[SCOT goes POP!] Kate Forbes' departure feels like a setback for the SNP and for independence - but can someone seize the moment and transform it into an opportunity?

[ALBA-Bot]

Kate Forbes' departure feels like a setback for the SNP and for independence - but can someone seize the moment and transform it into an opportunity?

Today's YouTube commentary is of course about the shock news that Kate Forbes, who would have been one of the two clear frontrunners to succeed John Swinney as First Minister, has taken herself out of contention by announcing she will be stepping down from parliament next year.  That leaves the way almost totally clear for Stephen Flynn, which is a problem for two reasons: a) opinion polls show he is less popular with the public than either Forbes or Swinney, possibly because he comes across as more belligerent, and b) while he seems very ambitious, it's ambition for himself and for his party, not ambition to make Scotland an independent country in the very near future.  Which is a paradox, because you'd think a man hungry for power would want to be Prime Minister of an independent country, not a First Minister hopelessly constrained by the limitations of the devolved settlement.  Could Forbes' departure make space for someone new to enter the mix and present themselves as the alternative to Flynn with a credible roadmap to independence?

This may be a good moment to remind you that in one of my other recent videos, I mentioned that Alex Salmond had apparently reached some kind of understanding with Kate Forbes that if she had won the March 2023 leadership election, Salmond would have returned to the SNP and effectively disbanded the Alba Party.  You can watch that video HERE.

But for today's commentary about Forbes' departure, you can listen via the embedded player below, or at this link.

Source: Kate Forbes' departure feels like a setback for the SNP and for independence - but can someone seize the moment and transform it into an opportunity?