Kate Forbes has called for the SNP to “check-in” with members over the Bute House agreement with the Greens – the deal which gives the SNP a parliamentary majority. The former Finance Secretary joins two other former ministers, Fergus Ewing and Alex Neil, in wanting a conference debate on the deal, which Ewing said leaves the SNP in bed with “extremists”. Forbes was asked her views on the agreement by BBC Good Morning Scotland:
“Well, I’m a democrat, so I’m always in favour of checking in with the people, checking in with members – and that’s the purpose of conference – to ensure that they are continuing to support certain policies…. And I think government has a duty to its party, obviously, to ensure that we are delivering in a way that’s consistent with the membership’s interests.”
It’s hardly a ringing endorsement…
Although the deal was initially backed by 95% of SNP members, an April poll found that just 53% supported the deal, with 35% wanting it to end. Since then the Scottish Civil Service was exposed for blowing £14 million of public money, the Scottish government failed to meet their own climate targets, oh and Nicola Sturgeon was arrested…
First preferences:
Humza Yousaf 48.2%
Kate Forbes 40.7%
Ash Regan 11.1%
Second preferences:
Humza Yousaf 52.1%
Kate Forbes 47.9%
Yousaf wins, 52% to 48%. The golden ratio…
Beyond trading blows in televised debates, the SNP leadership contest has descended yet further into infighting as candidates Ash Regan and Kate Forbes have called on the party establishment to ensure a “fair and transparent leadership election”. Despite previously questioning the SNP National Secretary, the candidates say they are “yet to receive a response”. The candidates want figures on the total number of members and voting papers that have been issued, adding it is “crucial to fostering trust and confidence” in the electoral process. It’s easy to see why they might have concerns…
The letter is addressed to Peter Murrell, the Chief Executive Officer of the SNP. Co-conspirators won’t need reminding that this is the same Peter Murrell who loaned the party – which is currently under investigation for fraud – £100,000 off the books. Oh and he’s also Nicola Sturgeon’s husband. As the party establishment has filed in behind Humza’s campaign, it won’t surprise co-conspirators to see his name absent from the letter – though he has also since called for the figures to be published.
SNP MP and Humza backer Pete Wishart – although also in favour of publishing the figures – was quick to discredit concerns. He said the “conspiracy theories will make Trump look like Nelson Mandela…”
For goodness sake. Can someone in HQ just let everybody know the size of the leadership electorate. If not the conspiracy theories will make Trump look like Nelson Mandela…. https://t.co/bRVkeyonpH
— Pete Wishart (@PeteWishart) March 15, 2023
However, Kate Forbes’ campaign were undeterred in the quest for electoral transparency. They went further last night, after their first two letters went ignored, and called for the appointment of an independent third party auditor to oversee the process. Forbes’ Campaign Manager added the overseer “must have full oversight of all membership numbers, data and processes” and should be appointed “without delay”. As the SNP establishment is yet to relent, one pertinent quote from Stalin springs to Guido’s mind: “I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this—who will count the votes, and how.”
UPDATE: The SNP have issued a new statement defending the integrity of the contest. They’re still not revealing the number of voting members…
NEW UPDATE: The SNP have now published their membership figures, showing a decline of over 30% in just over a year. You can see why they dragged their heels…
Co-conspirators can read the letter in full below.
In news that will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, having leading SNP figures publicly trashing their own record hasn’t helped the party’s electoral fortunes. According to a new YouGov poll for Sky News, none of the candidates have won over the public as, by overwhelming margins, Scottish voters think all candidates would be worse than Sturgeon. Kate Forbes comes out best, with 17% saying she would be better than sturgeon – 33% disagreed. Just 6% of voters think Humza would be better than Nicola…
Other findings in the poll weren’t much better for the SNP. The public held net negative views on each candidate. On individual traits, more voters thought Yousaf and Regan were weak, incompetent and untrustworthy. The opposite was true for Forbes, as more Scots put her as strong, trustworthy and competent. The poll also paints a worrying picture for the Yes camp, as independence support stood still at just 39%. ‘No’ now leads by 8%.
New polling from Ipsos MORI, conducted for Channel 4, shows Kate Forbes is the most popular candidate for First Minister with the general public in Scotland. When Scottish voters were asked “who would make the best First Minister?”, Kate Forbes was the top choice of 32% of voters, with Yousaf on 24% and Ash Regan sat on 8% – losing out to “don’t know” on 11%. In bad news for Humza, he had the same level of support as “none of them”.
Amongst SNP voters, Yousaf does do slightly better. His share rose to 33% – effectively tied with Forbes on 32%. Of course, the SNP leadership election is decided by the membership, not voters, so Yousaf won’t be too concerned. Especially when membership polling put him top by 6% on first preferences. With 32% of members undecided and second preferences to account for, it’s all to play for…
