Kate Forbes is ‘considering’ running to become the next First Minister
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Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes has said she is “considering” whether or not to enter the race to succeed First Minister Humza Yousaf.
She was narrowly defeated by Mr Yousaf just over a year ago in the SNP leadership race but he lasted just 13 months in the job, announcing his resignation yesterday.
Speaking in Holyrood, Ms Forbes said: “I am still obviously considering all the options and I have not ruled anything out.
“I am conscious that I do have a groundswell of support among the members and these things need to be weighed up – not least whether this is the right time for the party, the right decision for the country.”
She added: “I am still weighing everything up.”
Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing is adamant that the right choice for the SNP is Ms Forbes, he said: “Now the party will choose a new leader. Kate Forbes is by far and away the person who can best lead Scotland.
“She nearly won in the last contest and has won the respect and support of a great many people. I have been inundated with messages of support for her.
“In particular, she has the qualities of character required to deal with a minority government by working with other main parties. Kate should lead the SNP. I believe her time has come.
“To choose any other candidate would be seen as a sop to and kowtowing to the Green parties who have now rightly been evicted from government.”
Ms Forbes has made no secret of her wish to lead the SNP and the country, telling the Holyrood Sources podcast earlier this year: "I still think I've got a vision and an appetite for change.
“If the opportunity arises and it's the right thing for the country, for the party and for my family, then I wouldn't rule it out. That's because I still believe that Scotland can change."
John Swinney, who last year ruled himself out of the leadership election after Nicola Sturgeon stood down having spent “the best part of the last 40 years” at the “heart of the party’s decision-making, is also considering his options.
He too would not confirm but earlier today he said: “It would not be my style to ignore the representations that have been made to me, I am someone who listens and addresses the points that are put to me.
“And that is exactly what I am doing just now but I need the time to do so.”
