Former SNP minister Kate Forbes says her gay marriage views caused her leadership defeat
Kate Forbes (Image: Getty Images)
Kate Forbes has said she was “very much in the lead” to win the SNP leadership in 2023 until she said she would have voted against Scotland’s equal marriage law, claiming her early momentum ebbed away once her views became public.
Forbes made the comments at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference at London’s Olympia last week. During a Q&A, she described her candidacy as “as a bit of a slum dunk” as per BBC News, adding: “I was very much in the lead.”
She lost support early in the contest when she revealed she would have voted against Scotland’s same-sex marriage legislation, passed in 2014, though she said she would not seek to overturn it. Humza Yousaf went on to win, though John Swinney became First Minister in 2024.
Forbes also said she was advised to conceal her views during the campaign. “All these wonderfully committed team members, who wanted me to win, had great advice – just lie and you’ll be fine,” she told the audience. “I ended the first 24 hours just so thankful that, in the face of the questions, I hadn’t crumbled.”
Forbes’ ARC remarks
Forbes took part in a session on “the challenge of leading with integrity”, chaired by former Australian deputy prime minister John Anderson.
During the discussion, Anderson claimed Forbes had been treated “grossly unfairly” because of her Christian beliefs and, referring to her rival, Humza Yousaf, added: “Let’s be honest, he was a Muslim.” He claimed that Yousaf “was probably every bit as committed to those views, and even more hardline, but happened to be of a different faith.” His words were not challenged by Forbes.
Yousaf missed the final vote in Scotland’s equal marriage legislation due to an “unavoidable” meeting, but said in 2023: “I support equal marriage. I supported it then, support it now.”
In her speech, Forbes said she had received “thousands on thousands” of messages from people who disagreed with her views but accepted her right to express them.
“I answered questions honestly about my faith, and the way it shaped my view of sex and gender, of marriage and family. The backlash was instant and fervent,” she said.
SNP contest and political fallout
Forbes was narrowly defeated by Humza Yousaf in the 2023 SNP leadership contest. She stepped down from the Scottish Parliament at May’s election.
Her ARC appearance drew criticism within the SNP because the conference featured controversial names such as Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch and Boris Johnson, as well as supporters of Donald Trump from the United States.
Forbes has been a polarising figure in Scottish politics, and her senior roles have repeatedly prompted debate about the SNP’s “big tent” approach to social issues, including after she was appointed as Scotland’s deputy first minister and when she backed Graham Linehan over a cancelled Edinburgh gig.
