A special SNP conference on independence due to take place next month could be postponed following the shock resignation of Nicola Sturgeon.
Stephen Flynn, the party's leader at Westminster, said whoever replaces the First Minister should be given time to settle in the job first.
"They should have the opportunity and indeed the space to set out their position, their values and their intentions going forward," he said today.
"I think it’s sensible that we do hit the pause button on that conference and allow the new leader the opportunity to set out their vision."
SNP members are due to meet in Edinburgh on March 19 to debate how to take forward the campaign for independence.
The event was announced by Sturgeon in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict last year which halted her plans for a second referendum on independence.
Mike Russell, the party's president, said it was "unlikely, but not impossible" a new leader could be installed by the conference on March 19.
"There is a question over whether that should be postponed while the leader comes in to place," he added.
"That was an issue Nicola Sturgeon touched upon in resignation speech and it's a matter that needs to be discussed."
Sturgeon’s shock resignation followed a series of political challenges in recent months as her Government sought to push through gender reforms, only for them to be blocked by Westminster.
She insisted the row surrounding a transgender double rapist being sent to a women’s jail “wasn’t the final straw”, but said it is “time for someone else” to lead the party.
Sturgeon acknowledged yesterday the “choppy waters”, but insisted her resignation was not in response to the “latest period of pressure”.
“This decision comes from a deeper and longer-term assessment,” the 52-year-old said.
“In my head and in my heart I know that time is now. That it’s right for me, for my party and my country,” she told reporters at Bute House.
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