Kate Forbes: I’m against gay marriage and self-ID

It’s day one of Kate Forbes’ bid to be First Minister and she is certainly making headlines. The Finance Minister has done a round of media interviews today, with much media attention focusing on her stance on social issues. Forbes is a member of the Free Church of Scotland, a bastion of unrepentant Christianity. And she has suggested in several Q&As today that she is not exactly signed up to some of the SNP’s more liberal social policies.

Asked if she would have voted for Nicola Sturgeon’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, she replied:

I have been on record saying that I had significant concerns about self-ID and I would have had those significant concerns about self-ID and therefore, the Bill in its current form, I would have struggled to vote for.

And this stance on trans rights is reflected in her approach to constitutional battles too, with Forbes saying she would not challenge the UK government’s decision to block the Bill with a Section 35 order:

I don’t think that we should challenge the Section 35 in court because I think the public want us to focus on things like the NHS, on making the case for independence, on the cost of living crisis, not on another court challenge, but I would engage with the UK Government to look at how we amend the bill further.

Elsewhere she was also asked about her approach to same-sex marriage, with Forbes saying that she would not have supported it as a ‘matter of conscience’ if she had been a member of parliament at the time. Same-sex marriage became legal in Scotland in 2014 while Forbes was elected in 2016. She added that while she wouldn’t have backed the legislation, she would have ‘respected and defended the democratic choice that was made’ and compared it to Angela Merkel’s stance on the issue.

Some, er, interesting positions in a party famed for its zero-tolerance approach to dissent. Still, Forbes believes her views will not cause her any problems, arguing that ‘There’s a way to square my faith as well as my membership and leadership of the SNP and that includes things like having to love my neighbour.’

Jolly good luck with that. Mr S looks forward to Forbes being asked other difficult questions in the race such as whether gay sex is sinful and if abortion is murder…