New SNP leader and Scottish first minister set to be revealed after bitter contest
The gruelling contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as the leader of Scotland’s biggest political party will come to an end later when the winner is announced.
Humza Yousaf, Ash Regan and Kate Forbes have spent weeks battling to become the new SNP leader and, ultimately, the next first minister.
The party will reveal the results of the two-week online ballot in Edinburgh this afternoon.
The race was triggered following Ms Sturgeon’s shock resignation after more than 3,000 days in Scotland’s highest office. Her reign made her the longest-serving leader of the devolved government.
In one of her last interviews in office, she told Sky News she had become so dominant in Scottish politics she was becoming a “barrier to succession”.
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Emotional Sturgeon in final speech
It had been thought around 100,000 SNP members were casting a vote in this competition.
But over the course of this campaign, the SNP became embroiled in a row over attempts to conceal dwindling membership numbers. It later became apparent they had suffered a loss of 30,000 members in 18 months.
The party’s head of communications quit after it emerged he had provided false information to a newspaper.
Murray Foote had been instructed to publicly deny the Sunday Mail report revealing the drop of tens of thousands of members.
The party’s long-standing chief executive, Peter Murrell, and husband of Nicola Sturgeon, resigned hours later after taking responsibility for the issue.
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Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell quits as SNP chief
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The contest has been bitter and fractious with the candidates, two of whom are serving cabinet ministers, trashing and attacking their own government’s record.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes questioned the competence of her rival Mr Yousaf, the health minister, live on a television debate.
Ms Forbes lost a huge amount of support from SNP politicians after admitting on TV she would have voted against gay marriage. She also told Sky News her strong Christian faith meant it was ‘wrong’ to have children outside of marriage.
Mr Yousaf, who criticised Ms Forbes for her comments, then came under scrutiny after questions were raised about why he missed the final, historic vote on gay marriage at Holyrood in 2014.
A serving minister at the time, Mr Yousaf claimed he had an unavoidable meeting.
The first minister during that period, Alex Salmond, later gave an exclusive interview to Sky News revealing Mr Yousaf, a devout Muslim, had asked to “skip” the vote due to pressure from religious groups. This accusation, which he denied, dogged the first few weeks of his campaign.
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Ms Regan was ridiculed by critics after suggesting she would test whether Scotland was ready for independence by erecting a “readiness thermometer”.
She described the concept as a physical device where Scots could watch the progress towards a second vote on the constitution.
The winner is expected to be crowned mid-afternoon in Edinburgh after which it is thought Nicola Sturgeon will formally tender her resignation as first minister to HRH King Charles.
The new SNP leader will face a Holyrood vote on Tuesday to appoint them as the new FM. The final ceremonial moment comes on Wednesday when they are sworn in at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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