FORBES HAMMERS HUMZA IN SCRAPPY SNP LEADERSHIP DEBATE

The first televised leadership debate of the SNP leadership, held in Glasgow, lived up to its host city’s pugnacious reputation. Kate Forbes kicked off the STV debate off with an attack line that wouldn’t be out of place in a party-political broadcast for the Conservative Party:

“Humza you’ve had a number of jobs in government. When you were Transport Minister, the trains were never on time. When you were Justice Minister, the police were strained to braking point. Now, as Health Minister, we’ve got record high waiting times.”

Humza hit back with a jab at Forbes’ inexperience, “I know you haven’t had a delivery job in government. I’ve had three”. A reminder – they belong to the same government.

The fireworks didn’t end there. Humza asked Regan, in the context of her plan to dissolve the coalition with the Greens, “how on earth can you call yourself a unifier?”. Yousaf also suggested Forbes’ treasury had left health “short-changed” as Ash called out the others’ “wishy-washy” approach to independence. Forbes managed to find yet another opportunity to take on her own government, saying more of the same would be an “acceptance of mediocrity”.

The debate also touched on economic policies, as Regan described Forbes’ platform as “trickle-down economics, which has of course been discredited”. In response, Kate made her case that, “we need to ensure that through a growing economy… we ensure that we are reinvesting in our public services, and ultimately creating well-paying jobs”. By going for growth and taking the SNP to task, Guido is in the rare position of finding it difficult to disagree with an SNP politician. After the night’s proceedings, there was one winner who came out head and shoulders above the rest – the unionist cause.