Nicola Sturgeon is officially appointed as SNP leader and Scottish First Minister next Friday, 14th November.

PLMR’s Rob Comba is joined by James Sloane and Felicity Cooke from Dods as they discuss what impact this will have on next year’s general election.

Does this leadership change mean business as usual for the SNP?

Felicity says there seems to be continuity in the party and their growing popularity in the wake of the referendum could make things interesting in May next year.

Will Nicola Sturgeon make the SNP more popular?

James says it’s difficult to say at the moment but it will be interesting to see whether their left-leaning stance will help them break the ‘Labour hegemony’.

SNP membership has gone from about 25,000 to 83,000 in the last few months. Can Nicola Sturgeon translate this growing popularity into seats in the Houses of Parliament?

There is potential there, particularly in light of polls which suggest if the referendum happened now, then Scotland would vote for independence. There is also the question of Alex Salmond standing as an MP.

Will Alex Salmond run in the general election in 2015?

James says it will definitely happen and he will probably choose to stand in ‘his own backyard’ – the Gordon constituency in Aberdeenshire. Although Felicity thinks it would be more of a statement for him to stand in a more traditional Labour stronghold, like Glasgow.

Is Alex Salmond running in the general election good news for the SNP?

James says there won’t just be Alex Salmond becoming an SNP Member of Parliament come May. While Felicity believes the party could be ‘kingmakers’ in the same way the Lib Dems were in 2010.