The confirmation of Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader has had an air of inevitability about it, with her eventual rise to the position of First Minister only a matter of time.

She will be the first woman to lead her party and will soon become Scotland's first female First Minister. While many, including Ms Sturgeon herself, might have liked to see the position contested, the truth is she was so clearly the frontrunner nobody else was ever a serious contender.

That her political ascent has been well-earned is not in doubt. She has been at the heart of two successful SNP governments at Holyrood and made a smart political decision in 2011 when she withdrew her own leadership bid in favour of forming a partnership with Alex Salmond.

She has provided him with an able foil, moderating his more bruising approach and has demonstrated herself a competent media performer; a role ever more vital in this multimedia political age.

It remains to be seen to what extent Ms Sturgeon will change perceptions of her party, particularly among women voters, a section of the electorate her predecessor always struggled to win over.

She faces some major challenges from the outset. While the Yes campaign achieved a sense of momentum, the fact is that campaign lost. Ms Sturgeon must demonstrate that she understands that, and work with the Smith Commission to ensure Scotland secures the greater powers promised. While Mr Salmond speaks of a "next time"' in the form of another poll, the electorate is likely to take a dimmer view of this at present.

The other intriguing challenge for the new leader is coming to terms with the changing face of her own party.

A quite extraordinary surge has seen paid-up SNP membership rise by more than 200 per cent. Around 30,000 of the SNPs new members will help vote in the party's deputy leader.

Before the referendum, total membership was around 25,000. Who are the new recruits? How will they influence the democratic direction of the party?

One interpretation is that many have come from the ranks of disaffected Labour voters, and thus it is possible to envisage a shift to the left. This is uncharted territory.

Such considerations may be behind the unprecedented personal tour of Scotland announced by Ms Sturgeon, which will see her speaking at several large venues more accustomed accommodating to rock acts than political meetings.

The call for new members to each bring along an unconverted friend might lead some to wonder just how many recruits the party will settle for? But it is more likely that this is not really a drive for further recruitment. It is partly a recognition that the Yes campaign became an echo-chamber, with too much time spent preaching to the converted and not enough converting doubters.

It is also a bold attempt by Ms Sturgeon to set out her stall early, putting her stamp on a party that , for many reasons, a dramatically different beast in a significantly changed political landscape.