Kate Forbes has suggested Humza Yousaf lacks a “big vision” for Scotland and confirmed she would likely run again to be leader of the SNP.

The former finance secretary, who lost out narrowly in the bitter contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon a year ago, set out her firmest pitch for the battle when the first minister leaves office.

She told a Holyrood Sources podcast on 25 years of devolution that she would remain as an MSP as long as she felt she could “deal with the root symptoms and not just tread water”, and she heavily hinted that she wanted to have a second tilt at the leadership.

However, she added: “All of us need to be enthused and inspired by what the current big vision is and for individuals who are working there — we too need to be enthused because if we’re not, then there are alternative jobs.”

READ MORE: Operation Branchform: 'We have always acted in interests of justice'

 

The Herald: Kate Forbes speaking at the Holyrood Sources Podcast event last night. Photo Mike Wilkinson.

“People need to be inspired by leadership,” she said. “They need to be inspired by the thought that things are going to get better. And this is going to be a challenging year all round. And as much as I back the party and the current first minister, we can only win elections if you have a big vision we can get behind.”

The event at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms featured contributions from three former first ministers: Mr Salmond, Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale and Henry McLeish. Ms Forbes said that all of them “had a big vision” for Holyrood and asked: “What is the big vision for the next 25 years?”

READ MORE: Operation Branchform casts shadow on SNP election campaign

Sources familiar with Ms Forbes’s told The Times she was loyal to Mr Yousaf and expected him to be in place until at least the Holyrood 2026 election. 

However, her supporters are keen that she positions herself as ready to step up if a vacancy arises.

The Herald: Former first ministers, from left, Henry McLeish, Alex Salmond and Lord Jack McConnell, with former deputy first minister Jim Wallace, took part in the event last night. Photo: Mike Wilkinson.

Competition for the role has increased, particularly from Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster.

Mr Flynn's question to Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday drew public admiration from Mr Aberdein.

READ MORE: Matheson attends constituency event while on 'sick leave'

The SNP Westminster leader launched an attack on both the Conservatives and Labour as he asked Mr Sunak which of the “the now numerous born-again Thatcherites on the Labour frontbench” would be the best “unity candidate” to lead the Tories.

Mr Sunak laughed as he replied: “It was surprising to hear all this talk about the 1970s from the shadow chancellor in particular, but then if you see what’s happening in places like Birmingham where taxes are going up by 21%, services are being cut – whether its social care, children’s services, or indeed in some streets literally the lights are being turned off – it was unsurprising why they were talking about the 70s.”

 

 

Mr Flynn then said there was a "serious point to be made" after research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies  "warned of the conspiracy of silence which exists between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party when it comes to £18 billion of looming public sector cuts."

Pointing to a news report on Mr Flynn's question, Mr Aberdein wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Clever. He is certainly making a name for himself. Gaining recognition and profile has, traditionally, been the one of the biggest challenges facing the SNP at Westminster, Stephen is certainly achieving that."

Ms Forbes has been on the backbenches since Mr Yousaf defeated her with 52% to 48% of the vote among SNP members once the vote preferences of Ash Regan, the third place candidate who later defected to Salmond’s Alba Party, had been redistributed.

Her campaign never fully recovered after she gave a series of interviews at the start of the race where she talked about her Christian faith and made clear her opposition to same sex marriage and children being born out of wedlock.

However, she said her religious views would not have meant she would have repealed equal marriage law if she became first minister.

Talks took place about the prospect of her returning to government in the reshuffle after Michael Matheson quit as health secretary, but these were quashed at a relatively early stage.

Senior figures close to Mr Yousaf were keen for Ms Forbes to take a cabinet role because this would both add a significant figure to the ministerial ranks and ensure that she stayed on message, reducing the first minister’s political headaches.

During the podcast Liz Smith, a long-serving Conservative MSP, said Scottish politics had become “toxic” in the quarter century since devolution was enacted.

“It’s to do partly with some of the flaws of the Holyrood system, which I think are causing great damage to our parliamentary democracy,” she said.

“But I also think that there is an issue about a lack of experience within quite a number of MSPs. I also think that social media has got a place to take the blame as well, because the standard of debate in the time that I’ve been in [the parliament], which is now 17 years, I think has deteriorated and one of the reasons that the standard of debating has deteriorated is because of the influence of social media.

“People have to make a quick comment, often a nasty comment, about another politician, not about the actual substance of what has been debated.”

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “This devastating critique is utterly humiliating for Humza Yousaf and for the whole of the SNP on the eve of his first anniversary as leader.

“Kate Forbes is correct to highlight Humza Yousaf’s lack of vision – the same criticism levelled at him last month by Audit Scotland over his running of our NHS.

“During his 12 months in charge, the crises in our health service and classrooms have worsened, he’s imposed a devastating tax-and-axe budget, ditched a series of failing flagship policies, cosied up to the anti-growth Greens, displayed appalling judgement in standing by his disgraced pal Michael Matheson and continued to divide the country by doubling down on the SNP’s independence obsession.

“It’s clear Humza Yousaf is out of his depth and, in his own words, ‘winging it’ as First Minister. Come the General Election, in swathes of seats across Scotland, a vote for the Scottish Conservative is the only way to beat the SNP and show Humza the door .”