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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Chris McCall

Odds on Nicola Sturgeon replacement as First Minister tumble as punters gamble ahead of election

Nicola Sturgeon is the country's best known politician and unless a political earthquake happens in the next fortnight she will lead the SNP to another election victory.

The First Minister is consistently ranked as the most popular leader in Scotland and it's difficult to imagine someone else in charge of the Nationalists.

But that's not stopped some punters from gambling on who will eventually succeed Sturgeon as First Minister in the future.

Leading bookmakers Ladbrokes today placed Angus Robertson as the 4/1 favourite to be the next leader in the Scottish Parliament, reflecting his position as both an experienced operator and someone well-known to the wider public.

He is a former leader of the SNP group at Westminster and will likely enter Holyrood as an MSP for the first time next month, given he is the huge favourite to win the Edinburgh Central constituency from the Tories.

John Swinney - who served as SNP leader from 2000-2004 - is ranked the second favourite to replace Sturgeon as First Minister at 6/1, while finance secretary Kate Forbes is an 8/1 shot.

Justice secretary Humza Yousaf is at 10/1 while MP Joanna Cherry can be backed at odds of 12/1 with Ladbrokes.

Those hoping that Scottish Labour will eventually restore their election winning capability can back Anas Sarwar at 16/1, with the same odds being offered for Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross.

Fans of a long-shot can even back Alex Salmond to make a return to the job he held until 2014 - with the former SNP leader a 50/1 shot to return as First Minister.

And if you fancy backing a really long shot, then tennis champ Andy Murray can be backed at odds of 500/1 to swap Wimbledon for Holyrood.

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