The Scottish public would rather see Kate Forbes installed as First Minister than John Swinney, according to a new poll, while SNP voters prefer the latter.

The polling, conducted by Ipsos, finds Ms Forbes has a six-point lead over Nicola Sturgeon's former deputy First Minister, when the public were asked who they'd prefer from a list of candidates.

SNP voters favour Mr Swinney as Humza Yousaf's successor, while 60% say the ending of the Bute House Agreement was wrong (versus 45% of non-SNP voters).

Among the 1,127 Scottish adults polled, 37% think both John Swinney and Kate Forbes would do a good job as First Minister, more than the 31% who think Anas Sarwar would do a good job.

The SNP's Westminster Leader, Stephen Flynn, has the backing of 22%, while just 16% think Douglas Ross would do a good job.

Emily Gray, Managing Director of Ipsos in Scotland, said: "These new results taken after Humza Yousaf’s resignation indicate that John Swinney would be a more popular choice among SNP voters to replace him as First Minister than Kate Forbes would be.

"However, Forbes has a 6-point lead over Swinney when it comes to who the wider public think would make the best First Minister.

"The SNP will be looking to select a leader who can unite the party, secure cooperation from opposition parties so that laws and budgets can be passed and reverse the party’s slide in the polls.

"While Swinney may be better placed than Forbes to address the first two of those, on the third point the evidence suggests that Forbes may currently have wider appeal among the electorate than Swinney does."

The full poll data can be found here.

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