>Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes will stand down at next year’s Holyrood election.
>The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP said she did not want to “seek re-election and miss any more of the precious early years of family life”.
Great news. No place for religious nutjobs in our government
Deep and thoughtful analysis: I think that’s predictable enough. While Forbes did better than she should have done during the SNP leadership elections, those same elections pretty much drove home the fact that many of her political views are at odds with both her party’s policies and 21st century Scotland. Forbes, for all her flaws, is smart enough to see how well that went down outside.
This will be a great loss for, well, absolutely no-one really.
Good. The last thing Scotland needs is religious bigots in positions of power
Good.
Good keep religious freaks out of politics
SNP member here: good.
Best news to come out of Scottish politics in a while
Great news for Scotland and the SNP.
Good.
No interest in politicians making decisions based on archaic religious bullshit.
It was absolutely damaging the SNP’s intended image as a progressive party to have her so close to the top.
Bad news for Gaelic, sadly.
Another rat jumps the sinking ship
What big names in the SNP are still standing in 2026? Other than Swiney, it seems all the names the average person would know are standing down.
Sorry to see her go. As someone who advocates for politicians being intelligent and not just hyper-aware of what the latest social trends are and be willing to cosplay for votes, she’ll be a loss.
Isn’t it about time we all grew up a wee bit and realised that people don’t all have to confirm to the same model that is on-trend at the moment? Pluralism is how society advances.
cheerio
Great news for Stephen Flynn, which means terrible news for Scotland, because now he’ll probably win the post-2026 leadership election.
Scotland is relegating itself to a high tax low opportunity backwater full of welfare queens bitter at the successful
Kate Forbes is one of the only Scottish politicians with any personal integrity as evidenced by Sturgeon and her criminal husband
God save us from the soft-brained Patrick Harvies of the country
Her church has mote it be. The dinosaur
When it was set up in 1999, there was a bit of a thing about how the new Parliament would be more friendly towards MSPs with children, like it wouldn’t run so late into the night as Westminster routinely did, there’s be a creche from the outset, and other such things. Much ado about how it would lead to more representation by women and so on.
If in 2025, we’re still at the point where it’s not possible to be a MSP and a parent, then that’s a bit disappointing.
Her religious views aside, she’s a clever person in a Holyrood environment where there is a clear shortage of high calibre talent. Ministerial roles seem to be a reward for hanging in rather than based on aptitude. So in that sense, it’s a loss.
The business of the Scottish Parliament feels like it’s run out of runway in terms of what it can do. Things have been taken as far as possible within the constraints of the current constitutional framework. It’s mere tinkering from here on in.
Forbes likely sees where this is heading. It’s a lot of late nights, working weekends to basically tread water for not much money and a lot of unwanted attention. I can’t say many smart people would find that particularly appealing. She’ll likely be much better paid, for far less hassles elsewhere.
The fact that Flynn -a pub smart arse- looks a shoo-in when Swinney calls it a day is depressing enough for all of an indy orientation. Hated among a sizeable contingent of his own party for his disastrous attempt to get a seat in Holyrood, he lacks basic political nous.
Sturgeon’s control freakery and hammering down on those that weren’t perceived as favourites, leaves a dearth of talent.
22 comments
Pretty short article:
>Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has said she will not stand at next year’s Holyrood election.
>*More to follow…*
[The BBC is also pretty terse](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70xejr8drro):
>Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes will stand down at next year’s Holyrood election.
>The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP said she did not want to “seek re-election and miss any more of the precious early years of family life”.
Great news. No place for religious nutjobs in our government
Deep and thoughtful analysis: I think that’s predictable enough. While Forbes did better than she should have done during the SNP leadership elections, those same elections pretty much drove home the fact that many of her political views are at odds with both her party’s policies and 21st century Scotland. Forbes, for all her flaws, is smart enough to see how well that went down outside.
This will be a great loss for, well, absolutely no-one really.
Good. The last thing Scotland needs is religious bigots in positions of power
Good.
Good keep religious freaks out of politics
SNP member here: good.
Best news to come out of Scottish politics in a while
Great news for Scotland and the SNP.
Good.
No interest in politicians making decisions based on archaic religious bullshit.
It was absolutely damaging the SNP’s intended image as a progressive party to have her so close to the top.
Bad news for Gaelic, sadly.
Another rat jumps the sinking ship
What big names in the SNP are still standing in 2026? Other than Swiney, it seems all the names the average person would know are standing down.
Sorry to see her go. As someone who advocates for politicians being intelligent and not just hyper-aware of what the latest social trends are and be willing to cosplay for votes, she’ll be a loss.
Isn’t it about time we all grew up a wee bit and realised that people don’t all have to confirm to the same model that is on-trend at the moment? Pluralism is how society advances.
cheerio
Great news for Stephen Flynn, which means terrible news for Scotland, because now he’ll probably win the post-2026 leadership election.
Scotland is relegating itself to a high tax low opportunity backwater full of welfare queens bitter at the successful
Kate Forbes is one of the only Scottish politicians with any personal integrity as evidenced by Sturgeon and her criminal husband
God save us from the soft-brained Patrick Harvies of the country
Her church has mote it be. The dinosaur
When it was set up in 1999, there was a bit of a thing about how the new Parliament would be more friendly towards MSPs with children, like it wouldn’t run so late into the night as Westminster routinely did, there’s be a creche from the outset, and other such things. Much ado about how it would lead to more representation by women and so on.
If in 2025, we’re still at the point where it’s not possible to be a MSP and a parent, then that’s a bit disappointing.
Her religious views aside, she’s a clever person in a Holyrood environment where there is a clear shortage of high calibre talent. Ministerial roles seem to be a reward for hanging in rather than based on aptitude. So in that sense, it’s a loss.
The business of the Scottish Parliament feels like it’s run out of runway in terms of what it can do. Things have been taken as far as possible within the constraints of the current constitutional framework. It’s mere tinkering from here on in.
Forbes likely sees where this is heading. It’s a lot of late nights, working weekends to basically tread water for not much money and a lot of unwanted attention. I can’t say many smart people would find that particularly appealing. She’ll likely be much better paid, for far less hassles elsewhere.
The fact that Flynn -a pub smart arse- looks a shoo-in when Swinney calls it a day is depressing enough for all of an indy orientation. Hated among a sizeable contingent of his own party for his disastrous attempt to get a seat in Holyrood, he lacks basic political nous.
Sturgeon’s control freakery and hammering down on those that weren’t perceived as favourites, leaves a dearth of talent.
Likely only good news for ScotsLab and Sarwar.
My heart weeps. Where is my violin
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