The party’s over! Nicola Sturgeon gives speech on her farewell tour TODAY as the SNP goes into total meltdown over race to replace outgoing First Minister – with new chief admitting it is a ‘tremendous mess’

• She will give a speech in London, 400 miles from chaos enveloping the SNP 
• Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, forced to quit as party CEO at the weekend
• His interim replacement admitted the nationalists were in a ‘tremendous mess’

Nicola Sturgeon will begin saying her goodbyes as First Minister of Scotland today – as the race to replace her drives her party into meltdown. 

At the start of her last week in office, she will give a speech in London this afternoon, 400 miles from chaos enveloping the SNP at Holyrood over how her successor is chosen. 

Ms Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, was forced to quit as party chief executive at the weekend over a row over the release of party membership figures. 

And his interim replacement, party president Mike Russell, admitted the nationalists were in a ‘tremendous mess’, just a week before the new First Minister is due to be unveiled on March 27.

Mr Russell told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme he has been brought in to ‘steady the ship’ and will focus on doing that for the next week.

Asked what has gone wrong, Mr Russell told the BBC: ‘A whole host of things quite clearly.

Ms Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, was forced to quit as party chief executive at the weekend over a row over the release of party membership figures.

Ms Forbes said she has confidence in the process to find a new leader.

‘But my focus as I said yesterday and I’m saying again today, is to ensure we get to next Monday to the declaration of the (leadership) result in a much better form and do it in an orderly fashion and that’s what I’m going to be doing this week: making sure that we focus on the important things for the people of Scotland actually because we have a duty to the people of Scotland.

‘The person that the party selects will be the party’s nominee for First Minister and we’ve got to get this right and we’ve got to do it in the proper way, so that’s the focus just now.

‘I think then the new leader needs to look very closely at a whole range of issues, including the organisation of party HQ, and also the fact that we haven’t had a leadership election in 19 years and I have to say it shows.’

Mr Murrell quit with immediate effect on Saturday following a row over the party’s membership numbers.

Mr Murrell said he took responsibility after misleading information was briefed to the media over membership numbers, but said there was no ‘intent to mislead’.

The party this week confirmed there had been a big drop in membership numbers.

His departure came shortly after that of media chief Murray Foote, who said there had been a ‘serious impediment’ to his role. 

And last week, two of the SNP leader candidates to succeed Ms Sturgeon as first minister: Kate Forbes and Ash Regan, questioned the independence of the election process.

Ms Forbes said she has confidence in the process to find a new leader.

Asked whether she would like the leadership contest to be rerun, Kate Forbes told BBC Radio Scotland: ‘Personally, no. I personally would like us to get to the end which is next week.’

During the interview, Ms Forbes was also asked what she makes about the drop in SNP membership, which has fallen by more than 30,000 in the past two years.

Party president Mike Russell admitted the nationalists were in a ‘tremendous mess’, just a week before the new First Minister is due to be unveiled.

She said: ‘I think that absolutely demonstrates that this needs to be a change election.’

On Sunday Ms Forbes said decisions in the SNP are being taken by too few people.

She is on maternity leave from her government role as Finance Secretary, and is facing Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and former community safety minister Ash Regan in the contest.

She told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: ‘I think at the heart of this is the fact that the decisions within the SNP have been taken by too few people.

‘I think that’s well recognised across the political domain.

‘SNP members want to know that our institution is democratic, that they can influence it, that they can shape policy.’

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