Kate Forbes, the rising star who couldn't land the SNP leadership
The MSP for Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch was appointed a government minister in 2018 and proved her capability after being named finance secretary on the eve of the Scottish budget, when a scandal forced the incumbent to step down.
Forbes was one of three candidates who stood in the SNP leadership election after Nicola Sturgeon's sudden resignation in 2023. Forbes cut short her maternity leave to campaign just six months after the birth of her first child.
A member of the Free Church of Scotland, her religious views caused controversy early in her leadership campaign as she said she would not have supported same sex marriage as a 'matter of conscience' if she had been an MSP when the vote was held.
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New Statesman
3 minutes ago
- New Statesman
Scotland needed Kate Forbes
Photo by JeffNot predicted, but perhaps predictable. Kate Forbes, a young woman whose politics are unusually values-based, is quitting Holyrood at the tender age of 35. Forbes, by some margin the outstanding SNP talent of her generation, is walking away from the job of deputy first minister and the prospect of succeeding John Swinney in the top post within the next few years. That she is doing so in order to spend more time with her family, particularly her three-year-old daughter Naomi, is entirely in keeping with how she lives her life. Of all the politicians I have known, she is the most fiercely driven by service and faith. Her authenticity, her refusal to hear the cock crow, has cost her at times. But it also elevated her among her peers. Forbes's explanation of the moment that led her to make the decision during this summer recess, having already been selected as a candidate for next May's election, rings all too true. Visiting an Indian orphanage, 'there was a moment… when it just suddenly dawned on me what a great privilege it is to be a mother but also to have a parent', she told the Times. 'It's not an inconvenience to be squeezed into the rest of my life but actually is quite a high calling.' I've spoken to her often over the years, and it was always clear that the long distances and time-sacrifice involved in pursuing her career – regular five-hour drives to and from her Highland constituency and home – were a drain. The arrival of a child only added to the burden of juggling everything in a fulfilling way. Holyrood is meant to be a family-friendly parliament, but there will always be a limit to just how family-friendly the political life can be. Not just an MSP, but a Cabinet minister holding demanding posts and, latterly, the cross-government role of deputy FM. It's not a life that can be lived half-in, half-out. In the end, something had to give, and she has made her choice. It is, clearly, a loss: to the government, to the SNP, and to Scottish public life. Forbes was the ballast in the Swinney administration, the senior guarantor that the Sturgeon era of increasingly radical leftism was at an end. Her very presence underwrote Swinney's promise that his administration would be mainstream and moderate. She was also, simply, very good at being a minister, a rarity in Edinburgh. Her civil servants rated her highly, as did their colleagues in Whitehall – she was energetic, constructive and bullshit-free. The business community saw her as their voice in government, not as a cheerleader come what may, but as an ally who understood the need for economic growth, wealth creation and innovation not just to boost national performance but also to provide the tax revenues that could fund public services and a war on poverty. She felt this naturally, in a way few of her party colleagues do. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe The public liked her too. I remember sitting with her in a café in Inverness, where she was continually approached by passers-by displaying real warmth towards her. She connected with ordinary people in an unaffected, natural way. Not all of them agreed with her faith-based social conservatism, but they could detect the authenticity, and were less put off by her traditional views than the progressive campaigners who often screamed loudest. She was real, in an era of plastic politicians. SNP high command, which Nicola Sturgeon controlled long after leaving office, did everything it could to stop her rising to the top. Humza Yousaf was, fatally, shoved forward to stop her replacing Sturgeon, and the party machine put up every block it could. Forbes was more popular with the public, and even those of us who don't support independence could see she was the better candidate by a distance. Sturgeon got her way, Yousaf won, and then very quickly he fell. Forbes would have been good at the job. In an era of growing political division, we need politicians like Forbes. She pursued politics and policy in a way that rose above ideology, which made her a uniter, rather than a divider. She liked to work with politicians across the political spectrum to get things done. And as Reform rises, her particular mix of hard-headedness, compassion and common sense perhaps offered a compelling pathway to tackling that threat. The government, without her, looks thin on talent. I'm more impressed by the junior ministers than most of the Cabinet, who have been in situ too long without making much of a difference to Scots' quality of life. In fact, they have overseen decline across the board. Forbes was one of the few motive forces towards improvement – a believer in radical public sector reform and challenging the vested interests that continue to hold the nation back. Mark Logan, formerly Scotland's chief entrepreneur and a senior figure at Skyscanner, the tech giant sold for £1.3 billion, worked closely with her, and said he would have given her a senior job in any company he worked for. There aren't many at Holyrood you would say that about. It seems more likely that Forbes will do something with a social impact, though. 'I will continue to be motivated by public service of some kind,' she said. 'Public service is what gets me out of bed in the morning.' There is no reason to doubt that is true. She hasn't ruled out returning to Holyrood at some point in the future. She is young enough to raise her family and then start a political career again. One hopes her voice will continue to be heard. For now, though, the progressive left and its online warriors won't have Kate Forbes to kick around any more. What's that phrase? Sometimes you don't know what you've got till it's gone. [Further reading: Britain's decline is as much intellectual as political] Related
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Peer urged crack down on Palestine Action at request of US arms firm
Lord Dannatt wrote to two separate Home Office ministers asking them to address the 'threat' the group posed after its activists caused damage to a factory run by US tech and arms firm Teledyne. But only after the firm – which the peer has been a paid advisor for since 2022 – asked him to do so according to The Guardian. Four activists were convicted of conspiring to damage Teledyne's factory in Wales after they broke in and caused an estimated £1m ($1.33m) worth of damage, according to prosecutors. READ MORE: Kate Forbes doesn't rule out return to politics after shock decision to stand down Dannatt wrote to then Home Secretary Suella Braverman after speaking with the factory's general manager and another senior Teledyne member on December 22 2022, reportedly warning that 'the threat from Palestine Action has more widespread implications for security and the economy within the United Kingdom'. He added: '[I] would be very grateful to receive assurance that the threat from Palestine Action is fully recognised by our security services and appropriate action [is] either planned or being taken'. Dannatt then went on to say that he had 'undertaken to brief the Teledyne main board in the United States that the threat from Palestine Action in the UK is being suitably addressed'. In court in May 2023, Alex Stuart of Dyfed-Powys police – who was in charge of the investigation into the activists – expressed concerns that Dannatt was seeking to have input into in the case. 'Lord Dannatt was chief of the army general staff. He's now a life peer. He has an invested interest [sic] in this aspect of UK trade and investment, particularly military projects,' Stuart wrote in an email to his superiors at the time. He said that Dannatt 'wants to have some input' in the investigation, adding: 'it would not be wise to have a member of the House of Lords poking around in a live criminal case'. The prosecution denied there was any evidence Dannatt had tried to 'influence' the investigation, saying he was 'just asking for information', The judge agreed with that assertion. The Guardian also reported that Dannatt contacted the government again in September 2024 after 'attacks on Teledyne facilities continued and the company asked [him] to raise their concerns again'. In a letter to Dan Jarvis, the Labour security minister, Dannatt once again disclosed his role. Under the same letterhead, he said he would be 'very grateful to receive assurance from the current government that the threat posed by Palestine Action continues to be fully recognised by our security services and that appropriate action is being taken.' Dannatt is currently under investigation by the Westminster authorities over two separate sets of allegations that he broke parliamentary rules that forbid lobbying. The move to ban Palestine Action came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident it subsequently claimed, which police said caused about £7 million worth of damage. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action three days later, saying the vandalism of the planes was 'disgraceful' and the group had a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage'.
ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
What do this year's exam results mean for the future of the Scottish education system?
Around the time that Scottish school pupils were sitting their preliminary exams in February, people in the SNP were whispering in my ear that the Education Secretary, Jenny Gilruth, was vulnerable to being moved from her post in a Scottish Government reshuffle. Today, alongside many young people north of the border, the education secretary will be relieved at this year's exam results. She will see them both as a vindication of how she is doing her job – and the fact that she kept it. Overall attainment is up, with 30.8 per cent of pupils who sat a Higher exam receiving an A grade and 75.9 per cent passing their tests. That is a slight increase on last year and – in the case of top grades – a decent bump on the 2019 results, which were the last set of exams sat before the Covid-19 pandemic. The awards handed out during the various lockdowns were higher than usual as pupils had high-stakes exams removed. In 2020, they were based on heavily moderated teacher estimates before a series of smaller assessments were then used to determine grades the following year. These latest set of results were a key test after a series of controversies last year: from falling pass rates, to blank emails being sent to thousands of pupils instead of exam results, to controversy over how some exams were marked. Chaos, in other words. It had to go smoothly this year and, so far, it has for Gilruth. So, that's the good news. The downside is that the SNP is still being judged on a pledge made a decade ago by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. 'My aim - to put it bluntly - is to close the attainment gap completely,' she said in a 2015 speech. 'It will not be done overnight - I accept that. But it must be done.' The following year, the Scottish Government's programme for government said ministers were aiming to 'substantially eliminate the gap over the course of the next decade'. Well, we're 12 months out from that deadline, and while the gap has narrowed a little year on year, it is largely stuck at the same level as it was pre-pandemic. Indeed, it has widened for advanced highers. Gilruth, a former modern studies teacher, who was appointed to her cabinet post in 2023, believes that the key to progress is by focusing on what goes on in classrooms and listening to those leading them. Her family and friends still work in the profession, meaning she is left in no doubt about concerns from those on the frontline. She is determined to work with teachers and that has informed her approach to the new body, Qualifications Scotland, which will run next year's exams. Donna Stewart, Scotland's chief examining officer, is a former deputy headteacher, and others are being moved straight from classrooms into senior positions. Teachers at the sharp end say this is filtering down to them with a 'very positive' Curriculum Improvement Cycle, which was set up in 2021 to help develop how subjects are taught, listening to those in classrooms and being unafraid to criticise the outgoing Scottish Qualifications Authority. The SQA is being scrapped – and replaced by Qualifications Scotland – because of a series of exam controversies. The biggest of these was the decision to use an algorithm to use schools' past performances to change some pupils' grades when exams were first scrapped during the 2020 lockdown. After public protests from pupils and teachers – and a vote of no confidence being tabled in the education secretary of the day – 124,000 exam results were reinstated. So who was that education secretary, who survived that vote on his future only after U-turning on the original policy? It was the current First Minister, John Swinney. If these exam results are signs that a mess is being cleared up, his successor could argue that much of the untidiness is of her boss's making.
