Kate Forbes will not be standing in the SNP leadership contest

Kate Forbes portrait session

Kate Forbes has ruled out her candidacy to become the new Scottish National Party Leader and succeed the departing Humza Yousaf.

The MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch has been a key figure within the party since being elected in 2016.

She is currently a backbencher having served under former leader Nicola Sturgeon as finance secretary.

Ms Forbes had previously stood for party leadership but lost out to Mr Yousaf in the vote last year.

On Thursday (May 2), she was expected to announce she would run again with former deputy minister John Swinney also declaring his bid. However, she has since confirmed she will not stand to be the next leader of the SNP.

The SNP’s Joanna Cherry and Fergus Ewing – two high-profile SNP rebels itching for change – previously endorsed Ms Forbes.

When she first entered Holyrood – following a stint working for her predecessor Dave Thompson – Ms Forbes was quickly tipped as one to watch.

A Cambridge-educated accountant, the newly-minted MSP found herself in ministerial office by the summer of 2018.

But it was her actions in 2020 that pushed her to the fore. Then-finance secretary Derek Mackay resigned in disgrace after messages he had sent to a 16-year-old boy were published by the Scottish Sun on the eve of the Scottish budget.

With just hours to prepare, Ms Forbes was forced to step in and deliver the budget, drawing plaudits from across the chamber and across Scotland, before she was eventually promoted into the role herself.

Suggestions she would eventually succeed Ms Sturgeon only grew in the following years and, in 2022, Ms Forbes went on maternity leave with her stock higher than ever before.

But it was while she was still caring for her daughter Naomi that Ms Sturgeon announced she would unexpectedly step down – firing the starting pistol on a contest Ms Forbes had long been tipped to compete in, and potentially win.

The first week of her campaign was a difficult one as she faced questions about her stance on equal marriage and other issues, her positions on which she bases heavily on her Christian faith.

But the former finance secretary recovered and put in a strong showing in the sometimes tense election – where at one point she barraged the First Minister with attacks on his record in government during a live TV debate.

Ms Forbes would run Mr Yousaf close in the final voting, taking 48 per cent of the votes in the second round, ultimately falling short.

She would also find herself not serving in cabinet – after reportedly turning down the rural affairs portfolio – and would return to the backbenches, where she would become an outspoken critic of some Government policy, most notably plans to reduce human activity in at least 10 per cent of Scottish waters, which were eventually dropped following a massive political and public backlash.

As the dust settled around Bute House on Monday after Mr Yousaf announced his days as First Minister were numbered, eyes naturally turned back to Ms Forbes, who had been a key member of a group of rebelliously-minded MSPs in the Scottish Parliament who most recently abstained in a vote on the Government’s justice reforms. However, she dispelled any rumors about her potential candidacy on May 2.

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