It’s not game over yet for Kate Forbes

Kate Forbes’ campaign to succeed Nicola Sturgeon has been largely written off by political rivals and the media. Her Christian faith is said to make her unsuitable to lead a progressive party like the SNP and to be the First Minister of a modern Scotland. Not least her admission that, while she doesn’t seek to roll back any existing rights, she wouldn’t have voted for same-sex marriage had she been an MSP when the legislation was before Holyrood. She also believes children should be born within wedlock and is sceptical of efforts to change the law on gender recognition. Game over, say people in the know. 

However, a new poll of SNP supporters finds the contest wide open. The survey, by Opinion Matters, was conducted between Monday and Wednesday, and should capture a partial response to the early days of the campaign, when journalists first began questioning Forbes on her faith-based beliefs. It’s worth noting that researchers spoke to SNP voters, rather than members, the latter of whom are the electorate in this race.