that more than one candidate has stood.
Humza Yousaf is the favourite to win, while Kate Forbes appears to be more popular among Scottish voters as a whole.
However, with little polling of SNP members during the campaign, the outcome remains uncertain.
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation after more than eight years in the role has left the party divided, and the new leader will face the task of unifying it.
The SNP is also facing a police probe over the use of funds and questions over a loan made by the party’s former chief executive, Peter Murrell, who is also Sturgeon’s husband.
The SNP candidates:
- Kate Forbes: The finance secretary who found herself at the centre of a storm over her views on gay marriage
- Ash Regan: The minister who quit over Scotland’s gender reforms and now wants to unite the independence movement
- Humza Yousaf: The ‘continuity candidate’ with the backing of the SNP leadership
