Nominations to close in SNP leadership race

Nominations are to close at later in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister.

Three MSPs - Kate Forbes, Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan - have already said they will stand.

No other candidates are expected to join the race ahead of nominations closing at noon. Ms Regan will formally launch her campaign shortly ahead of the deadline.

The winner of the contest will be announced on 27 March.

Candidates were required to get 100 nominations from at least 20 local party branches, with SNP members deciding the winner through a single transferrable vote system.

The first full week of the contest has focused on the candidates' views on social issues, with Ms Forbes facing criticism from within her own party after saying she would not have voted in favour of gay marriage had she been in Holyrood in 2014.

Ms Forbes, a devout member of the Free Church of Scotland, also said she would not have voted for the Scottish government's gender reforms in December and that, according to her religious beliefs, sex outside marriage was "wrong".

Several of Ms Forbes backers have withdrawn their endorsements, with both Ms Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister John Swinney questioning whether someone who holds her views would be an appropriate choice to lead the party and the country.

But a poll published on Friday suggested she was the most popular candidate among SNP voters.

The survey of 1,001 people who voted for the party at the last Scottish Parliament election, carried out by communications agency The Big Partnership between Monday and Wednesday, found 28% favoured Ms Forbes as the next leader, against 20% for Mr Yousaf and 7% for Ms Regan. About 30% were undecided.

The poll also found that the cost of living crisis was regarded as the most important issue, followed by the economy, the NHS and education. Only 5% said they thought that the new leader's faith or personal beliefs were important.

Paul Robertson, head of public affairs at The Big Partnership said the poll suggests that the focus of the leadership election so far does not reflect the priorities of SNP supporters.

On Thursday Ms Forbes attempted to reset her campaign, saying she felt "greatly burdened" that some of her comments had caused hurt, and pledging to "defend to the hilt" the rights of all people in Scotland to live without fear or harassment.

Mr Yousaf, the country's health secretary, has picked up the most endorsements from SNP politicians, with senior MSPs such as Shirley-Anne Somerville, Jenny Gilruth, Maree Todd and Neil Gray among his supporters.

He has faced criticism over the state of the NHS, with waiting times in Scotland's hospitals. Opposition parties have claimed he was the "worst health secretary since devolution" and that he should be sacked rather than promoted.

Ms Sturgeon defended Mr Yousaf's record at first minister's questions on Thursday, saying that the issues faced by the health service in Scotland were shared by other parts of the UK and pointing out that Scotland has avoided strike action by NHS staff.

Mr Yousaf, who is Muslim, missed the 2014 equal marriages vote at Holyrood as he was at a meeting, but supported the passage of the bill during its earlier stages in the parliament.

One former SNP minister, Alex Neil, told the Herald newspaper on Friday that Mr Yousaf had contrived to "skip" the vote by arranging this meeting 19 days in advance, and that it could have been rescheduled.

Mr Yousaf has vigorously denied such suggestions, and said the episode was being used by opponents to undermine his campaign.

He said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the case of a Scottish citizen on death row with the Pakistan consulate.

Ms Regan, who quit as community safety minister over the government's gender recognition reforms, has said she supports gay marriage and has called for an end to "mudslinging" in the leadership contest.