Kate Forbes narrowly lost out to Mr Yousaf in last year’s SNP leadership contest.
The former finance secretary faced backlash during her campaign after admitting she would have voted against gay marriage in Scotland when it was made legal a decade ago.
The Free Church of Scotland member also told Sky News that having children out of marriage is “wrong” and something she would “seek to avoid”.
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However, the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch stressed that “in a free society you can do what you want”.
Ms Forbes had argued that “continuity won’t cut it”.
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After losing to Mr Yousaf by 48% to 52%, she said: “If we are to continue to win elections, we need to continue to listen and maintain trust.”
Ms Forbes turned down the role of rural affairs minister, which at the time was seen as a demotion.
Although her views on social issues remain unpopular with some of her MSP colleagues, she was one of the few SNP ministers who did not delete her WhatsApp messages during the COVID pandemic.
Ms Forbes would face resistance from the Scottish Greens, who have previously ruled out working with her.
STEPHEN FLYNN
Image: Stephen Flynn. Pic: PA
Stephen Flynn replaced Ian Blackford as the SNP’s Westminster leader in December 2022.
Mr Gray, the MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, previously served as an MP between 2015 and 2021 before making the switch from Westminster to Holyrood.
Mr Gray, who served as Mr Yousaf’s campaign manager in the SNP leadership contest, was previously the cabinet secretary for wellbeing economy, fair work and energy, and before that the minister for culture, Europe and International Development.
JENNY GILRUTH
Image: Jenny Gilruth. Pic: PA
Jenny Gilruth, Holyrood’s education secretary, is a former modern studies teacher and is married to ex-Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale.
The SNP MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes was a junior minister in Nicola Sturgeon’s government.
She was promoted from transport secretary to cabinet secretary for education and skills after Mr Yousaf took charge in March 2023.
Shona Robison could fancy her chances as Scotland’s leader following her stint as deputy first minister under Mr Yousaf.
Ms Robison, the finance secretary, has been the MSP for Dundee City East since 2003 and is a close friend of former first minister Ms Sturgeon.
She has previously held the post of health secretary, and as cabinet secretary for social justice, housing and local government was behind Holyrood’s efforts to pass the controversial Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Following the breakdown of the Bute House Agreement, Ms Robison may face a challenge to hold onto her position if the SNP wish to replace those at the top of the chain in an effort to start afresh.
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The former SNP leader, who resigned from that post in 2004 following poor European parliament election results, could be tempted to once again step into the spotlight following his year on the backbenches.
He ruled himself out of the 2023 leadership race, citing that he had to put his young family first.
The MSP for Perthshire North, who was finance secretary under Alex Salmond’s government, has the experience to hold the fort following Mr Yousaf’s departure.
MAIRI MCALLAN
Image: Mairi McAllan. Pic: PA
Mairi McAllan is a rising star within the SNP.
The MSP for Clydesdale was a special adviser to Ms Sturgeon and is now the wellbeing economy, net zero and energy secretary.
At the age of 31, Ms McAllan would become the youngest first minister.
As she is expecting her first child, with maternity leave expected to kick in during the summer until March 2025, it seems unlikely she will run for the top job.
Close to its many restaurants, food delivery riders are congregating on their bikes.
The area is packed with shoppers and workers.
PC Paige Gartlan is approaching with other officers. She’s on the lookout for illegally modified e-bikes – and she knows she’ll find them here.
“You can physically tell by looking at the bike that it’s generally going to be illegal – the battery pack is taped on to the sides and generally the size of the motor that’s on the back wheel,” she explains.
Sky News has been invited on an operation by West Midlands Police to find these bikes and get them off the streets.
PC Gartlan has been hit by one before. She’s had to tackle a rider to the floor after he drove into her.
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Within minutes, she’s spotted a suspicious-looking bike. The rider makes a run for it – followed by plain-clothed officers.
PC Gartlan tests the bike – it’s showing a top speed of 52km/hr on the speedometer – just over 30mph.
Image: PC Paige Gartlan with a seized e-bike
The speed limit for e-bikes in the UK is 15.5mph when using electric power for assistance.
I look up the street and another two riders have been detained. In less than an hour, officers have confiscated four bikes – all were being ridden by fast food delivery drivers.
The commotion is attracting a lot of attention.
“They are dangerous,” Sandra, who has just finished work, tells me.
Image: Demoz had his bike taken by police
She’s stood watching the riders being questioned. She says she’s had near-misses herself and is worried for the safety of the elderly and children.
It’s not just West Midlands police officers here – immigration officials are carrying out checks too. They’re involved in a nationwide operation, which has seen more than 7,000 arrests in the last year – a 50% increase on last year.
Matthew Foster, the immigration enforcement lead officer for the West Midlands, tells me they’ve already found one individual who has entered the UK unlawfully.
“He’s been detained,” he says, “to affect his removal from the UK.”
Further down the street, police are loading illegally modified bikes on to a van – they’re destined to be crushed. One of them had belonged to Demoz.
He’s on his way home, carrying a big box with the logo of one of the main fast food delivery firms on it.
He tells me he used to have an illegal bike, but he thought his new one was legal.
“I make a mistake, I have to say sorry, I will do better for the future,” he says.
I get in touch with the big delivery firms; Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat.
Their representatives say they constantly remind workers of their safety obligations, and that they’re all working closely with the government to increase security checks on riders.
As he leaves, Demoz, now bike-free, tells me he’s thinking of changing his job.
Watching pictures of Prince Harry in Angola this week took me back to 2019, when we were there for his first visit following in Princess Diana’s footsteps.
The pictures on Wednesday looked so similar; his effortless interactions with people who face the daily dangers of landmines, and his obvious passion to help a charity that he cares deeply about.
Of course so much has happened in the six years since then, but with other headlines this week, I couldn’t help but feel like we could be looking at the beginning of a reset for Harry.
It started last Saturday night, as the story emerged of a meeting between the King’s communications secretary, Harry’s new London-based head of PR, and Harry’s most senior aide in America.
The pictures of the get-together were being sold for thousands of pounds by the paper that ran them, just one indication of the global fascination about whether father and son may be on the road to reconciliation.
Neither side are willing to go there when you ask what exactly they talked about, although I suspect some of it was much more practical than about trying to mend this fractured relationship.
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Things like trying to avoid unnecessary negative stories, for example, the kind where Harry is accused of snubbing his father because they just happen to be doing jobs on the same day.
Image: Prince Harry meets landmine victim Sandra Tigica in Angola in 2019, who Princess Diana met on her visit to Angola in 1997
It’s tricky for Harry’s camp to avoid such a situation when they don’t have sight of the King’s diary.
There’s also been the chatter about who may, or may not, have leaked the meeting.
There has been speculation around why they were out on a balcony, and who spotted the photographer in the park.
But whether it was a leak, or just a really good spot from a journalist or photographer, it’s not a bad thing for either side that we’re now all talking about whether father and son may be close to patching things up.
It did however raise other questions, about what it means for Prince William and his relationship with his brother.
So far there have been no indications of any meeting between William’s team and that of his brother.
The feelings of William also, you may think, a consideration for the King.
Image: The King and Prince Harry in 2018. Pic: PA
The unexpected headlines around Harry just kept coming, as on Tuesday he popped up in Angola.
His second visit there, this time with no press pack in tow.
So why the surprise visit?
Harry has worked with the Halo Trust for some time, and it’s clearly still a priority for them to highlight the dangers faced by those living with the potential dangers of landmines in Angola.
But it also feels like part of a push to get Harry out on more public engagements.
I’ve been told that since moving away from the UK he has continued to have regular contact with those charities with which he’s maintained ties, but being on the phone or a video call, isn’t the same as physically being there in person.
We saw something similar with his trip to China with Travalyst earlier this year, some may argue not the best choice of destination, but another example of wanting to get him physically out on visits to reinforce publicly those connections with causes that matter so much to him.
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0:51
Prince Harry follows in Diana’s footsteps
For some months now it’s felt like Meghan has regained an element of control over how she wants to be seen.
Just look at her social media accounts and the success of her “As Ever” brand.
Whether Harry for the first time would step on to the social media scene with his own public account we wait to see, although the idea of his own commercial project is more likely, with suggestions something may be in the pipeline, we wait and see what.
After a constant flow of stories in recent months relating to court cases or his ongoing row with his family, this week has felt different.
A lot has been made about Harry and Meghan establishing a new “court” and what lies behind their decision to hire new people, five years after they stepped away from royal life.
There are of course elements of the recent past that it is impossible to erase, even Harry, in his recent interview talked of how he would “love reconciliation with my family” but added, “Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for… lots of things.”
But it does feel like their new team are tentatively attempting to push the reset button; getting Harry out on more engagements just one way they hope to focus our minds back on to what he has always done best.
The environment secretary has pledged to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030.
The target – which is compared to 2024 levels – is to be announced by Steve Reed on Sunday morning – when the Labour minister is also set to appear on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.
The government says it is the first time ministers have set a clear target to reduce sewage pollution.
The target is part of the government’s efforts to respond to record sewage spills and rising water bills.
Ministers are also aiming to cut phosphorus – which causes harmful algae blooms – in half by 2028.
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1:38
Why sewage outflows are discharging into rivers
Mr Reed said families had watched rivers, coastlines and lakes “suffer from record levels of pollution”.
“My pledge to you: the government will halve sewage pollution from water companies by the end of the decade,” he added.
The announcement comes ahead of the publication of the Independent Water Commission’s landmark review into the sector on Monday morning.
The commission was established by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their joint response to failures in the industry, but ministers have already said they’ll stop short of nationalising water companies.
On Friday, the Environment Agency published data which showed serious pollution incidents caused by water firms increased by 60% in England last year, compared with 2023.
Meanwhile, the watchdog has received a record £189m to support hundreds of enforcement officers for inspections and prosecutions.
“One of the largest infrastructure projects in England’s history will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good,” Mr Reed said.
But the Conservatives have accused the Labour government of having so far “simply copied previous Conservative government policy”.
“Labour’s water plans must also include credible proposals to improve the water system’s resilience to droughts, without placing an additional burden on bill payers and taxpayers,” shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins added.
The Rivers Trust says sewage and wastewater discharges have taken place over the weekend, amid thunderstorms in parts of the UK.
Discharges take place to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed, with storm overflows used to release extra wastewater and rainwater into rivers and seas.
Water company Southern Water said storm releases are part of the way sewage and drainage systems across the world protect homes, schools and hospitals from flooding.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed is due to appear on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am on Sky News.