London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Who will replace Nicola Sturgeon as next SNP leader?

Who will replace Nicola Sturgeon as next SNP leader?

Nicola Sturgeon has announced her resignation as SNP leader and first minister of Scotland. Who are the key contenders to replace her at the top of Scottish politics?

In her resignation speech, Ms Sturgeon refused to back anyone as a successor, insisting there was a wealth of talent within the SNP.


John Swinney

The deputy first minister is the most experienced option open to the SNP, given he has actually led the party before.

Mr Swinney became SNP leader in 2000 following the resignation of Alex Salmond but left the post in 2004 after a series of disappointing election results.

A former MP who has served at Holyrood since the dawn of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Mr Swinney knows every inch of Holyrood and the government.

The 58-year-old would be the obvious choice to step in for Ms Sturgeon in the shorter term, given his role as her deputy, and he is widely seen as a safe pair of hands.

However there are major questions about whether he would actually want to take up the leadership again.


Kate Forbes

The finance secretary has had a meteoric rise through the ranks of government. She was dropped into the job following the surprise resignation of Derek Mackay and was left to deliver the 2020 Scottish Budget with just hours notice.

Her performance since then has belied her relatively young age (32) and short parliamentary career.

She was first elected to the seat of Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch in 2016.

Few would be surprised if she took the next step up, to the highest office in Scotland, and she is rightly seen as one of the favourites.

It is not known whether she intends to stand, given that she is currently on maternity leave following the birth of her first child.


Angus Robertson

Angus Robertson has held leadership roles in the SNP before, having headed its Westminster group in a previous life as an MP.

That was a particularly prominent role following the 2015 election, when the SNP group swelled to 56 MPs and Mr Robertson frequently clashed with Prime Minister Theresa May.

However he lost his Moray seat in 2017, and was out of frontline politics for a spell before winning the Holyrood seat of Edinburgh Central in 2021.

He immediately took up a post in Ms Sturgeon's cabinet as constitution secretary - an important post given the more or less full-time conflict between the Scottish and UK governments.

Many believe the 53-year-old may see himself as a future first minister. The question may be whether that view is widespread among his colleagues.


Humza Yousaf

The health secretary is part of a newer generation of SNP figures, having become a Glasgow MSP in 2011.

He has held a number of senior posts in government, including as transport minister, Europe minister and justice secretary.

The 37-year-old is also widely seen as ambitious, and may fancy a shot at the top job.

That said, health secretary is a tough job at the best of times, and Mr Yousaf has been running the show at a historically difficult moment for the NHS.


Joanna Cherry

The lawyer has been a prominent MP in the SNP's Westminster group since she was first elected to Edinburgh South West in 2015.

She has been a critic of Ms Sturgeon's leadership on the issue of gender reform, and has built a following within sections of the party of a similar persuasion.

She opted to remain within the SNP while others left for Alex Salmond's new Alba Party.

Depending on the strength of feeling about the issue of gender reform within the party at the moment of the contest, Ms Cherry might see herself as a realistic contender.

However there would be questions about how the 56-year-old could control the party without being at Holyrood, with years to go until the next Scottish election.

She would need a strong deputy leader to take on the role of first minister in the meantime, because that post needs to be held by an MSP.

The SNP has had a leader sitting only at Westminster before - Nicola Sturgeon herself stood in as the Holyrood leader for Alex Salmond - but only when in opposition.


Mairi McAllan

The Clydesdale MSP is a fresh face at Holyrood, with the 30-year-old first being elected in 2021.

However she immediately stepped into government as environment minister, and has already been responsible for guiding foxhunting legislation through parliament.

A former solicitor, she served as a special advisor to Nicola Sturgeon before winning a seat of her own.

That means she has a solid grounding in how the Scottish government works - the question may be whether it is too early in her career to move into the very top job.


Neil Gray

Another recent arrival at Holyrood, Neil Gray was the MP for Airdrie but gave up the seat to win one at Holyrood in 2021.

The 36-year-old swiftly made his way into government as international development minister, and has taken the lead on Scotland's response to the refugee crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine.

He was seen as being close to Ms Sturgeon's leadership team, and could prove to be a continuity candidate.


Keith Brown

The justice secretary might be an outsider bet, but he has support within the SNP - evidenced by the fact he was elected the party's deputy leader.

The 61-year-old MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane has been at Holyrood as long as the SNP has been in government, and has held a range of briefs from transport to the economy.

He declined to discuss any potential candidates in the wake of the resignation, saying that "today is about Nicola Sturgeon".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×