Kate Forbes standing down at the next Scottish election is a clear signal that the SNP is holed below the waterline and sinking fast.

Forbes is right not to want to miss out on her kids growing up; those precious years can never be recovered and no career is worth sacrificing something so important.

Politicians and others without kids will never understand this.

The bond between parents and their children is the strongest of all human relationships, and I admire her for having the strength of character to admit that family time is more important than the quest for independence or serving her constituents.

However, Forbes of course may also have decided that the prospects for independence under John Swinney’s leadership are so distant that there’s little point in pursuing a lost cause.

And of course a third element might also be factored in: the possibility of a political........

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