STEPHEN DAISLEY: Forbes was the voice of moderate SNP politics...but they treated her like an embarrassment

Daily Mail​

9 hours ago

The decision by to stand down at next year's Holyrood elections is a personal one and reflects her wishes for her family life.
But it also marks the final nail in the coffin of SNP centrism. The Deputy First Minister was the last woman standing for anyone who hoped the Nationalists could cut a more moderate path on the economy, social issues and the constitution.
Forbes entered the Scottish Parliament just nine years ago, young and idealistic about independence. Yet she brought a maturity that many political old-timers in the SNP could not match.
When she spoke, she understood that her audience was not the flag-waving faithful but the electorate at large, with its doubters and undecideds and people far too busy to have given much consideration to the great issues of the day.
Nothing demonstrated that maturity like her handling of the 2020 Budget.
With just hours to go before the annual costs were placed before Holyrood, finance secretary Derek Mackay abruptly resigned over text messages to a 16 year old.
Forbes, his deputy, stepped up instantly and won plaudits for the aplomb with which she delivered a speech she had barely had a chance to read.
Taking over for Mackay, she proved herself to be disciplined, rigorous and determined to strike a balance between growing the economy and redistributing resources to alleviate poverty.
For this sensible, middle-ground approach to politics, she was branded a right-winger, an indication of just how out of touch the Scottish parliament is with the nation it theoretically represents.
But what truly put Forbes beyond the pale were her devoutly held Christian beliefs. In an age in which tolerance is on everyone's lips, there was little shown for Forbes's Free Presbyterian faith. When she contested the leadership in 2023, following the abrupt resignation of Nicola Sturgeon, there was a concerted effort to make the entire contest about her suitability for office given her Christian principles.
It was an outrageous exercise in bias and prejudice that, had it been applied to any other religion, would have been readily acknowledged as such. Christians, however, are fair game, especially if they believe in such heresies as biological sex.
The Deputy First Minister signalled early on that she disbelieved in the gender identity ideology, and even though she was on maternity leave when Holyrood was voting through the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, she made clear during her joust with Humza Yousaf for the Nationalist crown that she rejected the notion that a man could 'self-identify' himself as a woman and that the law should change to reflect this.
She was right, as a series of legal cases, culminating in the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland, would go on to verify.
Had Sturgeon and Yousaf listened to her, a great deal of division could have been avoided, not to mention costly legal fees.
As well as canny discernment, she earned a reputation for cutting putdowns that lingered on opponents. She branded Yousaf the 'continuity candidate' and told him during one TV debate: 'You were a transport minister and the trains were never on time, when you were justice secretary the police were stretched to breaking point, and now as health minister we've got record high waiting times.'
Yousaf may have defeated her for the leadership, but he wasn't able to emerge from the shadow of those barbs.
That John Swinney chose her as his deputy first minister speaks volumes about her significance as a voice of moderate SNP politics.
She stressed that wealth redistribution was only possible if first there was wealth generation. She urged fellow Nationalists to stop hectoring the public on independence and try to persuade them instead.
Neither counsel was taken on board and the SNP remains distant from the aspirational, sceptical voters it would need to secure and make a success of independence.
For advocating for Scotland in Europe and for Scotland to be in Europe, Winnie Ewing, an earlier figure on the mainstream wing of the SNP, was dubbed 'Madame Ecosse'.
Forbes, who advocated for the Nationalists among the Don't Knows, the Unionists and even the Tories, is the SNP's Ms Middle Scotland.
An opportunity to bring in voters who would never before have considered a vote for the Nationalists. Voters who might even be willing to listen on independence. And they treated her as an embarrassment, that is when some weren't trying to push her out of the party altogether. Sometimes — oftentimes — politicians are the most clueless practitioners of politics.
Forbes's exit clears the way for Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, to become John Swinney's heir apparent.
A blokey, lefty, loudmouth who would drag Scotland back to rancorous divisions over independence. With Forbes going, he will be the future now.
She would have made the better first minister for Scotland, he would push all the right buttons to get the party faithful cheering. Was there ever any doubt which would prosper in the SNP?
Forbes says she is standing down because she wants to see her children grow up. We should also think about that.
If our politics makes it impossible to be a parent and a parliamentarian, then our politics are broken.
Do we want a Holyrood stuffed with MSPs who have no first-hand knowledge of raising children?
Because that's the way we're heading unless things change. Kate Forbes's choice should be a wake-up call for the SNP, but not only the SNP.