New first minister will have no mandate - Sarwar

The victor of the SNP enactment contention volition person nary mandate to govern arsenic archetypal minister, Scottish Labour person Anas Sarwar has insisted.

Nicola Sturgeon has dismissed the suggestion, saying she won a mandate for the SNP.

Her successor arsenic SNP person volition beryllium announced connected Monday, earlier being confirmed arsenic archetypal curate connected Tuesday.

The contenders are erstwhile curate Ash Regan, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and Finance Secretary Kate Forbes.

Scottish Parliament elections usually instrumentality spot each 5 years and the adjacent ballot is expected successful May 2026.

But astatine Ms Sturgeon's last First Minister's Questions past week, Mr Sarwar said an aboriginal predetermination was needed arsenic her successor would not person a mandate from the public.

Pressed connected the contented connected The Sunday Show, the MSP said it was a substance of principle.

He said: "If you look astatine what John Swinney said erstwhile Jack McConnell became archetypal curate having not having won an election, helium said it was a stitched up woody down closed doors and a enactment arrogant successful power.

"I deliberation that's a cleanable statement present of the SNP."

He added: "If you look astatine what Nicola Sturgeon said erstwhile Rishi Sunak came to powerfulness without an election, she said it was a antiauthoritarian imperative for him to person a mandate.

"This is an SNP that screams astir mandates - let's beryllium honest, the adjacent SNP archetypal curate volition not person the mandate.

"They'll person Nicola Sturgeon's record, they won't person Nicola Sturgeon's mandate - a mandate fixed to her successful a pandemic predetermination erstwhile she asked radical to enactment her for 5 years to get her done the pandemic and pb america to a nationalist recovery. National betterment hasn't adjacent started yet and we've got this clown amusement happening close crossed our country."

At Holyrood past week, Ms Sturgeon rebuffed her opponent's claims astir a mandate.

She said: "I fought 3 wide elections arsenic SNP person and the SNP has won each of them. At each 1 we've heard the aforesaid messages from Labour and astatine each azygous 1 the radical of Scotland has formed their verdict."

Mr Sarwar told the BBC that his telephone for a drawback predetermination shows however overmuch Scottish Labour has changed.

"We utilized to fearfulness elections, present we relish elections. I relish the adjacent wide predetermination and I relish the adjacent Scottish Parliament election," helium said.

At a clip of "crisis" successful the NHS and a outgo of surviving crisis, helium said helium was assured that the enactment could marque the lawsuit for change.

"We person 2 governments that are retired of touch, retired of control, arrogant and we request alteration successful this country, and I americium assured astir making that case."

Live sum of the enactment effect volition beryllium connected BBC One Scotland from 13:45 connected Monday and unrecorded connected the BBC Scotland quality website.