The Steamie: Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan - how do the contenders sit in race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon?

Scotland is just one week into the official race to find a successor to Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister – and already the debate has exposed clear rifts and turmoil within the SNP party.

Finance secretary Kate Forbes has been at the centre of a political storm over her admission, first reported exclusively by The Scotsman, that she would have voted against same-sex marriage legislation.

Her strongest rival to become first minister, health secretary Humza Yousaf, has also been forced to deny he purposefully skipped the stage three vote on same-sex marriage at the Scottish Parliament in 2014.

Former SNP MSP Alex Neil, the minister in charge of the Bill when it was going through Parliament, has questioned Mr Yousaf’s account, tweeting on Friday: “He can deny it if he wants, but he’s not being honest about this and he knows it.”

The fourth episode of The Steamie for 2022 is now live. Picture: JPI Media/Shutterstock

The Scotsman’s political team use this week’s episode of podcast The Steamie to debate which of the three contenders in Ms Forbes, Mr Yousaf and former community safety minister Ash Regan has their nose in front at this point in the leadership race.

Political editor Alistair Grant joins deputy political editor Conor Matchett as they discuss the merits and policies of all three candidates, after the nomination period closed at noon on Friday.

You can check out the latest episode of The Steamie wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.