Can the SNP reconnect to its cause without Sturgeon?

The nationalist party has reached an impasse in its push for independence. Adam Forrest looks at how it might regroup 

- Adam Forrest

The Scottish National Party was supposed to be a tightly run ship. The unflappable crew always appeared entirely unified about the course Nicola Sturgeon had charted towards Scottish independence. But the captain's decision to walk the plank into political retirement has exposed a rowdy mess happening below deck.

It has been all at sea during the past six weeks. Someone will have the tough task of grabbing the wheel and drawing up a new direction, not just for the party, but for the country and the independence movement, when Sturgeon's replacement is announced this afternoon.

Candidates who clashed repeatedly throughout the campaign will have to find a way to work together after a six-week-long argument, the vehemence of which seemed to shock even Sturgeon, who described the contest as "fractious". Interim chief executive Mike Russell admitted the party was in a "tremendous mess".

How has the campaign played out?

The insurgent Kate Forbes - the devout Christian who sparked a major row with her SNP colleagues by saying she would have voted against same-sex marriage - has been all too willing to criticise the SNP's record in government.

To the delight of Labour and the Tories, the finance secretary attacked her main rival Humza Yousaf's performance as health secretary, criticising his failure to tackle NHS waiting times and mocking him as the "continuity" candidate when change is needed.