Forbes is deputy leader as price of SNP pact emerges
JOHN SWINNEY has appointed Kate Forbes as Deputy First Minister of Scotland after she agreed not to stand against him for the SNP leadership.
The move indicates that Mr Swinney is serious about trying to drag his party back to the political centre ground after the end of its coalition with the hard-left Greens and Ms Forbes said she was “deeply honoured” to be given the role.
Last week, she announced she would not stand for party leader after receiving assurances from Mr Swinney that there would be a shift away from parts of the Left-wing agenda pursued under Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.
In particular, she said Mr Swinney would overhaul hard line policies for achieving net zero so they work “with, and not against, our communities and businesses”.
Mr Swinney also made Ms Forbes his Economy Secretary, giving her responsibility for fixing the poor state of relations between the SNP and Scotland’s business community.
However, he made no other major changes to the Cabinet which he inherited from Humza Yousaf, his predecessor, despite a series of debacles that has raised major concerns about the competence of Scotland’s government.
Ms Forbes, 34, is the youngest ever Deputy First Minister after she agreed to give Mr Swinney a clear run for the SNP leadership.
Her appointment was also intended to signal that Mr Swinney is serious about trying to drag the SNP back to the political centre ground.
The Scottish Tories, however, said that, apart from Ms Forbes, Mr Swinney had unveiled “Humza Yousaf ’s Cabinet with a different figurehead”. They said her appointment was intended to “gloss over the huge splits in the SNP.”
The Greens also reacted with hostility to Ms Forbes’s appointment.
Patrick Harvie, their co-leader and a former minister in Mr Yousaf ’s government, posted on social media a picture of a road sign stating “No right turn”.