Kate Forbes to quit Scottish Parliament as Deputy First Minister announces shock departure
Kate Forbes has announced she will quit the Scottish Parliament next year instead of seeking re-election.
The MSP for Skye and Lochaber was appointed Deputy First Minister by John Swinney last year and was viewed by many in the SNP as a future leader of the party.
Forbes, 35, previously quit the Scottish Government Cabinet in 2023 following the election of Humza Yousaf as First Minister following a bitter leadership contest which saw her personal religious views become a major talking point.
But she returned to the front bench in April last year after Swinney succeeded Yousaf as party leader and First Minister.
In a statement, Forbes said: "I have informed my Constituency Association today that I do not intend to seek re-election in May 2026. It has been a great honour to serve Highland communities for almost a decade. I am grateful to every voter who re-elected me at the last election with the biggest majority in Scotland.
'I have also been privileged to serve in Government, first as Minister for Public Finance, then as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and most recently as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic.
'As I reflected over recess, I have concluded that I do not wish to seek re-election for another five year term in the Scottish Parliament.
'All politicians face a choice at every election to stay on the same path or not. Quite simply, I've decided on the latter. I remain wholly supportive of the First Minister just as when I backed him to be leader of the SNP and I look forward to campaigning for the SNP at the next election – to lead Scotland to independence.
'I was first elected in my mid-twenties, dedicating my most formative adult years to public service. In that time, I presented multiple Budgets, supported thousands of businesses and workers during Covid-19 and launched Scotland's most ambitious business start up network TechScaler. I now wish to step back from my public duties and focus on new opportunities to serve people.
'I have grown up in the public eye, getting married, having a baby and raising a young family. I have consistently put the public's needs ahead of my family's during that time. I am grateful to them for accommodating the heavy demands of being a political figure. Looking ahead to the future, I do not want to miss any more of the precious early years of family life – which can never be rewound.
'I am very grateful to everybody I've worked with - in my constituency office, the party and Government. It's not an easy environment and I will leave public office with the highest respect for the journalists who hold us accountable, MSPs across the chamber and hard working volunteers in every community.'
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The Herald Scotland
31 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Kate Forbes should be chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise
First though, I should say there is absolutely no reason to doubt the primary reason for her departure. Standing again means another five years as an absentee parent. I have filled that role and know that there is really no way round it. Politics, particularly with serious responsibilities, is not a family-friendly occupation. Read More: Dingwall, for practical purposes, is as distant from Edinburgh as from London. Ms Forbes is surely right to criticise the modesty of creche facilities at Holyrood but the reality is that attentive parenthood and seven, or even six, days a week of heavy political duties do not really mix. A choice has to be made and I respect her for making the one she has. No matter who is taking such a decision, there are always other factors in play. If independence was round any foreseeable corner, would she stay? If the party dynamics were more congenial would it make a difference? These are all hypotheses which can be speculated upon but should not detract from straightforward acceptance of the reason given. Why am I sorry to see her go? There are two principal reasons. First, she is patently head and shoulders above those around her in terms of ability and, heaven knows, Scotland needs people of ability – regardless of party affiliation – to be involved in its devolved affairs, whether in government or opposition. The second runs a little deeper and more personal. There are very few at Holyrood who has any ingrained knowledge of, or care very much about, causes to which I have devoted a disproportionate part of my own political life – the land, the language and the people of our fragile periphery. Ms Forbes was a clear exception. To most of Scotland, never mind the wider world, these are arcane matters. There is no particular reason why Ecclefechan or Easterhouse should concern themselves with crofting or ferries or Gaelic or land reform or fishing or depopulation of places which could, with wiser interventions, be lively, flourishing communities. This is, quite reasonably, reflected in those they elect which in turn means that government as it relates to these complex, minority matters is in the hands of politicians with no particular interest or empathy. This void is eagerly filled by civil servants who share the same lack of qualifications. The result is insipid legislation and decision-making which displays no awareness of a bigger picture. Kate Forbes was very different in these respects and I would have been very pleased to see her elected two years ago as First Minister for the duration of this Parliament. Her competence and the ability to make a difference on matters she personally cares about would have been two welcome breaths of fresh air. The people who now sit around the Bute House table with her thought differently, from Swinney downwards, and rallied to the standard of Humza Yousaf. In other words, they did what they were told. This is the Sturgeon clone-ocracy continuing; cheer-leaders for all the wokery and Greenery that Ms Forbes stood against, from Highly Protected Marine Areas through Deposit Return Scheme to a convicted rapist in a women's prison and the madness that ensued. Much was made of Ms Forbes' religious affiliations as if the Free Church of Scotland was some outlandish cult which ate its young, rather than having its roots in radical resistance to the power and patronage of landlordism. The irony was that those who reviled her were themselves much more cultish and gender politics was their false god until that tide turned. McAllan, Gilruth, Constance and indeed Swinney…. 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