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Nicola Sturgeon planning rallies for new SNP members

First Minister in-waiting Nicola Sturgeon
First Minister in-waiting Nicola Sturgeon

First minister in waiting Nicola Sturgeon will hold rallies in the north and north-east to set out her vision for the SNP and Scotland to new party members.

Details of the events were announced as it was confirmed she is the only candidate to succeed Alex Salmond as party leader.

Her “coronation” will be confirmed at the Nationalists’ conference in Inverness next month.

The party majority at Holyrood guarantees she will be the new first minister.

The rallies are aimed primarily at new members who have flocked to the SNP following the independence referendum.

They will be invited to bring along someone who has not signed up as a party supporter.

The six national rallies will include one at Eden Court in Inverness, on November 10, and another at the Music Hall in Aberdeen, on December 7.

Ms Sturgeon said it was a “privilege to have been chosen” to succeed Mr Salmond.

She said: “Of course, the SNP that I will lead has grown dramatically in recent weeks and we are now the third-largest political party in the UK.

“We are in great heart as we look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.

“Our new members bring a new energy and dynamism – and not just to the SNP. They are also a potent force who can help Scotland progress as a country.

“I am looking forward to meeting as many of our new recruits as possible and sharing with them my vision for the future.

“The tour of Scotland that I will undertake in the next few weeks also sets the template for the kind of first minister I want to be – open, accessible and determined to work with others across the political divide to find common cause and build a better country.”

Mr Salmond said he had “no words of advice” for his successor.

“Nicola is well capable of dealing with any events in the future,” he said.

“But what I would like to say is congratulations to her, I think she will be an outstanding leader of the Scottish National Party and an outstanding first minister of Scotland.

“Of course that has to be elected by the parliament, but I think Scotland’s first woman first minister will be an outstanding first minister.”

North-east Tory MSP Alex Johnstone criticised the lack of any leadership contest within the SNP.

“We all know how keen the SNP leadership were on keeping the monarchy and that seems to extend to adopting a similar succession model for their new leader,” he said.

“It’s also astonishing that Nicola Sturgeon is planning to celebrate her coronation with her own vanity trip around the country – no doubt hoping the streets will be paved with cheering SNP loyalists.

“Going on some pointless jaunt to receive empty platitudes from your supporters is hardly the conduct of a statesmanlike first minister in waiting.”