During a Sky News leadership debate on Monday evening, two of the candidates vying to become the next leader of the Scottish National Party, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan, described author JK Rowling as a "national treasure" despite her criticism of their predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, on transgender rights. Forbes, who is on maternity leave from her role as finance secretary, said she did not disagree with Rowling on transgender rights when asked about the debate. Humza Yousaf, the Scottish government's health secretary and another candidate for the leadership, praised Rowling's writing but disagreed with her views on transgender rights.
Polling conducted before the debate found that most voters believed Sturgeon would make a better first minister than any of the three candidates. However, 56% of voters said they opposed gender recognition reforms, compared to 26% who supported them. Forbes' stance on gender recognition and other socially conservative issues has raised concerns among the Scottish Greens, with whom the SNP governs in partnership.
During the debate, Forbes and Yousaf traded blows over their appeal to different sectors of the electorate, with Yousaf claiming that Forbes' popularity had "plummeted" among SNP voters since the start of the campaign. Forbes stumbled slightly when asked to apologise to gay married couples, but insisted she did not disapprove of their lifestyle. She also made a controversial statement that a gay man could consent to conversion practices, despite an expert advisory group's finding that such consent is not possible.
When asked about an adult gay man who wanted therapy to change his sexuality during the Sky News leadership debate, Kate Forbes replied, "That's his choice." Humza Yousaf criticized Forbes, saying that her response showed she was not able to give a straightforward answer on progressive issues, and that it would alienate SNP supporters.
He suggested that while Forbes might appeal to conservatives because of her economic vision, she was not able to maintain support from the party's base. Forbes countered by claiming that she was more trusted in every policy area, but Yousaf argued that this was because she had not held a public service delivery role. Sky's polling by YouGov indicated that all three candidates had yet to convince voters, with at least a third of voters unsure about their qualifications as first minister.