If you're just joining us, for once FMQs is not the dominant centrepiece of Scottish politics on a Thursday.

Instead, it was a press conference in Edinburgh's Grassmarket where John Swinney launched his campaign to become the next SNP leader and Scotland's first minister.

The highly-experienced former cabinet secretary offered his potential rival Kate Forbes a role in his government should he succeed Humza Yousaf.

Swinney said he aimed to "unite Scotland for independence".

Forbes, the former finance secretary, will announce her decision on a leadership challenge later this afternoon.

We'll bring you all the news and analysis from Holyrood right here on this live page.

This was always going to be a day dominated by the race to succeed Humza Yousaf as the leader of the SNP - but there was still the small matter of First Minister's Questions to deal with. Here are the headlines:

• Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross says Humza Yousaf resigned "in disgrace" and accuses the SNP of going "back to the future" after John Swinney launched his leadership bid.
• Yousaf says rather than feeling disgraced, he is proud to have been the first person of colour to be first minister and Scotland's youngest FM.
• The outgoing first minister tells the chamber Swinney and fellow leadership frontrunner Kate Forbes are more popular than Ross.
• He adds that Scotland needs independence despite Ross's claims of "more division for Scotland".
• Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says Scotland cannot afford a "distracted, divided and incompetent SNP government"
• He says both Swinney and Forbes would represent "chaos, division, and more of the same" if they become FM.

Lorna Slater asks the first minister: "When will his government publish the climate compatibility assessment for the A96 and when it inevitably says we cannot afford, for the sake of future generations, to dual that road in full, will he commit to investing the money earmarked for this project into safety improvements and better public transport?"

The first minster replies that it is really important for these reviews to conclude before parliament is updated.

Humza Yousaf then turns to a list of transport achievements under his government.

The first minister says the SNP government has a "very proud track record of standing up to tackle the climate crisis" for the last 17 years.

"We are proud of the achievements that were made with the co-operation of the Greens," Humza Yousaf adds.

He argues that the SNP are "rooted in progressive social values".

Yousaf says it will be down to his successor to come to the chamber to outline how they will tackle climate change.

Lorna Slater says the first minister's government announced a new package of climate change measures just a few weeks ago.

The Scottish Greens co-leader adds: "Since then though he has needlessly ended the progressive pro-independence government majority brought about by the Bute House agreement."

She says she is proud of what her party achieved in government and asks Yousaf to recommit to the climate change action announced, "or will his last act as first minister be watering down climate action and betraying future generations"?

Douglas Ross already has the next first minister in his sightspublished at 12:41 British Summer Time 2 May

12:41 BST 2 May

David Henderson
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Humza Yousaf may be first minister, but the Tory leader is already taking aim at his would-be successor.

Douglas Ross called John Swinney the safe pair of hands who has dropped the ball.

He painted the SNP leadership candidate as a failure in office, and a divisive nationalist.

All this, of course, assumes Mr Swinney has already won the leadership.

Labour's Anas Sarwar accused the SNP of a stitch-up for John Swinney, and clinging onto power.

But Humza Yousaf didn't hold back - blaming Mr Ross's Tory party for austerity, Brexit and a cost-of-living crisis.

And he accused Labour of U-turns on EU membership and progressive taxation, and of failing to match an SNP commitment on affordable homes.

The first minister reminds Anas Sarwar that less than 24 hours ago, the Scottish parliament voted to give confidence to the Scottish government.

"Whoever succeeds me," says the first minister "We stand proud of not just our record, but the policies that we have enacted over 17 years."

Yousaf says he and his colleagues stay consistent in their principles.

"The only consistency in Anas Sarwar - is his inconsistency," he adds.

Sarwar responds that the first minister cut £189m from the housing budget and "miraculously" found £80m the day he "was begging to save his job".

"People can see right through the sham" he tells Yousaf.

He says Scotland needs a government that can fix the SNP "mess" and adds: "He can't ignore the fact, there are people across our country who are being forced to re-mortgage their home to pay for hip replacements."

"But what is the SNP focused on instead? Desperately trying to cling to power. They are so divided, so chaotic and so dysfunctional that they now can't provide the stable competent government our country needs."

The first minister responds that his party's legacy has seen more young people from deprived areas going to university than ever before, delivered over 120,000 affordable homes and established Social Security Scotland.

Yousaf lists actions of Scottish Labour in the last two weeks, including "breaking the promise" to care-experienced children, watering down the plans for workers and a "betrayal" by refusing to back justice and compensation for WASPI women which he says they will not be forgiven for.

Sarwar says: "He's now giving us political advice following the week he's had. You couldn't make it up."

The Scottish Labour leader said regardless of lists the first minister wants to read out, it does not reflect the lived reality for people in Scotland right now.

He says: "While our country cries out for change, what is the SNP's answer? An internal stitch-up and more of the same.

"Either the man who broke the public finances and was the worst education secretary in the history of the Scottish parliament...

"Or the deputy first minister who, many on her own benches, say she would be more akin to Douglas Ross' party than her own."

He says both represent "chaos, division, and more of the same".

The first minister says that, of course, there are challenges, particularly following a global pandemic but his party is choosing to invest in the NHS and public services, "as opposed to tax cuts for the wealthy which of course is the choice of the UK Conservative party but now seems is also the choice of the UK Labour party".

Yousaf adds: "Anas Sarwar asks us to 'concentrate on the day job'. Can I remind him that it was Anas Sarwar and his party that yesterday brought forward a motion of no confidence in this parliament when they knew they were going to lose?"

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar begins his questions to the first minister by saying Scotland cannot afford a "distracted, divided and incompetent SNP government" while facing the greatest challenges since the creation of the Scottish parliament.

He cites high NHS waiting lists, violence and falling standards in schools, police numbers and crimes not being investigated.

"But yet again, the SNP are putting party before country and their own problems before the people of Scotland." says Sarwar.

He asks: "Isn't it the case that regardless of who the SNP impose, they won't be able to fix this mess and deliver the change Scotland needs?"

Ross accuses the first minister of "lashing out" and again takes credit for "forcing him out of office".

The Scottish Tory leader says Swinney means "more division for Scotland".

Humza Yousaf says he suspects the people will give the Tories a very hard time in today's local elections.

He insists: "We need independence."

The first minister lists the achievements of John Swinney in government including measures that will lead to 100,000 children being lifted out of poverty this year.

Yousaf then praises Swinney's record in education and childcare and says Ross "can't hide from the truth".

"They don't like the truth, they don't like it one bit."

Yousaf says Ross voted for the Rwanda Bill. "What a shameful act," he says.

He argues that John Swinney and Kate Forbes can stand proudly on their record and he asks if Ross can do the same.

Back to Douglas Ross who brandishes the "humiliating letter" to him from Humza Yousaf begging for the Conservatives to save the first minister's skin.

"He literally was begging us to save his job," he says.

Ross accuses John Swinney of dropping the ball a number of times which he goes on to detail.

Included in the list is the accusation that Swinney deleted all his Covid WhatsApp messages in a "disgraceful cover-up".

"Is this really the best the SNP can do?," he adds.

The first minister tells the chamber John Swinney and Kate Forbes are more popular than Douglas Ross.

He points out that the Scottish Tory leader served in Boris Johnson's government.[

"He called Boris Johnson an honest man," he says.

Humza Yousaf says Ross also "supported Liz Truss to the hilt".

"I'm very proud of John Swinney, Kate Forbes and all of the company that I keep," he adds.

The Scottish Tory leader paraphrases a scene from the Godfather: "Just when John Swinney thought he was out, they pull him back in, because there is literally nobody else."

Douglas Ross says Swinney has been around the cabinet table for 16 out of 17 years of the SNP government.

"How will going back to the future get the SNP out of the mess that they're in?," he asks.

Humza Yousaf says uniting for independence does not mean more division for Scotland, but he accepts that Ross has the "right to gloat about the position I am in".

Yousaf insists he doesn't feel disgraced at all and says he is very proud of the fact "that I became the first person of colour to be the first minister".

He says that most of all he's proud of having served his government for 12 years on the front benches.

"Did I get everything right? Absolutely not."

The first minister argues that he's proud of his government's achievements and he duly lists some, including free university education and the abolition of prescription charges.

He then lambasts the Conservative party.

"No wonder the leader of the nasty party wants to talk about personalities and not policies," he says.

Douglas Ross says his motion of no confidence forced Humza Yousaf to announce his resignation as first minister "in disgrace".

The Scottish Tory leader tells the chamber Humza Yousaf's successor must focus on "what really matters to Scotland".

"They have to forget about independence and prioritise growing our economy, creating jobs, improving public services," he says.

Ross says John Swinney did the opposite of all of these things when in government and his priority is uniting for independence.

The chamber reacts raucously to this, as Ross says Swinney is fixated with independence.

"Doesn't uniting for independence just mean more division for Scotland?," he asks.

It's back to bread and butter politics as First Minister's Questions gets under way.

It is, of course, still Humza Yousaf fielding the questions, with Douglas Ross and Anas Sarwar posing them.

Ross, as ever, asks the first question and this time around raises the question of John Swinney's leadership bid.