The SNP leadership candidates have been accused of “torching each other and their party’s record in government” after last night’s brutal televised debate.
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said the SNP was now “openly at war with itself” after any pretence of civility was abandoned when Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf traded insults in front of the STV cameras.
During an explosive cross-examination section, Kate Forbes hammered Humza Yousaf’s record as justice secretary, transport minister and health secretary.
In return, he claimed the finance secretary had allowed herself to be short-changed by the UK Government and poured scorn on her claims she’d woo ‘No’ voters to the independence cause, by pointing out she’d managed to lose ‘Yes’ voters with her comments on same-sex marriage.
Ash Regan attacked both her rivals and took a swipe at Nicola Sturgeon’s government in her opening statement, by insisting the SNP had “lost its way”.
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy MSP said: “We all knew the SNP was split down the middle but last night’s vicious debate laid bare the true scale of the mutual loathing between the different factions.
“The candidates spent the debate torching each other and their party’s record in government. Given they all are – or were – integral to that government, they were also, effectively, setting fire to themselves.
“Kate Forbes said she’d not have Humza Yousaf as health secretary if she was victorious, but it’s almost impossible to envisage either of them serving in the other’s cabinet, such was the extent of the vitriol they directed at each other.
“The SNP is openly at war with itself. But it’s ordinary Scots who are suffering as senior figures in the Scottish Government neglect the day job to kick lumps out of rival factions in their own party.
“But even when this brutal contest is over, they won’t be able to return to the people’s priorities, because it’s clear a shared obsession with pushing independence is the only thing they agree on.”
Notes
Humza Yousaf said Kate Forbes couldn’t even keep Yes voters. Yousaf said: ‘You say you’re the only candidate who can persuade people that voted no. In the first week of your campaign you had people who voted yes leave your campaign. MSP after MSP. You’ve had many people, from our LGBTQ community say they won’t vote for independence if you’re the leader. Forget persuading no voters, you can’t even keep yes voters on-side.’ (STV SNP Leaders debate, 7 March 2023, link).
Kate Forbes slammed Humza Yousaf’s record in government. Forbes said: ‘Well Humza you have had a number of jobs in Government. When you were a transport minister the trains were never on time, when you were justice minister the police were strained to breaking point, and now as health minister we’ve got record high waiting times – what makes you think you can do a better job as first minister?’ (STV SNP Leaders debate, 7 March 2023, link).
Ash Regan admitted the SNP has lost its way. Regan said: ‘The SNP has lost its way. There’s been no progress on independence in the last few years despite the worst UK Governments of all time.’ (STV SNP Leaders debate, 7 March 2023, link).
Humza Yousaf said Kate Forbes short-changed Scotland by around £600 million. Forbes said: ‘It starts with our people, uniting the yes movement is important but making the economic case matters more than anything else in this debate. And who better than somebody who has the experience of negotiating multi-million pound budgets, negotiating with the UK Government, and winning.’ Yousaf replied by saying ‘Well if I remember correctly, at the time you said the UK Government had short-changed us by £1 billion, you got £400 million out of them, you sold us about £600 million short… yeah so you left us a little bit short.’ (STV SNP Leaders debate, 7 March 2023, link).