Do MSPs vote for honesty or for unity?

Honesty will be on the ballot paper for SNP members when they choose their new leader next month.

It’s a weight of responsibilty that should weigh heavy when they select Scotland’s next first minister.

Politicians are more often than not accused of lying to win votes or save their jobs.

So it’s been eye-opening to see Kate Forbes be so brutally honest about being against gay marriage, abortion and gender recognition.

Her views are the square peg in the round hole of the progressive and forward-thinking policies presented to us by the Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon versions of the SNP.

Forbes has been criticised for holding opinions many thought belonged in the past.

As unpalatable as they might appear to many, they look like honestly held views.

Her rival Humza Yousaf has repeatedly said he supports gay marriage.

But he’s been tied in knots by his record in that historic equal marriage vote in the Scottish Parliament from February 2014.

He wasn’t there because he seemingly had to attend a meeting about a constituent who was facing imprisonment in Pakistan.

But three former ministerial colleagues have disputed his version of events.

The third name on the ballot paper, Ash Regan, resigned from Sturgeon’s government in anger at the gender recognition Bill.

She doesn’t believe people should be able to self-identify as the opposite gender.

It’s a view which found her out of favour with long-standing colleagues.

Do SNP members want a leader who will be straight about their views, even if they sound extreme?

Or do they want someone who will leave question marks over their opinion but will try to bring everyone together.

This leadership contest is battling for the hearts and minds of SNP members.

It begs the question of honesty for all of them as they shape the future of Scotland for years to come.