Kate Forbes was "treated very badly" by the SNP, a veteran Nationalist has claimed in a new row over her failed leadership campaign. The former deputy first minister, who stood down as an MSP ahead of May's election, told a conference in London she was viewed as a "slam dunk" to replace Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader until she revealed her views on gay marriage.
Forbes Advised to 'Lie' About Views
Forbes told the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (Arc) conference: "These wonderfully committed team members, who wanted me to win, had great advice - just lie and you'll be fine." She was one of three candidates aiming to replace Sturgeon as SNP leader in February 2023, but her bid suffered a major setback following intense controversy about her religious views.
Forbes, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, told reporters she would not have voted in favour of gay marriage if she had been an MSP at the time the legislation was passed at Holyrood. She also faced a backlash after she said having children outside of marriage is "wrong" and "something that I would seek to avoid, for me personally".
Party Split and Leadership Contest
Her views caused an angry split within the party, with several of her previous backers withdrawing their support. One SNP parliamentarian, who asked not to be named, told the Record: "I thought the intention was to select a First Minister to lead the country to a progressive future, not back to 1823." Forbes narrowly lost the leadership contest to Humza Yousaf in March 2023, with many blaming her personal views for the result. She later declined Yousaf's offer to become rural affairs secretary - widely viewed as a demotion - and instead returned to the backbenches.
Yousaf's sudden resignation in 2024 saw Forbes make a return to Government. She was named Deputy First Minister by John Swinney and looked set for a prolonged spell in power. But she chose to quit frontline politics aged 35 when she announced she would not seek reelection at the 2026 Holyrood election.
Reaction from Former MSPs
Alex Neil, a former Scottish Government health secretary who supported Forbes' campaign in 2023, told the Record: "I do think Kate was treated very badly. I don't agree with her religious views but, like everyone else, she is entitled to her beliefs. It seems discrimination is unacceptable except for those who are in the Free Church of Scotland, in which case anything goes." Neil added that Forbes had come "very close" to becoming party leader despite what he claims were the best efforts of a "cabal" of senior Nationalists. He continued: "It would have been much better for the SNP and the independence cause if she had won. We wouldn't be in the sorry mess we're in now."
But other Nationalists took a more negative view of Forbes' campaign. Former SNP MSP Lloyd Quinan said: "We have had enough of rewriting history - Kate Forbes mythology is no help to anyone." Reform MSP Thomas Kerr said: "Politics aside, Scotland doesn't need Christian views hidden, it needs more who are unashamed of their faith, like Kate. Our country was built on Christian foundations, and we shouldn't be afraid to say so."
Forbes Defends Her Stance
In her speech, Forbes also claimed 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." Asked if it had been hard to refuse to shy away from her beliefs in the 2023 contest, she said: "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." She expressed no regrets about putting her faith before her career. "I did lose the contest but I absolutely won the public support … and that feels good," she claimed. Forbes said "courage" was needed to stay true to convictions and said people should make efforts to ground their conscience in the "external truths that will outlast every single one of you across the grand sweep of history - the biblical concepts of freedom, liberty, human dignity, the worth of life, and flourishing for all".
The Arc event saw the likes of Nigel Farage and fellow Reform UK MPs Sarah Pochin and Danny Kruger in attendance. Asked about Forbes' participation at the event in London, John Swinney said last week: "I certainly wouldn't speak at a conference like that because I'm going to have nothing to do with Reform."
