Kate Forbes considering SNP leadership bid

Kate Forbes has said she is considering a bid to succeed Humza Yousaf as SNP leader.

The former finance secretary told BBC Scotland News she had a "groundswell of support amongst the members".

She said she was “considering all the options” and had not “ruled anything out”.

Mr Yousaf announced on Monday that he would step down as first minister, but is to remain in office until a new SNP leader is identified.

The other leading candidate to replace him, John Swinney, said he was giving a "great deal of thought" as to whether to run for leadership.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the Scottish government will face a motion of no confidence on Wednesday.

If passed, the vote proposed by Labour would require all ministers to step down.

However, the Greens, whose support would be required to give the opposition a majority over the SNP, have called for the vote to be halted following Mr Yousaf's announcement.

Nominations for the SNP leadership opened on Monday evening.

Senior SNP figures - including Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, deputy leader Keith Brown and cabinet ministers Neil Gray and Mairi McAllan - have already backed Mr Swinney, who has previously served as deputy first minister and party leader.

Mr Swinney told reporters at Holyrood that he had personal circumstances to consider and would take time to ensure he came to the “right decision" for his family, party and country.

Asked about his decision to not run for the leadership when Nicola Sturgeon resigned last year, Mr Swinney said: “My party finds itself in a very different and more difficult situation than it found itself in 12 months ago.

“And I would not be doing a service to the many, many, many people who have contacted me asking me to stand if I don’t think about this properly. It wouldn’t be my style to ignore the representations that are made to me.”

Ms Forbes, the former finance secretary who narrowly lost out to Mr Yousaf in the 2023 leadership contest, has been backed by a smaller number of SNP colleagues, including ex-ministers Fergus Ewing and Ivan McKee, as well as backbench MP Joanna Cherry.

John Swinney said he was giving a "great deal of thought" as to whether to run for leadership.

Candidates in the SNP leadership contest are required to get 100 nominations from at least 20 local party branches.

If more than one candidate meets that test, there will be a leadership contest.

SNP national secretary Lorna Finn confirmed that nominations opened on Monday at 23:59 and would close next Monday at noon.

The next stage is expected to be a ballot by members using a single transferable vote system.

Last time round the contest took about a month to complete, before parliament confirmed Mr Yousaf as the nomination to become first minister.

The next SNP leader would then need to seek parliamentary approval to succeed Mr Yousaf as first minister.

No-confidence vote

The Labour motion of no confidence in the government, as well as a separate Tory motion of no confidence in the first minister, were tabled last week as Mr Yousaf's premiership imploded following his decision to tear up a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.

The Greens had said they would back the Tory confidence motion, which potentially would have left the first minister relying on ex-SNP minister and Alba's sole MSP, Ash Regan, to avoid defeat in a vote.

But Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross confirmed on Tuesday that his party had withdrawn its proposal.

"As it's job done in terms of Humza Yousaf, there's no longer any need for us to press ahead with a debate on our no confidence motion," he said.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar confirmed his party would push ahead with its plan.

All Scottish ministers would be compelled to stand down if it is voted through, with parliament given 28 days to appoint a new first minister. If it fails to do so, a snap election would be called.

While Labour, the Tories and the Liberal Democrats are likely to back the motion, scheduled for about 15:00 on Wednesday, it would likely need the support of seven Green MSPs to pass.

But Scottish Greens business manager Gillian Mackay urged Mr Sarwar to withdraw the proposed vote.

“Like the withdrawn Tory motion, the Labour one has clearly been overtaken by events," she said.

"Pursuing it would achieve nothing, and would simply mean more parliamentary game playing."