“OH, no.”
That is a perfectly normal response to being approached by Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay – and it is exactly the response which outgoing Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes had.
The SNP MSP was minding her own business at the Black Isle Show, when Findlay decided to try and get a political jibe in.
At the Black Isle show trying to recruit some new Tory members 😉🤣 pic.twitter.com/EKcRSwik6h
— Russell Findlay MSP (@RussellFindlay1) August 8, 2025
“Ah, the former SNP politician. How are you?” Findlay said, with the camera rolling – of which Forbes was apparently unaware (just as he was apparently unaware that she is still at the very top of the SNP Government).
“A has-been”, Forbes quipped in response. “She was the future once.”
The reference is to Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie, who issued that quote after news broke of Forbes’s decision to quit Holyrood in 2026. Baillie, of course, was never the future even once – but that’s for another day.
Back at the Black Isle, Findlay was whipping out a letter to “formally offer” Forbes the opportunity to join the Scottish Conservatives – which is about comparable to a formal offer to hop on board the Titanic four days after it set sail.
Findlay says: “If it wasn’t for your bizarre belief in breaking up the UK, you are a conservative, right?”
The accusation has been levelled at Forbes before – as it has for many “Tartan Tories” in the SNP. She seems to acknowledge as much, replying: “You’re not the first person to offer it.”
But the Scottish Conservatives aren’t really conservatives anymore. More a doomed Nigel Farage-tribute act.
Findlay nevertheless asked if that was a “maybe”. Who's to blame him for trying to boost the Tories' numbers? They are dwindling by the day, after all.
But Forbes – after clocking the camera – had the response you’d expect: "So funny. You’ve got a definite not.”
That’s the only sane answer. After all, even dyed-in-the-wool Scottish Conservatives are jumping ship. They see the iceberg coming.
