THERE needs to be a “reset” on the strategy to achieve Scottish independence, Kate Forbes has said.
Following an announcement that she would be joining the contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister and SNP leader, Forbes said she had a three-pronged approach to bringing Scottish independence to fruition.
She said that the current strategy had been determined by a “few people in the SNP” and discussion on what comes next should be widened out to the party membership.
However, Forbes did set out that she believes that “building support until it's unstoppable from Westminster’s perspective” is the way to bring the UK Government to the negotiating table.
It comes after fellow contender Humza Yousaf said he was “not wedded” to a de facto referendum as Sturgeon had been.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, the Finance Secretary said she was standing in the contest as she had the confidence to “inspire voters” who want to “vote for better days and vote for independence”, including people outwith the SNP.
Forbes said that there are a “number of steps” from her perspective to make independence a reality, particularly “competent leadership”.
“The future is not inevitable, it requires a leader that inspires confidence and that will build bridges,” she said.
“Secondly, I think that the whole strategy around independence has been largely determined by a few people in the SNP. We need to expand that we need to be speaking to branches across the country.
“We need to be reaching out across the Yes movement, and indeed, across Scotland, because there are some people who could be persuaded of the merits of independence, but we need to listen to them and take them with us on the journey.”
Forbes added that the third step would be to maximise pressure on the UK Government “through every means”.
She added: “And that includes using elections, making sure that independence, that Yes, is at the centre of our manifesto, to put pressure on the UK Government.”
Forbes was asked by BBC Scotland Editor James Cook if she favours treating the next Westminster General Election as a de facto referendum.
She said: “I don't think it's as simple as that. I think we need to reset our strategy for independence, and I think that needs to come through listening to people and building bridges.
"I do think that independence needs to be at the heart of the next election.
“But ultimately, the only way that we're going to secure independence is when the people of Scotland by a significant percentage want independence.”
Forbes was probed on if she believed that 50%+1 of the vote share would not be “good enough”.
She said: “I think we already have a mandate to negotiate with Westminster. The difficulty right now is that they're not willing to engage with that.”
The BBC asked if she agreed with Sturgeon’s assessment that 50%+1 would force the Westminster Government to the negotiating table.
She said: “When you've got two parties in a discussion here, I think we need to, in Scotland, continue to build support so that it is unstoppable from Westminster's perspective.
“Because that is what will demonstrate the appetite and the requirement to have a vote. I think that the next election is part of that.”
