SNP's Kate Forbes attacks 'backlash' against her Christian faith
‘People of faith have a right to hold high office’: SNP’s Kate Forbes attacks ‘backlash’ against her Christian faith and anti-gay marriage views in race to become Scotland’s First Minister – as she says conversion therapy is ‘abhorrent’
- She faced media on a weekend when party has been thrown into turmoil
- Row over real membership numbers and the validity of the vote for party leader
People with strong religious views have a right to hold high political office, one of the frontrunners to become Scotland’s new first minister said today.
SNP finance minister Kate Forbes said she had been subjected to ‘a stunning level of scrutiny and backlash’ during her campaign to replace Nicola Sturgeon because of her opposition to same-sex marriage.
She made the remarks as she faced the media on a weekend when her party has been thrown into massive turmoil amid a row over party membership numbers and the validity of the vote.
The party’s chief executive Peter Murrell was forced to quit last night – just weeks after his wife, Ms Sturgeon, announced her shock resignation as First Minister.
Ms Forbes told the BBC other people of faith held high office in the UK – citing Rishi Sunak, a Hindu, and the Muslim mayor of London, Sadiq Khan – and pledged she would ensure that Scotland is a ‘tolerant and pluralistic nation’. She is a member of the evangelical Free Church of Scotland.
After a series of televised leadership debates in the week in which she struggled to clarify her position on conversion therapy she branded it ‘abhorrent’ today, adding: ‘It is a very, very sensitive issue and I do think that rather than give you quick, sort of ”gotcha” answers on a matter of such importance, that we do reflect on consultation responses.’
SNP finance minister Kate Forbes said she had been subjected to ‘a stunning level of scrutiny and backlash’ during her campaign to replace Nicola Sturgeon because of her opposition to same-sex marriage.
Ms Forbes also said she does not have concerns about the integrity of the party’s election.
In an interview which was recorded before the resignation of SNP chief executive Peter Murrell and media chief Murray Foote, she told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: ‘I have no concerns about the process, I have full confidence in the integrity of the election.’
She added: ‘I’m certainly confident that whoever is elected is the person who SNP members will have chosen.’
She also said she would rule out further tax rises if she becomes First Minister.
Yesterday, in a statement announcing his immediate resignation, Mr Murrell admitted he was responsible for the ‘misleading’ claims about membership figures – which the party had repeatedly said stood at around 100,000, but were actually around 72,000.
His bombshell departure comes amid a continuing police probe into how independence campaign donations have been handled and questions over why he made a personal donation of £107,000 to the party amid a cash crisis.
The downfall of Scotland’s foremost political power couple followed revelations in The Mail on Sunday that the SNP had lied about its true membership numbers ahead of the leadership race.
Last night commentators said it was the final nail in the coffin for the embattled Scottish nationalist movement.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: ‘The party of government is imploding, guilty of cover-up and lying to the Scottish people.
‘Murrell’s resignation, along with other senior figures in the SNP, shows that the Nationalists are no longer fit to govern.’
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: ‘A fish rots from the head down – and the same applies to the SNP.
‘Peter Murrell’s resignation is long overdue but there remain serious questions for him to answer, not least over the ‘missing’ £600,000 from party accounts.
‘The brutal, shambolic SNP leadership election appears to have been the tipping point that’s forced the First Minister’s husband to quit before he was pushed.’
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