The three SNP leadership candidates clashed in a bad-tempered TV debate tonight as they took personal digs at each other in the contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon.
Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan traded a series of blows in what turned into an hour-long mauling of each other’s positions on various issues.
Amid ugly exchanges on Scottish independence and gender identity reforms, Mr Yousaf was disparagingly branded the ‘continuity candidate’ and the ‘no change candidate’.
He is widely viewed as the frontrunner in the race to succeed Ms Sturgeon as First Minister and has been backed by a number of SNP big hitters.
But Ms Forbes tonight tore into Mr Yousaf’s ministerial record from his time as a transport minister, justice secretary and now as Scotland’s Health Secretary.
He hit back at Ms Forbes – whose leadership campaign has faltered amid a series of carcrash TV grillings about her socially conservative views – by suggesting her election as party leader would see the SNP ‘lurching to the right’.
Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan traded a series of blows in what turned into an hour-long mauling of each other’s positions on various issues
The three SNP leadership candidates clashed over their plans for Scottish independence and gender identity reforms
Mr Yousaf also attacked both Ms Forbes and Ms Regan for failing to commit to challenging Westminster’s block on the Scottish Government’s controversial gender identity legislation.
Meanwhile, Ms Regan – the only leadership candidate not currently serving in the Scottish Cabinet – claimed the SNP had ‘lost its way’ and admitted there had been ‘no progress’ on independence in recent years.
Tonight’s head-to-head was the first live televised debate in the SNP leadership contest and was hosted by STV at the broadcaster’s headquarters in Glasgow.
Ms Regan claimed that an SNP majority at each election held in future would represent a ‘democratic mandate’ for Scottish independence.
In a swipe at Ms Sturgeon’s record as First Minister, she said: ‘There’s been no progress on independence in the last few years, despite the worst UK governments of all time.
‘We used to grow support for independence by governing wisely, and it worked.
‘At every election going forward, we will make it crystal clear that a majority of votes for the SNP will be a democratic mandate for independence.’
Mr Yousaf, the Scottish Health Secretary, was disparagingly branded the ‘continuity candidate’ and the ‘no change candidate’
It was suggested that Ms Forbes election as party leader would see the SNP ‘lurching to the right’
Ms Regan claimed the SNP had ‘lost its way’ and admitted there had been ‘no progress’ on independence in recent years
Mr Yousaf pledged to grow support for Scottish independence ‘to new heights’.
He also boasted he was the ‘only candidate’ ready to challenge Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s use of a Section 35 order to stop the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from becoming law.
Mr Yousaf is a close ally of Ms Sturgeon and Ms Forbes, Scotland’s Finance Secretary, took a dig at the pair when she insisted that ‘more of the same’ in the SNP ‘is an acceptance of mediocrity’.
‘It’s time for change, continuity won’t cut it – tonight, I offer a new start for Scotland,’ she said, as she promised to lead a ‘new generation’.
Who are the SNP leadership candidates?
Humza Yousaf
The 37-year-old is the current Scottish Health Secretary and previously held the justice brief.
He has faced criticism over the NHS crisis in his current role, with rising treatment times and delayed discharges.
Kate Forbes
The 32-year-old is the current Scottish Finance Secretary.
She returned from maternity leave early to enter the SNP leadership race.
Ms Forbes impressed her party when she delivered the Scottish Government’s budget just hours after taking on the job in early 2020.
But her social conservative views on same-sex marriage, abortion and gender reform has led to scrutiny and criticism.
She is a member of the Free Church of Scotland, sometimes known as the ‘Wee Frees’.
Ash Regan
The 48-year-old is a former community safety minister in the Scottish Government.
She is best known for resigning from that role over her opposition to Nicola Sturgeon’s controversial gender identity reforms.
She also attacked Mr Yousaf over his ministerial record, telling him: ‘You were a transport minister and the trains were never on time, when you were justice secretary the police were stretched 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?’
And, when asked later whether she would keep Mr Yousaf in the Scottish Cabinet if she became first minister, Ms Forbes sniped: ‘Maybe not in health.’
Mr Yousaf hit back at Ms Forbes by claiming her own personal opposition to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was ‘clouding her judgement’ in declining to challenge Westminster’s block on the legislation.
He also noted how ‘many people, particularly from our LGBTQ community, say they wouldn’t vote for independence’ if Ms Forbes was leader, after she last month set out her personal stance on issues such as same-sex marriage.
But Ms Forbes suggested Mr Yousaf was ‘spoiling for a fight regardless of the legal advice’ on the constitutional wrangle between Edinburgh and London over Scotland’s gender identity reforms.
When all three candidates were asked if they would keep the monarchy in an independent Scotland, Ms Regan said in the ‘new circumstances’ after the Queen’s death it might be time for the SNP to debate if retaining the monarchy was still the right policy.
Ms Forbes said there were ‘bigger issues facing Scotland’, while Mr Yousaf said he would ‘keep the monarchy for a period of time’ but added: ‘I would hope an independent Scotland would be a republic in the future’.
Last month, all three of Ms Forbes, Ms Regan and Mr Yousaf were confirmed to have met the threshold to formally enter the leadership race.
About 100,000 SNP members will be able to begin voting for their preferred candidate on March 13.
Voting will then close at noon on March 27 and the result is expected later that day.
The first contested SNP leadership election in almost 20 years was triggered when Ms Sturgeon dramatically announced her intention to resign last month.
Mr Yousaf is the bookies’ favourite to be chosen as Ms Sturgeon’s successor as SNP leader and First Minister.
The Scottish Health Secretary received a huge boost earlier when Angus Robertson, the SNP’s former Westminster leader, gave him his backing.
‘I am in no doubt that it has to be Humza,’ said Mr Robertson, the Scottish Government’s Constitution Secretary.
Mr Robertson had been widely tipped to succeed Ms Sturgeon himself but later ruled out a leadership bid as he has two young children.
The decision by top SNP figures to support Mr Yousaf has led to attacks by rivals about him having the SNP’s ‘party machine’ behind him.
Edinburgh South West MP Joanna Cherry, who is backing Ms Regan, claimed her candidate was ‘making progress’ and warned it would be ‘very wrong to write her off’.
‘It’s no secret that the party machine is behind Humza and not behind Kate and Ash,’ she added.
Ms Forbes had begun the leadership contest as the apparent frontrunner but her campaign soon ran into difficulty when she faced questions about her socially conservative views.
In a series of carcrash interviews, the Finance Secretary admitted she would have voted against both gay marriage and Ms Sturgeon’s gender identity reforms.
The 32-year-old, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, also branded pre-marital sex ‘wrong’.
Early polling of SNP members had put Ms Forbes ahead of Mr Yousaf, but she now appears to have slipped behind her rival – with Ms Regan trailing in third place.