Scottish Leaders' STV Debate: What time is the Leaders debate tonight, what will the Holyrood contenders say, who is involved and how can I watch?

As Scotland’s major political party leaders prepare to go head-to-head, here is what you need to know before the televised debate on Tuesday night.

After a brief four-day-suspension to campaigning following the death of Prince Philip, political parties are back canvassing across Scotland today for the Holyrood elections.

Polling stations open on May 6 but between now and then, parties will have the chance to appeal to the public for their votes, including in the second live television debate which is due to take place tonight.

Here is all you need to know about the debate:

Where can I watch the debate?

The Scotsman will be running hustings before the debate and then a live blog to keep you up to date with the latest election news as the debate unfolds.

The debate programme will be live on STV, channel 3, between 7.30pm and 9pm on Tuesday, April 13.

The show will also be aired on the STV Player – which will then be followed by reaction and analysis on Scotland Tonight at 10.40pm.

Following on from the first leaders' debate aired on the BBC at the end of March, Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Anas Sarwar (Scottish Labour), Douglas Ross (Scottish Conservatives), Willie Rennie (Scottish Lib Dems) and Patrick Harvie (Scottish Greens) will take to the podiums for the second debate aired on STV on April 13 (BBC Scotland/Kirsty Anderson).

Who is involved?

The event will be hosted by STV political editor Colin Mackay with all five main political parties in Scotland taking part in the second debate of the election campaign.

Taking to the podiums will be Nicola Sturgeon for the SNP, Anas Sarwar for Scottish Labour, Douglas Ross for the Scottish Conservatives, Willie Rennie for the Scottish Lib Dems and Patrick Harvie for the Scottish Greens.

STV did not invite Alba Party leader Alex Salmond and All for Unity lead candidate George Galloway for the debate which will focus on the major political parties.

What will the format be?

Mr Mackay will ask each leader to give an opening statement at the start of the show.

This will then be followed by an initial discussion, cross-examination between the leaders and closing statements.

What can we expect the leaders to talk about?

Following on from the first leaders’ debate aired by the BBC, we can expect further heated discussions as leaders battle it out over key issues.

The handling of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the topic of Scottish independence are likely to crop up.

Education, health care, the economy, housing, employment and the environment are also general topics we can expect to be raised by the leaders.

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