SNP Leadership: My reasons for voting Kate Forbes

Exactly 1 month ago Nicola Sturgeon resigned, catching most of the country by surprise.  Her resignation speech highlighted what a great orator she is, which has been a feature in her excellent leadership and electoral success.  However she noted during the speech that during her leadership opinions on her and in turn the SNP and even the clear need for independence have become polarised.  She stated that Scotland does have a majority support for independence but that a new leader is needed to ‘reach across the divide’ to consolidate and grow the support for independence further.  An astute observation, and for me Kate Forbes is the best candidate in this leadership contest to fulfil the challenge.   

Kate Forbes launched her campaign manifesto and it is a prospectus I really want to see in government.  It is also a prospectus that isn’t getting the attention I think it deserves, hence this blog post!  My summary would be that the model is heavily influenced by the successes from the Nordic countries, with the key points:

• Eradicating Poverty: Kate Forbes speaks on this with passion and has a clear target to increase lower wages and to making eradicating child poverty a national mission.
• Economic Growth: I think this is an area the next First Minister has to place significant focus as the entire business community, and in particular small businesses, recover from the shock of the pandemic.  Forbes was an active presence in the business community when she was in her role as Finance Minister, and she shows a clear understanding of the critical link between the economy and societal issues. 
• Tax on empty 2^nd homes: The proposal here is to give ‘councils the option of implementing a council tax surcharge on empty second homes and targeting further investment specifically for rural and remote areas.’ I hope to see this implemented across the country.
• Energy: Forbes writes that she will ‘create a national energy company, with close alignment with a Scottish regulator and driving down prices for the consumer. We can learn from the success of Scottish Water.’. YES! Please make this happen.
• Serving for all of Scotland: Forbes is from the Highlands and represents the community there and a lot of what she presents is ensuring the right level of local empowerment and control to ensure the optimal services across all of the country.  Leading a socially progressive party like the SNP also comes the responsibility to serve and protect everyone’s rights and freedoms.  Forbes pledges to ‘defend to the hilt the rights of everybody in Scotland, particularly minorities, to live and to love without fear or harassment in a pluralistic and tolerant society.’
• NHS & Social Care: Improved wages for NHS and Social Care staff and expanding our health related education to service the health resources for the future.  
• Drug Deaths: It is good that Forbes has specifically called this out, and also within the section highlights a focus on improving mental health support, reduce homelessness and ensure we have a humane and responsive justice system.
• Education: It was great to see Scottish teachers secure a significant pay rise last week, but I see first hand how much overtime and expense is required from teachers to adequately resource themselves to teach.  Forbes noted in the Glasgow hustings that she also has seen this, and her manifesto pledges to ‘empower headteachers to make decisions for their schools and secure the resources they need, including staffing and materials.’   
• Independence! There is a clear vision on why we need independence and Forbes is able to effectively articulate the financial constraints that Scotland is burdened with in the UK set-up.  I believe that she will be successful in ‘reaching across the divide’ that Nicola Sturgeon framed, and highlighting to anyone and everyone willing to listen that Scotland needs to be independent ASAP.  Forbes, and the strong team she’ll have to support her, will get us there.

Humza Yousef or Ash Regan each have their strengths too in this campaign, if either of them win I might even write another blog.    

NB: I’ll be honest, getting to the position of really backing Kate Forbes has been a rollercoaster ride.  The timing of this leadership campaign was far from ideal for Kate Forbes, who was just entering her 8^th month of maternity leave at the time.  She had a disastrous first few days back at work, alienating the LGBT community and those of us in society who champion their freedoms and rights.  To her credit, she apologized quickly and when I saw her in the Glasgow hustings this past weekend she was clear that she sees the LGBT party members as key to the party and would link closely with them if elected.  I think she is genuine and I hope she gets the opportunity to demonstrate that from the position of leader, and First Minister.