Ash Regan, Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf will fight SNP leadership contest

Three candidates will take part in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister.

MSPs Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf had all met the threshold for nominations by the noon deadline.

The ballot of SNP members, which will use a single transferrable vote system, opens on 13 March and the winner will be announced on 27 March.

Candidates had been required to get 100 nominations from at least 20 local party branches.

Ms Regan formally launched her leadership campaign shortly before Friday's deadline.

She said it was a "conflict of interest" for Ms Sturgeon's husband - SNP chief executive Peter Murrell - to be running the contest to select her replacement.

She vowed to set up an Independence Commission on her first day in the job and said she would not challenge the UK government's decision to block the Gender Recognition Act.

Ms Regan, who resigned as community safety minister over Scottish government plans to make it easier for someone to change their legally-recognised sex, said the legislation was "flawed and does not command public support".

The first full week of the leadership contest has focused on the candidates' views on social issues, with Ms Forbes facing criticism from within her own party after saying she would not have voted in favour of gay marriage had she been in Holyrood in 2014.

Ms Forbes, a devout member of the Free Church of Scotland, also said she would not have voted for the Scottish government's gender reforms in December and that, according to her religious beliefs, having children outside marriage was "wrong".

Several of Ms Forbes' backers have withdrawn their endorsements, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney questioning whether someone who holds her views would be an appropriate choice to lead the party and the country.

Ms Sturgeon said Scotland was a "socially progressive country" and people would expect the new first minister to "stand up for their rights".

But a poll published on Friday suggested Ms Forbes was the most popular candidate among SNP voters.

The survey of 1,001 people who voted for the party at the last Scottish Parliament election, carried out by communications agency The Big Partnership between Monday and Wednesday, found 28% favoured Ms Forbes as the next leader, against 20% for Mr Yousaf and 7% for Ms Regan. About a third were undecided.

The poll also suggested that the cost of living crisis was regarded as the most important issue, followed by the economy, the NHS and education. Only 5% said they thought that the new leader's faith or personal beliefs were important.

On Thursday Ms Forbes attempted to reset her campaign, saying she felt "greatly burdened" that some of her comments had caused hurt, and pledging to "defend to the hilt" the rights of all people in Scotland to live without fear or harassment.

After nominations closed, Mr Yousaf said independence was "within touching distance" and that "experience and unity" was needed to make that a reality.

The country's health secretary has picked up the most endorsements from SNP politicians, with senior MSPs such as Shirley-Anne Somerville, Jenny Gilruth, Maree Todd and Neil Gray among his supporters.

Mr Yousaf has faced criticism over the state of the NHS, particularly waiting times in Scotland's hospitals. Opposition parties have claimed he was the "worst health secretary since devolution" and that he should be sacked rather than promoted.

Ms Sturgeon defended Mr Yousaf's record at first minister's questions on Thursday, saying that the issues faced by the health service in Scotland were shared by other parts of the UK and pointing out that Scotland has avoided strike action by NHS staff.

The first minister also claimed the opposition parties were "running scared" of Mr Yousaf.

Ash Regan launched her campaign in a room with a view. Behind the candidate, all three Forth bridges stretched out over the firth, looking splendid in the winter sunshine.

Inside, another gulf was on display - between the current first minister, a highly polished politician supported by party and government machinery - and an underdog pulling together a campaign on the hoof.

Ms Regan's supporters are furious about the truncated nature of this contest, which they say stifles debate about policy and strategy.

The rapid pace, they say, unfairly favours Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes who have higher profile roles in government and, in theory at least, better name recognition among party members.

They are under pressure too though: Mr Yousaf because his plan to fix the health service was criticised by an official report; Ms Forbes for saying she would have voted against gay marriage.

Still, on the airwaves and in the newspapers, Mr Yousaf is often framed as the leading candidate, the establishment politician favoured by many parliamentarians.

But what if a parallel contest is under way, developing out of sight among SNP members, who will actually make the decision?

The first poll of party supporters comes with some caveats, and was taken before Ms Regan really got going - but the fact that it suggested a substantial lead for Ms Forbes may be a wake-up call.

Mr Yousaf, who is Muslim, missed the 2014 equal marriages vote at Holyrood as he was at a meeting, but supported the passage of the bill during its earlier stages in the parliament.

One former SNP minister, Alex Neil, told the Herald newspaper on Friday that Mr Yousaf had contrived to "skip" the vote by arranging this meeting 19 days in advance, and that it could have been rescheduled.

Mr Yousaf has vigorously denied such suggestions, and said the episode was being used by opponents to undermine his campaign.

He said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the case of a Scottish citizen on death row with the Pakistan consulate.

Ms Regan, who quit as community safety minister over the government's gender recognition reforms, has said she supports gay marriage and has called for an end to "mudslinging" in the leadership contest.

Scottish Conservative Party chairman Craig Hoy said Scotland faced five weeks of "an SNP civil war being played out in public".

"Nicola Sturgeon's resignation released a pressure valve and the enormous SNP splits that had been bubbling around for so long have exploded out into the open," he said.

Scottish Labour's deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, said: "While the Scottish people are crying out for fresh ideas and hope for the future, we are facing a battle for Bute House between the three stooges of the SNP."