I was 'slam dunk' for SNP leadership until revealing gay marriage views - Forbes

By

Scotland political correspondent

Former SNP minister Kate Forbes has claimed that she was viewed as a "slam dunk" for the party leadership until she revealed her views on gay marriage.

The ex-deputy first minister was narrowly defeated in a 2023 SNP contest by Humza Yousaf, having been criticised for beliefs she attributed to her Christian faith.

Speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference last week, Forbes said she was advised to lie about her views but insisted that the public admired politicians who took difficult stances on matters of integrity.

She told the event at London's Olympia that even though she lost out to Yousaf, she "absolutely won the public support".

The former MSP, who stepped down from parliament at last month's election, made a speech at the conference and participated in a question and answer session on "the challenge of leading with integrity".

Some in the SNP criticised her for speaking at the conference, which featured right-wing figures including Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch and Boris Johnson, as well as supporters of Donald Trump from the United States.

During the question and answer section, Forbes said her 2023 leadership bid was initially viewed "as a bit of a slum dunk", adding: "I was very much in the lead."

However, the former minister lost supporters early in the campaign when she revealed she would have voted against same-sex marriage laws - passed in 2014 before she was an MSP - but would not seek to overturn them.

A member of the Free Church of Scotland, Forbes also said that having children outside of marriage was "wrong" and faced criticism for her views on abortion and trans rights.

Asked if it had been hard to refuse to shy away from her beliefs in the contest, she told the event: "All these wonderfully committed team members, who wanted me to win, had great advice - just lie and you'll be fine.

"I ended the first 24 hours just so thankful that, in the face of the questions, I hadn't crumbled.

"The end result felt like a victory because during that period I thought I had not given in when I could have."

The question and answer event was chaired by former Australian deputy prime minister John Anderson.

At one point, Anderson claimed that Forbes had been treated "grossly unfairly" due to her Christian beliefs.

Speaking about Yousaf, he went on to say the SNP leadership contest had gone "in favour of somebody who was probably every bit as committed to those views, and even more hardline, but happened to be of a different faith".

Anderson added: "Let's be honest, he was a Muslim."

This statement went unchallenged by Forbes.

She said that she had received a positive response from the public after revealing her religious beliefs.

Forbes told the event: "When you're getting into taxis and people are saying 'you're the only honest one amongst [the politicians]' that feels good."

In her speech, the ex-SNP minister said she had received "thousands on thousands" of communications from people who disagreed with her but supported her right to express her conscience.

She told the audience: "I answered questions honestly about my faith, and the way it shaped my view of sex and gender, of marriage and family. The backlash was instant and fervent."

Forbes said that in commentary about her leadership bid "my experience of managing the nation's budget as finance secretary, or having the largest electoral majority of any parliamentarian, was less important apparently than - shocker of shockers - having a conscience".

During the 2023 leadership contest, Yousaf defended his decision to miss the final vote on Scotland's equal marriage legislation after it was claimed he had arranged a meeting as cover.

Yousaf insisted he had an "unavoidable" engagement about a death row prisoner in Pakistan, adding: "I support equal marriage. I supported it then, support it now."

Asked earlier this week if he would have attended the ARC event, First Minister John Swinney replied: "I certainly wouldn't speak at a conference like that because I'm going to have nothing to do with Reform."

In response to a separate question about political disquiet, Forbes said that "politicians have pretended to be able to deliver utopia for too long".

Talking about the multiple referendums parts of the UK had faced in recent years, she said that each vote had left half of the population "scunnered and angry" and the other half disappointed when "they didn't se the milk and honey flowing".

The SNP declined to comment on Forbes' claims, but pointed out that Swinney had led recent pride marches in Edinburgh.

Forbes, Yousaf and Anderson have been approached for comment.

First elected in 2016, Forbes enjoyed a rapid rise to become Scotland's first female finance secretary in 2020.

She returned to the backbenches after losing out to Yousaf in 2023, but considered another tilt at the leadership the following year.

Ultimately she agreed to back Swinney and was appointed as his deputy.

However, she did not stand for re-election at May's Holyrood election, citing family commitments.