We're going to be pausing our live page coverage shortly - thank you for joining us!

Before we do so let's have a quick recap of what has been happening in the last 24 hours or so:

• The SNP's ruling body met this evening via videolink to discuss and decide on the rules of the party's next leadership contest
• Nominations have already opened but they will close next Friday at noon
• Then, the ballot of party members, thought to be around 104,000, will have from 13 March to 27 March to vote for their preferred leader
• If there is a leadership contest with more than one contender, then the selection will be made on a one-member-one-vote basis
• No one has formally declared yet, but the Daily Record is reporting that Health Secretary Humza Yousaf is expected to enter the race
• Other potential key candidates include Mairi McAllan, Angus Robertson and Kate Forbes
• But two people not in the running are John Swinney and Joanna Cherry, who both have ruled themselves out of the race

BBC iPlayer

In need of something to watch tonight?

Well, if you're catching up on all the latest goings on in Scotland why not take a look back at the career of Nicola Sturgeon.

On the BBC iPlayer we have a documentary about her life in politics from the early days right the way through to becoming Scotland's first female first minister.

• You can watch the programme here.

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Many in the SNP - including some potential leadership candidates - have been watching John Swinney closely since Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation.

The deputy first minister is an experienced campaigner and a hugely popular figure within the party - there was a feeling in some quarters that if he wanted the job, he could win a vote of members with ease.

However many suspected that having been party leader in the past, Mr Swinney might not fancy a return to the top.

That has now been confirmed in a statement, where the acting finance secretary said it was time for a “fresh perspective”.

That may well open up the field for other candidates to start to declare their campaigns - and means the chances of a quick coronation now seem remote.

Things could move fast in the coming days, as the true picture of the contest starts to come into focus.

Image source, PA Media

We now have a full statement from John Swinney who says he is deeply grateful for those who have encouraged him to be the next Scottish First Minister.

He says he has decided not to be a candidate and believes there should be a space for a fresh perspective within the SNP.

"At this critical moment," Swinney writes in a tweet, "I believe there must be an open debate within the SNP about our direction.

"I encourage those who stand for election to bring forward perspectives that anchor the SNP in the mainstream of Scottish politics which is an absolutely critical requirement for the future success of our cause."

In the last few moments one of the early favourites - John Swinney - has ruled himself out of the leadership contest.

He has told the morning Dundee newspaper The Courier, external that it is time for a "fresh perspective".

Like any major political party there are divisions within parts of the SNP, something which doesn't come as a surprise to Alex Salmond's former chief of staff.

Geoff Aberdein has been telling The Nine programme there is an opportunity for the party to find some areas on the centre ground where the SNP was traditionally successful.

He says: "The key thing for the wider national movement is to try and unite.

"The importance is to unite behind an overarching theme or vision and accepting underneath that there will be differences of opinion on certain policy issues.

"That has been lacking of late."

It is a strange moment in the political life of the nationpublished at 21:54 Greenwich Mean Time 16 February 2023

21:54 GMT 16 February 2023

James Shaw
BBC Scotland correspondent

We know that Nicola Sturgeon is standing down.

We do not know who will replace her but you can be sure that in private, animated conversations are going on about who might put themselves forward as a candidate.

Perhaps leading figures are already talking to each other about joint tickets as leader and deputy leader. Almost none of this jockeying and jostling will ever be made public. But there are occasional hints.

One member of the national executive tweeted that the party should take its time. Toni Giugliano said, “We need to get this right. No cutting corners”.

Many rank-and-file members might well agree. They need a leader who can tackle the many difficult challenges which Nicola Sturgeon no longer felt equal to. Not so much a stacked in-tray as one which is on fire. Burning issues and questions which will have to be dealt with by the incoming leader. None have gone away just because Nicola Sturgeon is standing down.

This is an absolutely critical moment in the life of the SNP. No cutting corners might be advice that the party will take to heart.

We've been hearing now from the SNP's national secretary - the person who will ultimately announce Nicola Sturgeon's successor in the coming weeks.

Lorna Finn starts by praising Sturgeon as an "outstanding politician of this generation".

"We are very fortunate that she will remain an SNP MSP and a leading campaigner for an independent Scotland," Finn adds.

We've been speaking to an active bunch of older voters at the John Wright sports centre in East Kilbride near Glasgow to get their views on what the next first minister's priorities should be.

Isobel Walters, who had a liver transplant five years after a diabetes diagnosis, says the focus must be the NHS.

Linda Dempsey agrees the NHS is a top priority and reckons Scottish independence "should be put on the back burner".

But Philip Patterson disagrees and believes the need for independence is greater than ever.

The struggles of the NHS is a recurring theme - with Larry Dempsey calling for the next first minister to approve urgent investment.

A bit more from Kirsten Oswald who reiterates only current SNP members will be given the chance to cast a vote in the leadership contest.

She was asked on The Nine whether those who have recently left the party might be allowed to cast a ballot.

"We won't be asking those who are not members of the SNP to vote," Oswald answers.

"That would be a bit odd.

"If they are not a part of the SNP, they won't be able to vote in our internal votes."

Let's bring you some reaction from SNP MP Kirsten Oswald.

The former deputy Westminster leader has been talking to BBC Scotland's The Nine about the agreed timetable.

Oswald says: "We saw the chaos of the Tory Party who had an extraordinarily lengthy leadership contest over the summer period which I think did no one any favours.

"We wouldn't want to replicate that and nor would we want to replicate the other leadership contest they had which seemed to last only a matter of hours.

"We have come up with a much more sensible timetable."

She confirmed there will be some hustings adding it is "something which is important" to the process.

Marita Moloney
Live reporter

Earlier we heard from polling expert Mark Diffley, who outlined how Scottish independence will be the foremost issue for the next first minister.

But he suggests that a plan on how the new SNP leader achieves this aim will need to compete with other challenges, such as party strategy and the growing weight of domestic issues.

He says that despite some of Sturgeon’s recent "travails", she was "an election winning machine". Therefore, a huge challenge for her successor is how to carry on this legacy and broadly appeal to voters.

The new leader will also need to contend with something Sturgeon struggled with, Diffley adds, which is how to balance the two wings of the SNP that is split about when an independence vote will be held.

On independence, Diffley says there need to be "a complete rethinking" of strategy, including how to achieve a referendum or meaningful vote and ensure it's watertight.

But he says the "independence prospectus" of what it is actually offering people needs to be updated as the world has seen immense change since the last vote in 2014.

"Until we get that, we’re going to see the polls stuck at 50-50ish," he says.

The "huge suite" of domestic issues facing the incumbent FM will have to be balanced alongside these challenges, the pollster says.

James Cook
Scotland Editor, BBC News

Some more detail to bring you ahead of the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon.

The new SNP leader will be announced on Monday 27 March by the party's national secretary, Lorna Finn.

As of December 2021, the most recent membership figures for the SNP stood at 104,000.

The SNP says it will not provide a more up-to-date figure.

Members can vote in the election if they were in the party as of yesterday.

James Cook
Scotland Editor, BBC News

The SNP's ruling body has also made a call on a special upcoming party conference in Aberdeen.

It was due to be held on Sunday 19 March to discuss independence tactics - including the possibility of treating the next general election as a referendum in all but name.

This has been postponed.

Details of a rearranged event will be forthcoming once the new party leader is in place, the SNP says.

James Cook
Scotland Editor, BBC News

In the last few moments the ruling body of the SNP has agreed a timetable to choose Nicola Sturgeon's successor.

Nominations for the post of SNP leader have already opened and will close at noon on Friday 24 February.

The ballot of party members will open at noon on Monday 13 March and will close at noon, two weeks later, on Monday 27 March.

If, as expected, there is a contest, the selection of the new leader will be held on a one-member-one-vote basis, the SNP says.

Marita Moloney
Live reporter

The number of SNP MPs casting doubt that the party's independence conference will go ahead has been steadily rising today as thoughts turn from Nicola Sturgeon's resignation to who will succeed her.

Scottish polling expert Mark Diffley says it's unlikely a new leader will be chosen before the 19 March event, meaning it will likely be delayed.

"I think it’s becoming increasingly clear that there is a likelihood that the special conference will have to be postponed," he tells the BBC.

There may be "a quite large and wide field of candidates," he adds, which will affect the time it takes for a new leader to be chosen.

Diffley adds that while there will be an array of significant issues in the winning candidate's in-tray, he suggests Scottish independence will be the biggest.

Image source, Reuters

Scottish newspaper The Daily Record , externalis reporting that Health Secretary Humza Yousaf will run to become the next leader of the SNP.

The paper is reporting it's spoken to a source who says Yousaf would bring the party together in the same way he managed to get health unions around the table.

So far, no one has publicly declared their intention to replace Nicola Sturgeon, who announced her resignation yesterday.

Image source, PA Media

With Nicola Sturgeon standing down, Scottish comedian Janey Godley returned for a final time, voicing over her resignation speech.

"Well that's me resigned, at least I never got sacked," she says in a clip posted to her Twitter page, external.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime earlier, Godley said she thought it must be "quite exhausting being the leader of a country and having to take on all the responsibility that goes with it".

"Maybe she just wanted a change, we've all been there."

The comedian first voiced up clips of the first minister during the Covid-19 pandemic, with even Sturgeon herself saying she found them funny.

"She enjoys them, and it's nice to see a politician being able to have a bit of fun poked at them. I know that Donald Trump didn't enjoy my parodies."

Image source, Getty Images

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has spoken about Nicola Sturgeon's resignation saying, "we may be political opponents, but worked together on a number of issues".

Khan went on to talk about the influence Sturgeon has, calling her "a role model for my daughters and a role model for women across the globe".

He wished her luck for the future before describing her as "a force of nature".

Image source, PA Media

Joanna Cherry, tipped by some commentators as a "dark horse" to be the next SNP leader, has ruled herself out of the race.

The MP has been a long-standing critic of the current SNP leadership and was dropped from the party's frontbench team at Westminster in 2021.

Confirming that she will not be going for the top job, Cherry tweeted: "It is vital that the SNP reacts to the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon in a way that is beneficial to the country and the cause of independence. Our party needs a leadership election that is about policies and not personalities.

"We must restore the SNP’s tradition of internal party democracy, open respectful debate and intellectual rigour and we must also put the welfare of everyone living in Scotland back at the heart of our endeavours.

"There are some huge challenges facing our country and our government. There is also a need for reform and healing within our party. I’m looking forward to playing my role in this process.