Ask anyone what’s the worst thing politicians do and there’s a good chance they’ll say ‘not give a direct answer to a direct question’.
The wriggling, the obfuscating, the running out the clock… All tried and tested tactics, which have long angered voters and fuelled suspicions that the slippery beggars all have something to hide.
Jeremy Paxman famously asked Michael Howard the same question – “Did you threaten to overrule him?” – 12 times in one 90-second exchange.
I don’t know if we ever got a yes or no. But I do know the non-answer is as much a staple of the ministerial interview today as it was in 1997.
But what if it’s the very thing that’s been keeping the wheels on all this time?
Because SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes spent the past week giving direct answers to direct questions.
And it sent Scottish politics into meltdown.
Polling questions impact of Kate Forbes’ comments
The Finance Secretary’s response to questions about same-sex marriage, gender reform and children born out of wedlock – and more specifically how they square with the teachings of her church – threw spanner after spanner into the works of her campaign to succeed Nicola Sturgeon.
Or so we supposed.
A succession of prominent MSPs and MPs who had previously backed Forbes’ bid withdrew their support. Activists and ordinary people took to Twitter to condemn her statements. ‘Forbes finished’, the headlines declared.
Except, here’s the thing. Her answers don’t appear to have done her leadership bid any harm.
The first poll of the contest, released on Friday morning, puts Kate Forbes out in front.
The survey of 1,001 SNP members has her on 28%, eight points ahead of the perceived front-runner Humza Yousaf, while Ash Regan trails on 7%
The race is far from over. The largest chunk – 31% – are undecided, while another 14% favour none of the above. But just 5% think the new leader’s faith or personal beliefs are important.
And it rather gives the lie to the reports of comments from Kate Forbes campaign team on Monday – that the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch had “f***ed it” before she’d even got it started.
Kate Forbes did not shy from questions of Christianity
I listened to an interesting interview with Tim Farron on Thursday.
Remember him?
Na probably not. He was the short-lived, ill-fated Liberal Democrat leader, who quit after just two years, saying it was impossible to remain a political leader AND be faithful to the Bible.
Farron, an evangelical Christian, had tied himself in knots trying to avoid giving a direct answer to the question of whether he considered gay sex a sin.
He’s now professing admiration for the way Kate Forbes, a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland, answered similar questions head-on, without compromising her beliefs.
She can still win the SNP leadership, he says.
By addressing the issues, she has demonstrated that she will not shy from difficult topics.
She has shown voters they can trust her. That she’s honest.
Kate Forbes can now legitimately say “I’ve answered those questions, now let’s talk about my policies”.
The polls suggest he’s got a point.
Kate Forbes stands by her beliefs, do you?
For what it’s worth I’m uneasy with Kate Forbes’ answers.
The SNP are not just electing a leader, they are deciding on our next First Minister.
Like Nicola Sturgeon before them, the next FM will be a figurehead for Scotland. And their beliefs – religious and otherwise – will play an outsized role in the direction of the country.
I have friends in same sex marriages. In their shoes I’d be hurt that this is even a topic for discussion. I thought we had moved on.
I have friends who are making an excellent job of raising their children without the need for a wedding ring or a marriage certificate. And fair play to them. The last time I looked it wasn’t 1953.
I’m uneasy about the hornets’ nest her answers have kicked over too.
I’m sure many of those racing to Kate Forbes’ defence this week have sincere concerns about free speech and religious intolerance.
ferocious on how Kate Forbes’s religion would have prevented her voting for equal marriage. not a peep on how Humza Yousaf’s actually did. https://t.co/pesDcVaVl4
— euan mccolm (@euanmccolm) February 24, 2023
But you don’t have to dig too deep into the social media posts of others to suspect their agitation has less to do with deeply-held beliefs in the tenets of the Free Church of Scotland and more to do with culture wars and opportunism.
So maybe this is going to be one of those ‘careful what you wish for’ situations.
Maybe we’ve been crying out for politicians to JUST ANSWER THE BLOODY QUESTION when all this time their failure to do so, their determination to play the game, was the trait that kept things ticking along, kept us from going for one another’s throats.
But Kate Forbes did not shy from giving honest answers to awkward questions this week.
You might not like what she had to say. I don’t. But she has energised the SNP leadership campaign. And maybe it’s time more of us had the courage to stand up for our beliefs.
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