Kate Forbes: My husband and father were the hardest to persuade to back my decision to stand down

Kate Forbes had to work hard to persuade her husband and father that it was right for her to step back from politics, the deputy first minister has revealed.

Forbes made the surprise announcement last summer that she would not contest the Scottish Parliament election in May.

Speaking exclusively to Holyrood, she admitted she struggled with “a sense of letting people down” while coming to the decision.

But she insisted it was “the right decision at the moment for me and for my family” – despite strong reservations from her husband, Ali, and dad.

She said: “My dad and my husband are the two who have believed in me the most in this role, and they were also the hardest to persuade that I was going to stand down.

“Ali felt like I was too good at my job, that I had particular skills and abilities, and that I had a contribution to make in a world that is increasingly disillusioned with politics. So that authenticity and that integrity was of greatest value, and he saw it in me, and he saw it matched with the ability to do a job.”

Forbes made the decision while on a visit to India with her family towards the end of July, but did not make it public until 10 days later.

She said Ali “finally came round” to the idea the weekend before she announced it.

She added: “The bit I struggled most with is a sense of letting people down, like internally, privately and also externally, because a lot of people have believed in me and wanted me to go on, and I don’t want to be seen as somebody who, when it got tough, took a step back, but I know I am making the right decision at the moment for me and for my family.”

Forbes was first elected to the parliament in 2016 and was pegged early on as one to watch.

She became a junior minister in 2018 before taking on the role of finance secretary – the youngest ever – in 2020 after Derek Mackay’s resignation.

She contested the SNP leadership election in 2023 but lost to Humza Yousaf, and at that point left government.

During the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon, Forbes’ religious beliefs were a topic of contention after she admitted she would not have backed same-sex marriage legislation had she been an MSP at the time.

Asked whether the row caused her to doubt her faith, she said: “Absolutely not, never. If anything, the abuse made me feel that sense of self-confidence in who I am, not egotistical and not arrogant and not that I have something over other people, but that I have just as much of a right to be a citizen and to be a representative of citizens in Scotland as the next person.

“I would say that throughout my life I have been conscious of God and of the power that comes through faith in God. And I guess, to the onlooker, they see the leadership contest as a particularly challenging time, but for me it was just one of many experiences where I have been so grateful to believe in something that is bigger than myself.”

Upon John Swinney’s taking up of the leadership in 2024, Forbes returned to government as deputy first minister and economy secretary.

During this time, the Scottish Government has had to deal with the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of ‘woman’ in the Equality Act.

Forbes said she no longer feels the issue is “as toxic” as it once was and there was a “fairly settled view” on it from the public.

She added: “I think that we need to accept the Supreme Court ruling, and I think we need to demonstrate to the public that we are implementing the Supreme Court ruling.”

Forbes went onto say that her time in politics had made her a “harder” and “more cynical person” and she hopes that by taking a step back, she will regain “a sense of warmth and empathy”, adding that “cynicism is ugly”.