Summary

  • New SNP leader Humza Yousaf says he is a proud Scot who is "the luckiest man in the world" to take the helm of a party he has supported "for 20 years"

  • He wins on the second count with 52.1% of the vote, beating Kate Forbes who receives 47.9%. Third candidate Ash Regan is eliminated on the first count after securing 11.1%

  • Yousaf adds that despite his battles with the UK government he will "work with them and other devolved nations constructively"

  • PM Rishi Sunak congratulates Nicola Sturgeon's successor, saying they should both focus on "issues that matter to people" like reducing inflation rather than Scottish independence

  • Yousaf pays tribute to his rivals, Finance Secretary Forbes, and former minister Regan, telling them "I know collectively we will continue to work hard as part of Team SNP"

  • Sturgeon announced last month that she was standing down after more than eight years as leader and Scotland's first minister

  • Yousaf says it will be "his greatest honour" if elected FM on Tuesday, when a vote takes place in the Scottish Parliament

Live Reporting

Edited by Catherine Lyst

  1. Who do the pollsters think will win?

    Sir John Curtice

    “The only honest answer is that none of us know what is going to happen," Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University and the doyen of polling experts, told Radio Scotland.

    "We only had one poll of members themselves and that was a long time ago, not long after Nicola Sturgeon resigned. At that stage one in three members said they didn’t know how they were going to vote."

    One poll of the general public last week suggested Kate Forbes was the most popular candidate, but among SNP voters Humza Yousaf may have had a narrow lead, though there was "not much in it", Sir John said.

    "Much could turn on second preferences, which could be for Ash Regan, but there is very little hard evidence about that," he added.

    In a sense this is great, because we all have to wait for the result and there is an air of excitement and interest about it there might not have been had we had lots of polls. So it's going to be fascinating.”

    Sir John Curtice, Polling expert

  2. Food for thought

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political correspondent at Murrayfield

    Food for thought

    At Murrayfield Stadium a podium has been set up for the winner to make a speech, just next to a display of classic rugby jerseys.

    The media arrived early to lay waste to the spread of pastries on offer, and various MSPs and SNP dignitaries are also wandering around idly speculating about the result.

    Kate Forbes briefly brought her baby in to meet the assembled masses; the candidates and their families will be seated at the front of the room for the big reveal.

    There’s a relaxed atmosphere for now - but as with most events here, anticipation will build as kick-off approaches.

  3. Greens will decide on agreement with SNP immediately after result

    Lunchtime Live
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Nicola Sturgeon is flanked by Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie (left) and Lorna Slater (right)PA Media

    Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie (left) and Lorna Slater (right) have held positions in the SNP government since their partnership agreement was launched in August 2021

    Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie says his party will decide “pretty much immediately” after the new SNP leader is announced if they want to continue their partnership agreement in government.

    Harvie told the BBC that he and co-leader Lorna Slater will make a “clear recommendation” once they know the outcome.

    He says: “It’s no secret that Humza Yousaf is the candidate who has been most explicit about saying he wants the agreement to continue but also expressing the values and policies it is based on.

    “Some of the other candidates have been attacking the policies and also representing deeply conservative social values many people thought we had left behind in the 1960s.”

    Kate Forbes said in the early days of the campaign that she would have voted against gay marriage and she believed that having a child outside of marriage was "wrong" according to her religious beliefs.

    Harvie said such statements were “entirely incompatible” with the Bute House agreement between the SNP and the Greens.

    The Greens’ national council will meet this afternoon.

  4. Forbes 'feeling good' ahead of new leader announcement

    James Cook
    Scotland Editor, BBC News

    Kate ForbesTwitter

    Kate Forbes's team tweeted out a picture of her arrival at the results venue

    We've just had a word with a smiling Kate Forbes, who has arrived at Murrayfield for the announcement with her baby.

    The finance secretary was on maternity leave when Nicola Sturgeon announced last month that she was resigning as first minister.

    Forbes says she is feeling "good” and is “looking forward to the result".

  5. Analysis

    What next for the SNP-Green partnership?

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    One of the very first jobs for the new SNP leader will be a call to the Scottish Greens.

    The two parties signed a partnership agreement - not quite a coalition, but close - under Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership. The connection was close enough that Green MSPs attended her leaving do.

    The junior party's leaders will meet this afternoon to decide if that will continue under a new leader.

    That is significant because Scotland has a precisely hung parliament. The SNP holds 64 seats at Holyrood - once you remove the impartial presiding officer the other parties hold 64 seats.

    MSPs get a vote on who becomes first minister tomorrow afternoon, and a tie won’t be enough to seal the deal.

    So the seven Green members might feel they have some leverage over the new leader, and could look to renegotiate the partnership to give them greater influence and visibility at the top of government.

    Equally they might feel they can't do business with them at all - in which case things get quite a bit more uncertain.

  6. What does Scotland's first minister do?

    While today's vote is about electing a new SNP leader - who'll then become Scotland's fifth leader since 1979 if MSPs vote in their favour at Holyrood tomorrow - it's worth remembering what the first minister actually does.

    Just as the leader of the UK government is the prime minister (Rishi Sunak, since October last year), the leader of the Scottish government is known as the first minister of Scotland. It's the same in Wales but slightly different in Northern Ireland due to the power-sharing government structure there.

    A key difference between being PM and FM is that the PM's elected by MPs from within their own party, while an FM's elected by the majority of all MSPs.

    The responsibilities of Scotland's first minister include:

    • Deciding the direction and priorities of the Scottish government
    • Choosing cabinet secretaries and other ministers
    • Chairing the Scottish cabinet
    • Representing Scotland at home and abroad

  7. Winner will become Scotland's sixth permanent First Minister

    The winner of today's contest will - assuming they receive the nomination of the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday - become Scotland's sixth permanent First Minister.

    Donald DewarGetty Images

    The late Donald Dewar was Scotland's inaugural first minister in May 1999 after the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, until his death in October 2000

    Henry McLeishPA Media

    After a 16-day caretaker period under the Liberal Democrats' Jim Wallace, Henry McLeish won the Scottish Labour leadership to succeed Mr Dewar in October 2000, but resigned after just over a year

    Jack McConnell speaks in the Scottish parliamentGetty Images

    After another caretaker period under Jim Wallace, Jack McConnell - elected unopposed as Scottish Labour's new leader - became FM in November 2001, serving for over five and a half years

    Alex SalmondPA Media

    After the SNP won the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, Alex Salmond became Scotland's fourth FM and served across two parliamentary terms before resigning after the 2014 independence referendum

    Nicola Sturgeon speaks in Bute HouseGetty Images

    Elected unopposed as the SNP's new leader in November 2014, Nicola Sturgeon became the first woman to be FM before announcing her resignation last month after more than eight years in the role

  8. Can the SNP unite behind a new leader?

    Nick Eardley
    Chief political correspondent

    It’s hard to ignore how divisive the last few weeks have been for the SNP.

    For years the party was pretty disciplined in public, but Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation opened Pandora’s box when it came to internal tensions and policy debates.

    Whoever is named leader in an hour will have a big job on their hands:

    • First - to run the devolved Scottish government
    • Second - to try and find a way forward for the independence cause that’s at the heart of the SNP’s identity
    • Third - to attempt to find a way to keep all factions of the party happy

    Senior party figures admit that the campaign has been damaging. It would be hard to deny it. They hope the party can unite behind a new leader. But that might not be straightforward as the SNP enters the post-sturgeon era.

  9. Looking back at Nicola Sturgeon's life in politics

    A look back at Nicola Sturgeon's life in politics

    With her successor soon to be announced, we take a look back at how Nicola Sturgeon rose to Scotland's highest office.

    Her entry into full-time politics came when she was elected to the new Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a Glasgow regional MSP.

    She went on to guide the SNP to wins in three general elections and two Holyrood elections and leaves office as Scotland's longest-serving first minister.

  10. One hour until winner is announced

    We're about an hour away from hearing who - out of Kate Forbes, Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan - has won the Scottish National Party's leadership race.

    Remember, whichever candidate wins today's vote doesn't automatically become Scotland's first minister. That's decided by a follow-up vote at Holyrood tomorrow.

    This is the first time the SNP has had a leadership contest since 2004, with the outgoing FM Nicola Sturgeon unopposed when she replaced Alex Salmond in 2014.

    Stay with us for live updates. You can also watch the moment Sturgeon's replacement is announced live by clicking the Play button at the top of this page.

  11. What do young voters want to see?

    Calum Leslie
    Presenter, BBC Newsbeat

    Some young people from Scotland BBC Newsbeat spoke to about the SNP leadership contest

    We spent a week speaking to people in their teens and twenties across Scotland about what they want from the person who takes over from Nicola Sturgeon.

    The debate around independence, the cost of living, and questions over tackling climate change while protecting North Sea oil workers all came up.

    And we heard views on the blocked plans to make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender.

    But maybe the main challenge for the new first minister is making sure they get to know these young voters.

    For most we spoke to, Nicola Sturgeon has been in power since they were at secondary school - for others, it's primary school. This is the biggest political change in Scotland in their adult life.

    Listen: BBC Newsbeat special – Scotland’s next first minister

  12. A big moment for the SNP and Scotland - Stephen Gethins

    The winner of the race will be declared a the home of Scottish rugby: MurrayfieldTwitter/Philip Sim

    The winner of the race will be declared at the home of Scottish rugby: Murrayfield in Edinburgh

    It's almost an hour since the polls closed and the race is too close to call for many party observers.

    SNP MP Stephen Gethins tells the BBC's Lunchtime Live: "This is a big moment, not just for the SNP, but also for Scotland, because whoever wins today will go on and I expect will be elected first minister by the Scottish Parliament tomorrow."

    Gethins says nobody knows what the result will be.

    Whoever wins, we're going to see a significant change with Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney going to the back benches leading to a "new generation" holding power.

    The new leader of the SNP will be announced around 14:00 at Murrayfield stadium in Edinburgh, six weeks after Nicola Sturgeon announced her resignation.

  13. Whoever wins will have my 100% support - Sturgeon

    Nicola Sturgeon leaves her final FMQsPA Media

    Who does Scotland's outgoing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon want to succeed her?

    It's been widely assumed during the campaign that Humza Yousaf, who she appointed to various ministerial roles including cabinet secretary for justice and latterly health, was her preferred candidate.

    She gets one vote like every member of the SNP, but says she will never reveal who she voted for.

    It would not have been fair of me, as the outgoing leader, to try to influence others. What I will say, without equivocation, is that whoever is elected as the next SNP leader, and subject to a vote in parliament on Tuesday the next first minister of Scotland,will have my 100% support.

    Nicola Sturgeon

  14. A race that's too close to call

    Lunchtime Live
    BBC Radio Scotland

    The former SNP advisor Andy Collier tells BBC Radio Scotland he will not been drawn on who will win all the way through the contest.

    "It's just, at this moment, too close to call."

    But Catherine Macleod, who was a special advisor to Labour's Alistair Darling as Chancellor, says if Collier says it's too close it is "ominous" for the SNP.

    She says the SNP needs resounding victory from one candidate, or "we're going to have a split party and that doesn't auger well for good government".

    She says whoever wins will need to get to grips with the economy, or public services will continue to decline in Scotland.

  15. The contenders: Who is Ash Regan?

    Ash Regan

    Despite being a government minister for four years, Ash Regan was little known outside of the Holyrood bubble until she quit as community safety minister over plans to allow people to self-identify their gender.

    Regan was a longstanding critic of the proposals and was one of the senior SNP politicians - including her leadership rival Kate Forbes - who signed an open letter to the first minister raising concerns.

    She was also one of nine SNP MSPs who rebelled against the party whip in the final vote last December.

    She's seen as being the outsider in the leadership contest, trailing behind Forbes and Yousaf in the few polls that have been done since Nicola Sturgeon announced she was standing down.

    But she's insisted she is "in it to win it" - pointing to the large number of apparently undecided SNP members who will choose the next leader.

    Regan, who is the oldest of the three candidates at 49 and has twin sons, is pitching herself as the best person to reinvigorate the independence movement.

    Read more here.

  16. The contenders: Who is Kate Forbes?

    Kate ForbesPA Media

    Kate Forbes was on maternity leave after the birth of her daughter when Nicola Sturgeon announced that she was quitting as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister.

    But within a couple of days of confirming she would be standing in the contest to succeed her, Forbes found herself at the centre of a political storm.

    Her views on issues such as gay marriage, abortion, trans rights and having children outside of marriage were savaged by John Swinney - who had been standing in as finance secretary for the deeply religious Forbes.

    Sturgeon herself also made thinly-veiled barbs at Forbes - who she made finance secretary at the age of 29, hours before she had to deliver a budget speech.

    Scotland is a progressive country, Sturgeon stated, and the views of the next first minister therefore matter.

    Read more here.

  17. The contenders: Who is Humza Yousaf?

    Humza YousafReuters

    Humza Yousaf is the bookies favourite to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland's next first minister. He's widely seen as being the preferred candidate of the SNP establishment - including Sturgeon herself.

    The health secretary has been endorsed by far more MSPs and MPs than his two rivals, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney predicting that he would "complete our journey to independence".

    He's undoubtedly the most experienced of the three leadership contenders, having served in government since 2012 in roles including justice secretary and transport minister.

    His supporters say he is a polished communicator who is best placed to unite the party and maintain the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens after what has been a deeply fractious leadership contest.

    Read more here.

  18. BBC graphic of how the SNP elects a new party leader.

  19. Voting closes in contest for new SNP leader
    Breaking

    The time's just gone 12:00 which means the vote for SNP members to select their new party leader has officially closed.

    It's been going for two weeks, having opened on 13 March.

    In about two hours, we'll hear SNP national secretary Lorna Finn announce the results, putting an end to what's been a tense race to replace Scotland's outgoing FM Nicola Sturgeon.

    Stay tuned for live updates and analysis.

  20. What next for Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP and Scotland?

    Glenn Campbell
    BBC Scotland Political Editor

    Nicola SturgeonKirsty O'Conner

    The Nicola Sturgeon era is almost at an end. This is her last full day in office as Scotland's first minister.

    One of her few remaining duties is to pen a letter of resignation to the King.

    On Tuesday she'll be replaced as head of the Scottish government by whichever of the three candidates prevails in the SNP leadership contest.

    The winner will be announced at Scotland's national rugby stadium, Murrayfield, in Edinburgh. Read more here: