A LEADERSHIP challenge from a veteran SNP activist will delay the party's "rebuild", according to John Swinney.
Graeme McCormick - who last year challenged for the role of SNP president - is seeking to gather the necessary nominations to enter into the leadership contest.
So far, Swinney is the only confirmed candidate after Kate Forbes announced that she would not be putting herself forward for the position.
Swinney could become SNP leader from Monday afternoon if he runs unopposed.
However, McCormick was seen at the All Under One Banner march in Glasgow on Saturday drumming up support for his own bid.
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It is understood McCormick believes he is very likely to receive the 100 nominations from at least 20 SNP branches before the Monday deadline.
McCormick has previously been critical of the SNP-led Scottish Government, using last year’s party conference to criticise the party's independence strategy.
If he won the leadership race against Swinney, he would not be able to become first minister as he is not elected in the Scottish Parliament, with McCormick reportedly telling members he believes the roles should be run by two different individuals.
However, Swinney told the Sky News programme Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that he felt an internal contest would hamper the SNP’s ability to recover from its turbulent period quickly.
He said: “I think the SNP has got a chance to start rebuilding from the difficult period that we have had, under my leadership, and bluntly, I’d just like to get on with that as quickly as I possible can do, because every day that we spend in an internal contest, which I think we all probably know the outcome of, we delay the possibility for the SNP to start its rebuilding.”
Swinney told the programme his leadership bid had received “very, very comprehensive support”, including from former finance secretary Kate Forbes, who earlier ruled herself out of the contest.
Should McCormick receive the required nominations, a three-week leadership contest will be triggered, with ballots opening on Monday May 13 and closing on May 27.
But if Swinney runs unopposed, he will be the next SNP leader and he will likely become first minister as early as next week after a Holyrood vote.
READ MORE: SNP activist seeking to challenge John Swinney for party leadership
Swinney, who previously led his party from 2000 to 2004, faced a leadership challenge from an activist in 2003 but ultimately won the contest with 83.9% of the vote.
Speaking later on BBC Scotland’s the Sunday Show, he said he would respect the “democratic process” if there was a contest but added: “I think it would be better if we just got on with things, that we started the rebuilding of the SNP and its political strength.”
He added he thought the “overwhelming majority” of party members “wanted to get on with it”.
Asked where the party “disunity” came from, he cited the leadership contest in 2023, which saw Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan engage in occasionally bruising debates on social issues and independence strategy.
“I think we have basically just had a rough couple of years,” he added.
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