Kate Forbes: Will the SNP Deputy First Minister's resignation pave the way for a Lib Dem victory?
The Scottish Liberal Democrats have long been targeting Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes’s seat in Holyrood.
The Liberal Democrats are hoping Kate Forbes’s resignation will pave the way for their domination of the Highlands in 2026.
The Deputy First Minister unexpectedly announced on Monday she was planning to step down from Holyrood at next year’s Scottish Parliament election, having represented Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch since 2016.
In 2021, Ms Forbes won the largest majority of any MSP at over 15,000 and has gone on to hold the second most powerful position at Holyrood.
However, the Scottish Lib Dems have made no secret of the fact they want to win this seat off of the SNP next year.
They are hoping Ms Forbes’s resignation clears the path for their candidate Councillor Andrew Baxter. This comes after the Lib Dems reigned supreme in this area at last year’s general election.
Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Kate and I were both elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2016 and there have been several occasions when we’ve worked well together on shared interests since.
“I wish her family well for everything that comes next. This is a top target seat for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, having won the equivalent seat at Westminster last year.
“We’re campaigning hard to fix the care crisis, to cut your energy bills, and for better local healthcare, having recently secured the replacement for the Belford Hospital in the Scottish budget.
“Scotland deserves better and people in the Highlands know that our hard-working champion Andrew Baxter is best placed to beat the SNP.”
Angus MacDonald, Lib Dem MSP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, said: “The SNP have a broken relationship with the Highlands. On their watch, access to healthcare has deteriorated, local schools are in disrepair and the cost of living has soared.
“Andrew Baxter secured an overwhelming by-election victory in this constituency last year - a symbol of the trust that local people place in him to fight their corner.
“Andrew and the Scottish Liberal Democrats represent the change that people in the Highlands badly need.”
Earlier this year the Scottish Lib Dems told The Scotsman the party was targeting the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch seat at the 2026 election, along with neighbouring constituencies Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, and Inverness and Nairn.
All three seats are held by the SNP, but a lot of the north Highlands are represented by the Lib Dems at Westminster.
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