MSPs are braced for a changing of the guard as Nicola Sturgeon’s defining era as Scotland’s first female First Minister draws to a close.
The Scottish Parliament was busier than usual on Thursday, with the public gallery fully booked as Sturgeon was poised to sign off her final speech as FM to MSPs.
There was a strange mood in the parliament. Many felt as if they were living in limbo, with a long weekend ahead before the SNP leadership poll closes on Monday at noon, with Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf or Kate Forbes set to succeed Sturgeon.
In the meantime emotions ran high. Sturgeon and outgoing Deputy FM John Swinney were tearful in the chamber as party leaders paid tribute to the outgoing SNP leader.
Even special advisers were spotted teary-eyed in the Garden Lobby, hugging each other and MSPs as they waited to find out if the next leader will keep them in their job, or not.
MSPs from across the party told the Sunday National they were adamant that the group would get behind the new leader, but one source said they were “terrified of what might unfold over the weekend”.
Sturgeon and Swinney return to the back benches
Paul McLennan, SNP MSP who was first elected to Holyrood in 2021, said it will be “bizarre” to see Sturgeon and Swinney alongside him on the back benches.
He said: “I think we’ll see John probably open up in terms of his debating skills, John’s a great debater, so it will be a good way to see him on the backbenches that way, engaging with people.
“And, I think obviously they’ll be on the normal [office] floors [as opposed to the ministerial tower] with the rest of us. It will be strange to see them there.”
The East Lothian MSP, who credits Sturgeon’s two visits to the constituency on the campaign trail for boosting his electoral chances, said that a new leader brings an “opportunity to reset priorities”.
He said: “The new leader will come in with their own ideas, and I think we've got to get behind that. But the predominant thing going through the group is determination, and independence is the best way forward, we believe that more than ever.
“So there's a real determination, we get through next week, regroup together after a recess, and then keep on pushing the case for independence, which is stronger than ever.”
McLennan added that he thinks it will be “easy enough” for whoever wins the contest to win people round, as party members and politicians are focused on looking forward.
“It has not been the easiest month or so for that party and everybody acknowledges that,” he admitted.
"Every change brings opportunity"
“I think most of us are quite reflective that it marks a change,” Michelle Thomson, Forbes’s campaign manager, said in the parliament’s Garden Lobby after Sturgeon’s final speech.
“Every change brings opportunity,” she added, “and I think everyone would agree that no matter who wins, the discussions around leadership campaigns or simply campaigns.
“I think everybody understands that.
“That people get together and find new purpose in how we move forward. I think that everybody who is here in the SNP hopes to bring all they can to the table for Scotland, and for independence.”
The Falkirk East MSP said she felt “positive” about the next era of the SNP, adding: “Things always change, change is with us all the way through our lives.”
"I'm very proud of her"
Fiona Hyslop, a former cabinet secretary under both Salmond and Sturgeon, who moved to the backbenches in 2021, said she felt “genuinely enthusiastic about the future”.
The Linlithgow MSP said she was keen to welcome Swinney and Sturgeon to the backbenches, but warned: “Both of them will have to go through a period of decompression.”
Reminiscing on Sturgeon’s legacy, Hyslop said simply: “I'm very proud of her and still proud.”
On the incoming administration and the next party leader, Hyslop said she hoped there would be a renewed sense of energy and purpose in the party ranks.
She said: “What I think is really important for the incoming government is to learn from what we've probably done in 2007 is to attack every policy issue with ambition, to know what you want to do, to drive it forward, and to seek opportunity and be creative.
“That's a sign of a good government, and I think we've got the talented, skilled people to do that.”
Competency going forward is key, she added: “I think the most important thing is to celebrate our country, be proud of our country, and the people in our country.
“But also to influence people about policies and possibilities.
“Its policies and the possibilities of independence that I'd like to see demonstrated, and I think they're all very capable and competent to run a government and to run it well.
“But we will always, always, always seek to advance the interests of the Scottish people.”
The mood in the Green camp
It isn’t just SNP MSPs who are poised for the contest results on Monday. The Scottish Greens, who entered into the Bute House Agreement with the SNP in August 2021, have also been left in limbo, with fears raised that they might not work with Regan or Forbes if they win the contest, due to a clash of priorities over gender reforms and other policy areas.
Gillian Mackay, whose abortion clinic buffer zones bill is in the early stages, said it was undoubtedly a “monumental moment” as the Scottish Parliament looks beyond the Sturgeon era.
She said: “The Scottish Parliament came into being when I was eight, so many of the early first ministers, I really don't remember an awful lot [about them].
“I don't think many young people in Scotland today will be able to say that about Nicola Sturgeon because she has been so fundamental to everything that Scotland is in recent years. “So, yeah, it's quite a moment in here.”
The Central Scotland MSP pointed out that without Sturgeon’s leadership the Bute House Agreement “potentially would not have come into being”.
She added: “There’s an element of making sure we thank her and give her her time for that, obviously while keeping one eye on what may or may not happen on Monday.
“I think we have to deal with that when we get to it. I think it's felt like it’s been a long few weeks, “I think everybody’s feeling that to have the conclusion in our sights is not unwelcome.”
Looking forward, Mackay said she hoped the next leader will take debate to a “higher level” and stop some of the “mudslinging” which can occur.
She added: “Going forward in terms of the parliament, I think the first ministers in her time signalled a clear direction for a progressive Scotland, and I actually hope that we go much further beyond what she started.
“I hope it's the starting point for the things that we can achieve in making Scotland a more equal, greener, safe place to live for people going forward, and a lot of her legacy is the fact that she started the train off.”
With the new leader to be announced on Monday afternoon, followed by MSPs voting to install the winner as first minister on Tuesday, the future is still an “abstract”, McLennan added.
He said: “I think when we come back from recess and we get through next week because next week is gonna be a really busy week.
“If we can get through that and the new first minister sets out their agenda, it will feel bizarre for everybody, not just SNP MSPs, but everybody else in the Parliament.”
