Forbes: I try not to work Sundays
ONE of Nicola Sturgeon’s leading Cabinet members has disclosed that she tries not to work on Sundays.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, a practising Christian, said her faith was ‘an integral part’ of her identity but added it would be ‘very dangerous’ if people with similar religious views were discouraged from standing for political posts.
She said she tries to observe the Sabbath to allow time to ‘recharge the batteries’ – and insists it helps her decision-making.
Despite being one of the favourites to succeed Miss Sturgeon, she said the job of First Minister was not an ‘attractive prospect’ because of the abuse she would face.
Miss Forbes, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, made the comments in an interview with BBC Scotland as she became the first woman to pass a Budget at Holyrood or Westminster.
She took over as Finance Secretary when Derek Mackay quit only hours before he was due to unveil the Budget earlier this year.
On her Christian faith, Miss Forbes, 29, said: ‘It’s an integral part of my identity, it’s core to who I am, as it is to many people in this country.’
Asked about working on a Sunday, she said: ‘I try not to because I think to survive this job it’s important to have time when you can chill and spend time with family and reset and recharge the batteries.
‘I try to take some time off once a week to do that and I think it probably improves my decision-making in the long term.’ Nationalist MP Lisa Cameron previously claimed she was being ‘persecuted’ for her Christian beliefs when she was criticised from within her party for voting against liberalising abortion in Northern Ireland, despite most of her colleagues backing it.
Miss Forbes insisted that her own views should not affect her job. She said: ‘People are perfectly entitled to scrutinise me, to question me, but ultimately they should look at the decisions I make. I would think it’s a very dangerous world to be in if anybody, by virtue of a protected characteristic like religion, is essentially told they can’t stand for public office or can’t be in the public square.’
Her swift rise up the SNP ranks has led some to view her as a possible successor to Miss Sturgeon.
Although she has not ruled it out, she said: ‘I don’t envy her the task she has when it comes to dealing with public scrutiny, some of the challenges that come from being a woman in the public eye. The more I see up close of her role in terms of some of the abuse she suffers and the offensive comments, it’s not a particularly attractive proposition. I’m somebody who’s probably more inclined to hide from that public abuse, and at the moment just doing this job is a task enough.’ Miss Forbes said last week that being in politics was the first time she ‘knew what it felt like to be hated’. She added: ‘There used to be a day when I would respect you as a human being, then have fun disagreeing or arguing with you. Now [it’s] “if I don’t like your views, I hate you”.’