Kate Forbes exit: Is it possible to be a good parent and an MSP?

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

"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."
It's a statement that will resonate with all working parents across Scotland (most often mothers as they usually have the responsibility as chief carer), many of whom will have regretted missing a school sports day or a school show or felt the panic of a meeting over-running as the clock approached nursery closing hours.
But it will particularly echo with a considerable number of MSPs.
Kate Forbes pictured with her daughter Naomi aged six months, in March 2023 during the SNP leadership race (Image: Colin Mearns) When the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999 there was much emphasis that Holyrood would do things differently to Westminster including that it would be more family friendly.
For instance, the late night sittings, common place in the House of Commons, would be avoided in preference for more usual office hours and parliamentary sittings would align with school term times and there would be an on site creche.
But while it has a creche its opening hours have been limited. Calls by some MSPs - including Ms Forbes - for longer opening hours of the Holyrood creche have not been met.
It is currently open just three days a week and can only be used three hours a day - which is clearly insufficient for the child care needs of an MSP. Prior to the pandemic, the creche was open Monday to Friday.
Holyrood has insisted since 2021 that it has adopted new family friendly policies, including the permanent introduction of hybrid working, allowing those who can't attend Holyrood in person to take part in, and vote, on parliamentary business.
Proxy voting has also been introduced, allowing those who may be on parental leave or certain other long term absences, to have their vote counted in parliamentary business. And in 2023 the Presiding Officer commissioned a Gender Sensitive Audit of the Scottish Parliament looking at barriers to equal representation and participation at Holyrood, with the aim that being an elected representative is a realistic ambition, whatever a person's circumstances.
But despite some of the moves by Holyrood - including mostly keeping to the standard working hours for its debates and committee hearings and sitting during school term times - MSPs and ministers have duties that take them well beyond the daily nine to five.
For many MSPs the job is a 24 hour round the clock role - so perhaps political parties should do more to help promote a better work life balance among their parliamentarians.
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Ahead of the last [[Holyrood]] election in 2021, [[Kate Forbes]]' SNP colleague and fellow Highland MSP Gail Ross spoke about how hard it was to be an MSP, especially for a large constituency a long way from Edinburgh with the huge amount of weekly travel that involves, and being a mother who was there for her children.
If there are difficulties for a backbencher, as Ms Ross was, in finding a decent balance between working and caring duties, these challenges intensify for someone in government, who in addition to all their parliamentary and constituency responsibilities as an MSP, also has the huge demands of being a minister or a cabinet minister.
And of course, the pressure rises still further for anyone in the role of Deputy First Minister or First Minister.
I was struck by a comment by John Swinney last week when he told Donald Trump that he likes to caddy for his son Matthew, who is 14.
My immediate thought was 'that's a really nice thing to do but how does the First Minister find time to caddy for his son?' Clearly, the FM must do a lot of diary juggling to find time to spend this quality time with his teenager.
Few of Scotland's First Ministers have been parents of young children while in office.
Donald Dewar's two children were adults when he was First Minister, as were the children of his Labour successors Henry McLeish and Jack McConnell.
When it came to the [[SNP]], neither Alex Salmond nor Nicola Sturgeon had children. The latter has spoken of her deep sadness of this situation and also revealed she suffered a miscarriage in January 2011 while Deputy First Minister.
As an indication of the pressures senior politicians are under Ms Sturgeon told some years later that instead of dealing with her grief following the miscarriage at home, she attended the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster, in which 66 Rangers football supporters were crushed to death.
Humza Yousaf was the first First Minister to have young children while in office at Bute House.
Mr Yousaf used his time at the top of government to highlight that he also had an important role as a father.
The then First Minister and his wife Nadia El Nakla had one daughter Amal, three, together when he first became FM while Mr Yousaf was also stepfather to 14-year-old daughter Maya.
He liked to describe himself as a "hands-on dad", was pictured reading bed time stories to Amal in Bute House and spoke of the need to set boundaries between his family and working life.
Things didn't always go to plan though and Mr Yousaf has previously recounted one episode, just after he was elected SNP leader, when Amal burst into a Bute House meeting when he was deciding who would be in his Cabinet.
'I'm deciding who's going to be in my Cabinet, making last-minute tweaks to the ministerial team. It was about 9.30pm and in comes Amal, bare feet, unicorn pyjamas, saying 'Dad I have to go to bed, Mummy says'," he said.
'And both Colin [McAllister] and Shona [Robison] were like 'that has never happened at Bute House before. I say to my kids and wife Nadia, as much as this is a workspace, it's also our residence and family home too.'
Given the challenges, it was perhaps not surprising that Mr Yousaf paid tribute to his wife, children and family for their support in his tearful resignation statement in April 2024.
"Politics can be a brutal business. It takes its toll on your physical and mental health; your family suffer alongside you.
"I am in debt to my wonderful wife, my beautiful children and wider family for putting up with me over the years, I am afraid you will be seeing a lot more of me now. You are truly everything to me," he said.
Shortly after returning to the backbenches the former First Minister was keen to highlight one of the silver linings of his loss of office was being able to attend events with Amal that he wouldn't have had the time to while in Bute House.
Kate Forbes's resignation announcement has been met with considerable dismay across Holyrood today.
No doubt her young daughter and her wider family will be delighted to see more of her.
But it is a sad state of affairs that we expect so much of a sacrifice from our politicians that some feel they cannot be both successful MSPs and senior ministers and also contented and nurturing parents.