Stay true to Christian roots, warns Forbes

Former Scottish Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has issued a stark warning to the West – abandon its Judeo-Christian roots and freedom itself will be in danger.

Forbes, a committed Christian and member of the Free Church of Scotland, told the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London that biblical truth has shaped the liberties Britain now takes for granted.

Speaking with trademark steel, Forbes said the West would “pay a heavy price” if it cut itself loose from its Christian inheritance.

“There is an umbilical cord between them and the Bible,” she said. “Separate that, and I invite you to consider the alternative.”

Forbes, born in Dingwall in 1990, grew up between the Scottish Highlands and India, where her father worked with Christian charities.

She entered Holyrood in 2016 as MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, became Scotland’s Finance Secretary in 2020, and later returned to government under John Swinney as Deputy First Minister.

But it was the 2023 SNP leadership contest that put her faith under the national microscope.

Having returned early from maternity leave after the birth of her daughter Naomi, Forbes was quizzed repeatedly about her Christian beliefs on marriage, sex and abortion.

Supporters walked away. Critics rounded on her. She lost the contest to Humza Yousaf.

Yet Forbes said she came through with her conscience intact.

Her father’s advice, she recalled, was simple: “It’s never worth the compromise.”

“The end result felt like a victory because during that period I thought: I have not given in when I could have,” she said.

story continues…