The SNP is in a ‘tremendous mess’ apparently.

Do you people understand the purpose and operation of leadership and representation? Appears not.

Cross the border into England? Lovely here.

Why be so anti to Kate Forbes cos she has private religious views that you don’t agree with?
Some people will think the same as her and many won’t, so what.
If she tried to change anything that’s law , that would be different, but that’s hardly likely is it, it would need others to agree it.

It's Catch f***ing 22.

Thanks for telling me what Scotland is like though, that's really helpful.

I know that many people think like her. That's what worries me. My country - my country - could regress to thinking that way again. I've lived in that country before. I hope I never have to again.

Sorry Volver you are doing it again

So the leader of our country, the person who represents our country in the wider world, thinks many people in her country are abominations before God for loving a person of the same sex, and she thinks I'm a sinner. I had sex before I was married! Burn the witch!! I'm going to guess most posters on here did too. We're all going to hell, ladies!

What you write there is absolute nonsense. Kate Forbes personal beliefs apply to her and her alone. It does not follow that she judges other people as you decide she judges them.

I will give you a personal example of what I mean. I had an aunt who was a devout catholic, and the catholic churche's attitude to homosexuality is not unakin to that of Kate Forbes.

The day a gay couple moved into the house next to my aunt, she was on the doorstep offering coffee and biscuits and a meal in the evening. Over the 5 years they lived next to this couple they became close and good friends, they shared an interest in art and music and each helped the other in times of crisis. My aunt had personal beliefs that applied to her, but she was not judgmental and accepted others as they were.

Her attitude is widely lived by by people of all faiths and creeds who have strong moral beliefs that are not accepted in wider society. They accept they bind them, but do not judge others nor press their views upon them. I can see no reason why Kate Forbes religious beliefs should affect how the party she might lead governs Scotland, or even what law she would impose if she was able to make all the rules herself. Scotland, like most countries is a mix of races, philosophical beliefs, genders etc etc and, as with all such countries, no leader would try to change democratically supported laws to meet a personal ethcal belief.

To suggest anything else is just the sort of fake news and conspiracy theorising that has so badly damaged the democratic process in Britain and the US in recent years.

You're putting words in my mouth M0nica. Words which are the antithesis of what I think.

Forbes is perfectly entitled to stand and SNP members are perfectly entitled to vote for her. If she becomes FM, then there is a good likelihood that many SNP voters will eventually vote for her. I would take that to mean that those people either support her views or don't care about them.

Either way we would have an FM who doesn't believe in same sex marriage or sex out of wedlock. So the leader of our country, the person who represents our country in the wider world, thinks many people in her country are abominations before God for loving a person of the same sex, and she thinks I'm a sinner. I had sex before I was married! Burn the witch!! I'm going to guess most posters on here did too. We're all going to hell, ladies!

A country's leader sets the tone. I think its highly unlikely that any freedoms she disapproves of are going to be allowed to get to the Parliament for discussion now, let alone passed as law. Lets see what happens with exclusion zones, and conversion therapy. She and I have very different views on what is acceptable, so that makes me sad. It could well be the start of a slippery slope, maybe its not. But the US never thought Roe vs. Wade would be rolled back; that didn't happen overnight.

So I won't ask for an apology from you for calling me fascistic, you're not worth it, but if we were in the same room my language would be a bit ripe about that. Get down off your high horse and stop calling me a fascist and underhand, based only on you completely wrong interpretation of what I said. Take a moment next time and consider what you're going to say before you insult someone so.

We are meant to live in a free society. Assuming that is so people who have opinions different to ours, or views we are not comfortable with are as free to hold and express those views

Britain and all its constituent parts are democracies and to suggest that just because someone in power has views you do not agree with, they would therefore, if in power, try and force these views on the country, so should be kept out power, on that basis alone is just about as anti-democratic as it comes.

If you think Kate Forbes should be excluded from government because she has views you do on approve of Volver then have the guts to say so, so we can see just how Fascist some of your views are. Do not use those underhand tactics of condemning someone, by phrases like Although at the moment there's no suggestion she would try to roll back any of these rights insinuating that at a different time she might.

That's fine for her if she wants to buy she's already said she wouldn't impose this in the country.

She doesn't believe in abortion or sex before marriage (!) and thinks conversion therapy should be available to people "if you want it". She doesn't support same sex marriage.

Although at the moment there's no suggestion she would try to roll back any of these rights, if the people of Scotland think all those things are OK, then its not the country I thought it was.

Rights are never set in stone; we can go backwards any time and we shouldn't forget that.

We don't know what her exact views are. This superficial look at Wee Free is just a tabloid cartoon version.
When I was a child my Dad took us to all sorts of churches as part of our education. By far our least favourite was a grim Wee Free one on Harris carried out entirely in Gaelic and lasting two hours. No fancy music either just a precenter with a tuning fork before droning all the hymns. If she can put up with that regularly she's a better man than I am Gunga Din!

Even if they have views of the world that you are diametrically opposed to? Even if they think you are going to hell?

www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/comment/wee-frees-think-scotland-highway-29273200

I couldn't vote for that, sorry. I'll be sad if we're stuck with it.

I vote for politicians that run the country for the benefit of the electorate efficiently and honestly. No luck so far.

The woman has chosen the Wee Free belief system, she didn't grow up with it. Her beliefs are in many areas diametrically opposed to mine, but she does seem quite good at sums. Although an economist friend of mine thinks she is way out of her depth. I couldn't comment. She displayed her political naivety by telling us all what she though of abortions, sex before marriage and conversion therapy, early in the campaign.

She can believe what she likes, but I would prefer a leader to have the same moral code I have, and she doesn't. If she wins then this country is on a path that means it is no longer welcoming to everybody.

I do wish somebody would ask her if she believes in the dinosaurs.

Clearly it is too much varian.
I'm surprised at you 'parrotting' the anti Forbes party line Volver. At least she has the integrity to stick to her morals and has clearly stated that she will not let her Christian faith affect her governance.
Your faith in the emergence of competent politicians after independence is touching. No sign of them so far.

Nicola Sturgeon proved herself to be a brilliant communicator, but not much good at fixing Scotland's problems.

Is it too much to expect a politician to be good at the talk and the action?

After independence you can vote for who you like.

Having independence does not mean having an SNP government. Anyone who parrots that falsehood either doesn't understand Scottish politics or is spreading information.

If Kate Forbes wins tomorrow, Scotland will go back to the 1950s and you better not plan to go to the swing park with your GC on a Sunday. If she wins, this will no longer be a progressive country.

I agree Ukraine is not a good comparison. Westminster is certainly enough. SNP have had 15 years to demonstrate that they're any good and have epically failed on all counts. Volver surely someone like you can see that? I don't associate you with the unthinking Braveheart brigade.
If Kate Forbes wins tomorrow I'd be more optimistic of a realistic sea change in policy and potential improvement in government including working with not against Westminster for the benefit of us all.

You been listening to John Lennon volver?

Incidentallly...

free bikes - www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200272953/

free laptops - www.cumnockchronicle.com/news/20238531.nearly-280-000-free-laptops-heading-scottish-schools/

Amazingly, they weren't all being stored in a cupboard at the back of Bute House, ready to distribute the day after the election.

Don't believe everything you read in the Daily Express.

Aveline

Also imagine who thinks that a government in which they are well represented is just wrong because they perceive themselves as so different and special compared to everyone else living and working in the UK?

I'm stuck on the Ukraine thing now, which is not a great comparison, but anyway....

Imagine Putin telling Zelenskyy that he, Zelenskyy, thinks Ukrainians are different to other Russians. They're just the same really. Think that would go down well?

I don't think Westminster is "wrong". Just not enough. We entered into a voluntary agreement between 2 sovereign countries, and now some of us want out. And you telling us we have a chip on our shoulder and that we're not capable of running our affairs, isn't going to change that.

Also imagine who thinks that a government in which they are well represented is just wrong because they perceive themselves as so different and special compared to everyone else living and working in the UK?

Oh, and I thought of another one.

Imagine if that person thought your desire for self determination was based on an Aussie with a blue face and a 70-year old fantasy movie with dubious accents.

Imagine if that person didn't understand the difference between voting for a political party and voting for a new constitutional system. Or even worse, if they just pretended they didn't because it was a good way of influencing people?

I'd like to ask those who are reading this but don't post much, to think about something.

Imagine you had a person living in your country who thought you were all so thick that you shouldn't really be trusted with democracy. Imagine you had a person who thought that your Parliament should be answerable to another government who could stop its legislation if it didn't like it - not if it was illegal, just if they didn't like it. Imagine you had a person who didn't think you were a country at all, just an extension of another country, and pretended that wanting self determination was just you feeling you had a chip on your shoulder. Imagine that person kept telling you that you were wrong because the "great and generous" bigger country had given you a few token seats in their Parliament.

I wonder how they describe such people in Ukraine?

I suppose it seems lovely as long as you don't think about it! The knee jerk nationalists fresh from watching Braveheart and Brigadoon certainly don't.
Unfortunately most of us consider the economic situation and how the country's run down state of health (lowest life expectancy in Europe, infant mortality rate the same as twenty years ago) education (so poor that they've been removed from comparisons with other countries) etc etc etc. It's just a pity that people are impressed by flag waving and the promise of freebies. Did the free laptops and bikes promised at the last election ever appear?

Coming to Aberdeenshire yesterday there were lots of saltire flags flying. Hurrah hurrah to all those disbelievers it can’t be all that bad

Mel Gibson has a lot to answer for