
Talented politician Kate Forbes achieved more in 10 years than many do in a lifetime, says ex-SNP spin doctor
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
IT is an odd thing to be writing a political obituary for a 35-year-old.
But yesterday morning Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes stunned the world of Scottish politics by announcing she will not seek re-election next May.
Sign up for the Politics newsletter
Sign up
2
Kate Forbes, pictured with First Minister John Swinney at Holyrood, has announced she is stepping down
Credit: PA
While it may appear to many observers as a bolt from the blue, it is not a decision the ever-thoughtful MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch will have reached without a great deal of soul-searching and careful consideration.
The deliberate words she selected to explain her decision in an open letter to the First Minister should be taken at face value.
It's a tough balancing act between ministerial office and the commitment of a young family based 150 miles from Holyrood.
Nobody is likely to begrudge a mother more time to enjoy the 'precious early years of family life' with wee Naomi, her daughter, who turned three yesterday.
What will have been a difficult decision for Kate now raises some even tougher questions for our politics.
As the party's head of communications and research, I first encountered Kate at a SNP candidate selection day in 2015.
Of the dozens of wannabe parliamentarians being assessed to stand for election, she stood out by a country mile.
She was fiercely intelligent, if a bit swotty. A natural communicator, more polished than many longstanding MSPs. And she was driven by a sense of duty to serve.
She flourished as a new backbencher from 2016 to 2018 — as a team player within a parliamentary group of MSPs, and an inquisitorial committee member.
She was someone clearly unafraid to think for herself, championing national and constituency causes on a range of issues: economic, cultural and environmental.
Kate Forbes picks her biggest scandal of the SNP's time in power
It came as no surprise that Nicola Sturgeon elevated her to junior finance minister in her 2018 reshuffle, a calling she undertook diligently, quickly impressing the business community.
Her ability to step up to deliver a Scottish Budget mere hours after the resignation of Finance Secretary Derek Mackay in February 2020 — the first woman to do so in the Scottish Parliament — thrust her into the limelight.
Days later, the finance brief in Cabinet was deservedly hers to keep. She held this post through the toughest of times, navigating the nation's finances and support for businesses through a global pandemic.
In the 2021 election she was returned to Holyrood with the largest majority of any MSP on 56 per cent of the vote and in July 2022 she blazed another trail in becoming the first Cabinet secretary in the Government to take maternity leave.
2
Ex-SNP spin doctor says Kate Forbes can be proud of her time in politics
Credit: Alamy
Kate returned to the political fray with her eyes set on the top job, after Ms Sturgeon resigned as First Minister in 2023.
She was pipped at the post by Humza Yousaf in a bruising leadership battle and then, just a year later, became John Swinney's deputy in exchange for her support for his leadership.
Despite effectively being the runner-up in two leadership contests — one fiercely fought, the other de facto — she emerged a political winner with her head held high.
It's a rare thing to announce your departure from the political arena with a reputation intact — she has regularly been polled as Scotland's most popular politician, with approval ratings generally higher among the population as a whole than within the SNP rank and file.
It's no secret Kate has at times felt thwarted in realising her ambitions for Scotland in government. Her focus on economic growth, creating good jobs in communities from the Borders to Benbecula, has proved more challenging than should ever have been the case.
More broadly, we can undoubtedly do better by our young, talented, female MSPs.
Some of that is practical and should be urgently addressed by all parties.
Kate herself lambasted the lack of creche facilities for young mothers in political life back in 2023 and colleagues such as Aileen Campbell and Gail Ross also quit to spend more time with their young families.
While Holyrood has few late-night sittings like Westminster, the rigours of ministerial office and constituency work mean it's more than a full-time job, with little time left for family.
Scotland's geography is a challenge, but our outdated transport infrastructure doesn't help.
The torrent of hateful abuse directed at politicians has grown exponentially over recent years. Female politicians receive a disproportionate share of that bile, much of it laden with misogyny.
Kate faced the slings and arrows of public opinion for her deeply-held Christian faith, including from within her own party, which challenged the fundamentals of just how tolerant a Scotland we live in today.
But in a decade in politics, Kate has achieved more than many could hope to achieve in a lifetime. I dearly hope to see her return.
Meanwhile, work must be done to make our politics a hell of a lot better.
Fergus Mutch is a former SNP head of communications and is now managing partner of advisory firm True North.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Billionaire grocery magnate warns NYC will turn into CUBA if socialist gets elected as mayor
Billionaire supermarket owner John Catsimatidis has warned that mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani will transform New York City into Cuba, which has been ruled by communists since 1959. Wealthy New Yorkers, including Catsimatidis, have been forecasting the doom of America's largest city should the self-professed socialist win the general election in November. Catsimatidis, owner of D'agostino and Gristedes, slammed Mamdani's agenda as free handouts in an exclusive interview with Fox Digital on Wednesday. 'We're gonna give you buses for nothing, we're gonna give you subways for nothing, we're gonna give you food for nothing. This is what Fidel Castro did,' Catsimatidis said. Mamdani, a 33-year-old New York State assemblyman, won the Democratic primary in June on promises of free bus service, free childcare, free tuition for the City University of New York and freezing the rents for more than 2 million residents. 'The people in Venezuela are starving,' Catsimatidis said. 'The people in Cuba are starving. And I think the American people, especially New Yorkers, they're smart and they're going to realize this right away.' In the next breath, the real estate mogul seemed to acknowledge Mamdani's charisma, while also tearing into his relatively thin résumé. 'He has a beautiful smile. He has a good smile. He seems like a nice guy, but it's a con game,' he said. 'He's not qualified to be mayor. The city is a $100 billion enterprise, and you have to be really smart. You have to be able to know your checks and balance, you have to be able to run 300,000 employees.' Still, Mamdani handily defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who was thought of as the more experienced option in the race. His main opponents in the general will be Cuomo and current mayor Eric Adams, both of whom are running as independents. Former US Attorney Jim Walden and Curtis Sliwa, the perennial Republican option, are also in the race. Catsimatidis sought to handwave away various polls that have Mamdani cruising to victory in November. 'I don't think the polls are really real right now,' Catsimatidis said. 'He doesn't like the Italian people. The Italians are going to be against him. He doesn't like business people. The business people are going to be against him. So I don't think he's that far ahead.' The most recent poll has Mamdani at 50 percent support among likely voters, while Cuomo is in a distant second at 22 percent. Catsimatidis, who ran for mayor himself in 2013, also believes the city won't be able to fund the Mamdani's policies by increasing corporate taxes and income taxes on rich New Yorkers. 'Sooner or later, you're going to run out of money,' he said. 'These union leaders are picking this guy, Mamdani, for what? They were promised a great day. They were promised great numbers. But if the city runs out of money, who's going to pay the pensions?' Catsimatidis's thorough condemnation of Mamdani comes as The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump is weighing getting involved in the mayoral race. Trump reportedly spoke on the phone with Cuomo directly about the state of the race, according to three sources who were briefed on the call. It's still unclear what exactly Trump and Cuomo said to one another or who of the two initiated the unlikely conversation. In early July, Trump publicly said he would arrest Mamdani if he dared to defy raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York City. He also accused Mamdani of possibly being in the United States illegally, even though he was born in Uganda and became a naturalized US citizen in 2018. 'I think he's terrible. He's a communist,' Trump has said. 'The last thing we need is a communist. I said there will never be socialism in the United States. So we have a communist?' Trump has also been asked about Mamdani's refusal to condemn the use of the term 'globalize the intifada,' a pro-Palestinian slogan that has encouraged violence against Israelis and Jews. Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Mamdani has now said he would discourage the use of the term. 'I think he's, frankly, I've heard he's a total nut job. I think the people in New York are crazy. If they go this route, I think they're crazy,' Trump has said.


Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Ex-Army chief Lord Peter Inge famous for ‘putting the fear of God' into officers leaves staggering sum to family in will
Lord Inge's daughters also get their South London-born dad's vast collection of military memorabilia HUGE FORTUNE Ex-Army chief Lord Peter Inge famous for 'putting the fear of God' into officers leaves staggering sum to family in will Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FORMER Army chief Lord Peter Inge left £3million in his will. Lord Inge died in July 2022, aged 86, after a five-decade career in which he rose from National Service conscript to Field Marshal. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up He was the last Field Marshal to actively serve in the Army, with those since elevated to the highest rank, including King Charles, only done so after their retirement. Lord Inge was famous for putting the fear of God into other senior officers with cutting remarks and incisive questions. He was appointed Chief of the General Staff in 1992, then Chief of the Defence Staff in 1994. Lord Inge later became a fierce critic of the British campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and blasted the Ministry of Defence for failing to 'think strategically'. The South London-born officer took the top Armed Forces job after his predecessor was caught having an affair with a Tory MPs wife, and while British forces were struggling in Bosnia. Sir John Major's Conservative government had also pledged to further slash the size of the Army – with Inge under pressure to accept fresh cuts. The no-nonsense officer led forces through the conflict and was reportedly 'delighted' to come under mortar fire during a ride around Saravejo in a French armoured SUV. After being elevated to the House of Lords, Lord Inge of Richmond, Yorks., became a vocal critic of further plans to cut the Army. He left £3,167,854 in his estate, reduced by £150,000 after deductions. His wife Letitia died in 2020 so it was divided between daughters Antonia, 63, and Verity, 59. They also get their South London-born dad's vast collection of military memorabilia, farm estate in Leyburn, North Yorks, and central London flat.


Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Trump may ‘personally intervene' to stop Mamdani becoming New York mayor
Donald Trump is considering getting involved in the New York mayoral race in an effort to stop Zohran Mamdani from winning. The US president reportedly spoke to Andrew Cuomo after he lost the Democratic primary to socialist candidate Mr Mamdani, according to insiders. Mr Trump is also said to have pressed a Republican congressman and a New York businessman about who has the best chance of beating the millennial frontrunner, The New York Times reported. Despite losing to Mr Mamdani, weeks later Mr Cuomo re-entered the race as an independent candidate, adding to an already crowded field. Mr Trump later denied having spoken to Mr Cuomo. Eric Adams, the current mayor, is also running independently, while Curtis Sliwa is the Republican candidate. Mr Trump is said to have been briefed by Mark Penn, a pollster who worked for the Clintons, and Andrew Stein, a former New York City council president, who have both apparently suggested Mr Cuomo would be the best candidate. During a White House meeting in mid-July, Mr Trump asked congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican from the New York suburbs, about who would stand the best chance in a one-on-one race against Mr Mamdani, a source told The New York Times. The source said Mr Trump doubted whether Mr Sliwa could win and said he liked Mr Adams and had always gotten on with Mr Cuomo. It is not clear how Mr Trump would involve himself were he to decide to try and intervene in the race, but allies of Mr Adams and Mr Cuomo have been hoping Mr Trump will help coalesce support around one anti-Mamdani opponent. If all three rivals stay in the race, the vote could splinter and hand Mr Mamdani the keys to Gracie Mansion. Mr Mamdani's promises to freeze rent, open city-run supermarkets and free buses helped him achieve a sweeping victory in the Democratic primary. His campaign, largely run on social media, has capitated voters frustrated with extortionate prices. Mr Trump's conversation with Mr Cuomo reportedly took place when the former New York governor was deciding whether to continue his campaign. While some Republicans view Mr Mamdani as a potentially useful bogeyman of the Left who would provide useful ammunition for the 2026 midterms, Mr Trump is said to be concerned about the Democratic candidate's policies. Mr Trump, who was born and raised in New York and owns several businesses in the city, has publicly criticised Mr Mamdani. Last month, Mr Trump vowed he would not 'let this communist lunatic destroy New York', saying he holds 'all the levers' and 'all the cards'. He added: 'I'll save New York City, and make it 'hot' and 'great' again, just like I did with the good ol' USA!' Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr Cuomo, said Mr Trump and Mr Cuomo 'have not spoken in a while' but did not expand on how long 'a while' meant. 'As far as I know, they have not discussed the race,' Mr Azzopardi said. Mr Mamdani said in a statement: 'Andrew Cuomo has spent his career governing for the powerful and prioritising his own self-interests over those of the people he was sworn to serve. This is not just a shady backroom deal by a cynical politician, it is disqualifying. It is a betrayal.' He added: 'The job of New York City mayor is not to be [a] jester for a wannabe king, it is to protect the people of this city.'