SNP will be in trouble without action, says Kate Forbes
Former Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership candidate Kate Forbes has warned that the party “will be in trouble” unless decisive action is taken to address internal affairs. Forbes stated that people were watching the SNP “with astonishment” and that party finance claims were “mind-blowing”.
She urged the leadership to take action to resolve transparency and governance issues before the next general election in 2024.
Forbes – who came second in the leadership contest behind Humza Yousaf – was speaking to the Radio 4 programme – Leading Scotland Where? which airs on Wednesday at 20:30 BST.
SNP treasurer Colin Beattie and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell were recently arrested as part of a police investigation into the party’s finances. Forbes dismissed calls for a re-run of the leadership election but suggested that she could have won had the campaign been longer.
She resigned from the cabinet in Humza Yousaf’s reshuffle due to her inability to take positions she had taken during the campaign but said she would be a loyal backbencher to Yousaf.
An SNP spokesman said that the party had put mechanisms in place to improve transparency and governance under Yousaf’s leadership.