John Swinney rules himself out of SNP leadership race

Deputy First Minister John Swinney has ruled himself retired of the contention to beryllium the adjacent person of the SNP.

Mr Swinney said helium had to bash what was "right for my family, the Scottish National Party and our country".

Nicola Sturgeon announced connected Wednesday that she was resigning aft 8 years arsenic SNP person and archetypal minister.

Mr Swinney, who has been a subordinate of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, served arsenic person of the enactment betwixt 2000 and 2004.

He had been tipped for a instrumentality to the apical occupation and admitted helium had "thought cautiously astir whether I should stand".

But successful a post connected Twitter helium said helium had alternatively decided to "create the abstraction for a caller position to emerge".

"For the champion portion of the past 40 years, I person had the privilege of being astatine the precise bosom of formulating the strategy of the SNP," Mr Swinney said.

"From a precise mediocre starting constituent successful the 1980s, I americium arrogant to person played my portion successful gathering the SNP into a palmy enactment of authorities successful Scotland with an awesome electoral record.

"The refusal nevertheless of the UK authorities to respect the antiauthoritarian wishes of the radical of Scotland to person a referendum connected independence, requires the SNP to see carefully, and successful my presumption with a caller perspective, however to prosecute our aims.

"To make the abstraction for that caller position to emerge, I person decided not to beryllium a campaigner for enactment successful the SNP. At this captious moment, I judge determination indispensable beryllium an unfastened statement wrong the SNP astir our direction."

He added: "I promote those who basal for predetermination to bring guardant perspectives that anchor the SNP successful the mainstream of Scottish politics, which is an perfectly captious request for the aboriginal occurrence of our cause."

Nominations for the station of SNP person person already opened and volition adjacent astatine noon connected Friday 24 February.

The party's nationalist enforcement said the caller person would beryllium selected connected a one-member-one-vote basis.

Possible contenders include:

Two different high-profile SNP figures antecedently tipped to regenerate Ms Sturgeon person besides ruled themselves out.

The party's person astatine Westminster, Stephen Flynn, said the apical occupation should spell to an MSP.

And confirming she would not stand, chap MP Joanna Cherry said the SNP "needs a enactment predetermination that is astir policies and not personalities".

Nicola Sturgeon plans to stay successful bureau until her successor is elected.

She made her resignation announcement astatine a hastily convened quality league astatine her authoritative Edinburgh residence, Bute House, connected Wednesday but insisted it was a determination she had been weighing up for immoderate time.

"In my caput and successful my bosom I cognize that clip is now. That it's close for me, for my enactment and my country," she said.