A massive internal battle in the SNP is set to erupt after Nicola Sturgeon announced her shock resignation.
The Holyrood veteran has led the party for eight years, making her the longest-serving and first female First Minister since the creation of the Scottish Parliament.
She had been seen as a safe pair of hands for much of that time, leading the SNP to repeated election victories at UK, Scottish and local level.
But she has been mired in controversy in recent months over gender reforms blocked by Westminster and the housing of transgender prisoners.
The move threatens to unsettle the party, with Kate Forbes emerging as the frontrunner for the job.
Polling by PanelbasePolitical suggests more than two-thirds of Scottish voters do not know who should take Ms Sturgeon's place at the helm.
Here, The Telegraph takes a look at some of her possible successors.
Kate Forbes
Often touted as a potential successor to Ms Sturgeon, up-and-coming MSP Kate Forbes has recently been on leave from her role as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy following the birth of her daughter, Naomi.
A practising Christian, she has previously noted “politics will pass” while her faith is forever.
Ms Forbes is a member of the Free Church of Scotland, which conforms to a strict interpretation of the Bible, and was rumoured to be sceptical of Scotland’s gender reforms that were blocked by the UK Government.
Ash Regan
Former SNP minister Ash Regan, who led the rebellion against Ms Sturgeon’s gender reforms, has emerged as a shock contender for the top job.
The Edinburgh East MSP quit her post in Ms Sturgeon’s Government to vote against her plans to allow all Scots aged over 16 to change their legal sex by signing a declaration.
She is yet to publicly confirm a bid but has called for members who quit the party over the gender row to be allowed to rejoin to vote in the contest.
John Swinney
John Swinney, Ms Sturgeon’s deputy and the Cabinet member for Covid Recovery, was perhaps the most obvious candidate but withdrew from the race on Thursday night.
He was arguably viewed as the sensible choice - even if only in the interim - given his extensive experience in Scottish politics.
Mr Swinney, who has been in the Scottish Parliament since 1999 and served as leader of the party between 2000 and 2004, said he had "thought carefully about whether I should stand and have had to be sure whatever I do is right for my family, the Scottish National Party and our country".
"For the best part of the last 40 years, I have had the privilege of being at the very heart of formulating the strategy of the SNP," he said. "From a very poor starting point in the 1980s, I am proud to have played my part in building the SNP into a successful party of government in Scotland with an impressive electoral record.
"The refusal however of the UK Government to respect the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland to have a referendum on independence, requires the SNP to consider carefully, and in my view with a fresh perspective, how to pursue our aims.
"To create the space for that fresh perspective to emerge, I have decided not to be a candidate for leadership in the SNP. At this critical moment, I believe there must be an open debate within the SNP about our direction," Mr Swinney continued.
"I encourage those who stand for election to bring forward perspectives that anchor the SNP in the mainstream of Scottish politics which is an absolutely critical requirement for the future success of our cause."
Angus Robertson
One of the most familiar faces in the SNP, Angus Robertson was the party’s leader in the House of Commons from 2007 to 2017, serving under both Alex Salmond and Ms Sturgeon.
He headed to Holyrood as MSP for Edinburgh Central in 2021 and remains a senior figure in the party, now holding the Cabinet post of Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture.
Humza Yousaf
Another potential candidate is Humza Yousaf, the current Health and Social Care Secretary.
Mr Yousaf was appointed in May 2021 and was the youngest MSP elected to the Scottish Parliament at 26.
He has served in numerous roles and in 2018 was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Justice. He introduced the Hate Crime Bill, which caused controversy among opposition parties.
Keith Brown
The field may appear crowded at this stage, but just two weeks ago Scottish Tory Murdo Fraser was so confident that Keith Brown, the deputy SNP leader, would take the reins at the top of the party that he encouraged people to take a bet.
Keith Brown will be First Minister by the end of the year. He’s currently at 20-1. Get your money on now and thank me later.
— Murdo Fraser (@murdo_fraser) February 2, 2023
The Justice Secretary, a former Royal Marine, entered the Scottish Parliament in 2007 and has served in his Cabinet post since 2021.
He has been forced to contend with the fallout from the controversial Isla Bryson case in recent weeks, ordering an urgent review into the affair and pausing the movement of transgender prisoners into women’s jails if they have a history of violence.
Neil Gray
Seen as a dark horse in the leadership contest, the former MP, who made the switch to Holyrood in 2021, is believed to be weighing up a leadership bid.
Mr Gray is a protege of Alex Neil, a former SNP minister who has become a leading critic of Ms Sturgeon. However, Mr Gray has been careful to show himself to be a loyal member of Ms Sturgeon's Government at Holyrood.
As the minister for culture, Europe and international development, he was handed responsibility for the SNP’s resettlement scheme for Ukrainian refugees.
While the scheme ran into major difficulties due to a lack of housing, he managed to largely shut down fierce initial criticisms of the plan to house victims of the war on cruise ships, after ensuring the facilities were well-equipped.
However, he has four young children and is understood to be considering his family commitments alongside his political ambitions.
Mairi McAllan
Known to SNP insiders as intelligent and highly ambitious, the 30-year-old former special advisor was immediately appointed as a minister after she was elected to Holyrood in 2021.
As a solicitor, she styled herself as an Erin Brockovich-style legal campaigner who set up the ‘RebLaw’ organisation which aims to “organise, agitate and litigate” for social change.
She also has strong family ties to the SNP, with her father Ian an SNP councillor and well-known activist.
Her could present herself as a young, female leader in the mould of Finland’s Sanna Marin. She recently steered a law through Holyrood designed to close loopholes related to the 20-year-old fox hunting ban, an issue likely to play well with the SNP membership.
