Kate Forbes announces bid for SNP leader

After much speculation, Kate Forbes has today become the third candidate to officially enter the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon. The Finance Secretary is currently on maternity leave until the beginning of April but has just released a slick video, setting out her stall to be First Minister.

There’s no mention of any specific policy but there’s plenty of familiar buzzwords for the party faithful: talk of ‘self-definition’, ‘unleashing’ Scotland’s potential and comparisons to wealthy Scandinavian countries. As for her own credentials, Forbes cites her record running the finance ministry and says she is ‘bold, brave and energised, fresh-faced and ready for new challenges’. She adds that she will be a ‘unifier’ who will ‘reach our and listen’ within the SNP, with some kind words too for ‘the wider Yes movement.’

Forbes is the favourite of the three candidates who have declared thus far. For some context, Ladbrokes gives her odds of 2/1, compared to Yousaf on 6/1 and Regan on 16/1 – a reflection of how some within the party are already framing the contest as a Forbes/Yousaf showdown.