Kate Forbes spoke at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London last week, then drew a response from John Swinney, who said on Wednesday in Glasgow that he would not have attended. Forbes told the audience she had no regrets after the SNP leadership contest and linked her faith to her political career.
On Wednesday, Swinney said: "I certainly wouldn't speak at a conference like that because I'm going to have nothing to do with Reform." He was replying after Forbes appeared at the event, which was described as the "anti-woke Davos" and included Nigel Farage, Sarah Pochin, Danny Kruger, Kevin Sorbo, Natasha Hausdorff and officials from the Trump administration.
Forbes at ARC
Forbes said on the final day of the ARC conference last week that she had no regrets about the way she handled the SNP leadership contest. She said: "The end result felt like a victory because during that period I thought: I have not given in when I could have."
She also said: "Therefore, I did lose the contest but I absolutely won the public support and that feels good." Forbes added that courage was needed to stay true to her convictions, and she said people should ground their conscience in "the biblical concepts of freedom, liberty, human dignity, the worth of life, and flourishing for all".
SNP leadership contest
During the SNP leadership contest in 2023, Forbes was questioned about same-sex marriage, transgender rights and children being born out of wedlock. She said she would have voted against same-sex marriage had she been an MSP at the time, and many of her party colleagues withdrew support for her campaign after that interview.
Forbes lost the contest to Humza Yousaf. Her remarks in London returned to the dispute at the center of that race, where her public support did not translate into enough backing inside the SNP to win.
John Swinney in Glasgow
Swinney's response put the conference choice back at the center of the story. By saying he would not have spoken at the event because he wanted nothing to do with Reform, he drew a clear line between his position and Forbes's appearance in London.
Whether Forbes's attendance will carry any further political consequence is not answered in the exchange, but the contrast is already set: she defended her convictions in London, and Swinney rejected the conference from Glasgow.
