Ian Blackford to give dramatic SNP return in Kate Forbes' seat 'careful consideration'

Mr Blackford said he would give the prospect of standing in the Deputy First Minister’s Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch seat at next year’s Scottish Parliament election “careful consideration”.

Ms Forbes, who also holds the economy and Gaelic briefs in John Swinney’s Government, announced she was quitting Holyrood next year to spend time with her family. She has spoken out about the pressures of balancing home life with politics.

Mr Blackford, whose former Westminster constituency of Ross Skye and Lochaber overlaps the soon-to-be incumbent Holyrood seat, confirmed to the Daily Mail that he would consider a return to frontline politics.

A timetable for selection for the SNP to run for the seat will be drawn up following the next meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee.

READ MORE: Kate Forbes to stand down at next year's Scottish Parliament election over strain on family life

The decision would potentially put Mr Blackford on course for another stand-off with SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who has been accused of ousting Mr Blackford from his former job.

Mr Flynn is seeking to switch from Westminster to Holyrood at May’s election.

During his five years as SNP Westminster leader, Mr Blackford came under fire over his handling of a harassment complaint against then-MP Patrick Grady from a junior staff member.

Mr Blackford told the Mail that supporters had urged him to come forward and stand in Ms Forbes’s seat, admitting he will give the idea “careful consideration”.

READ MORE: The secret to saving jobs and beating Reform in Scotland, according to SNP's Ian Blackford

The 64-year-old had chosen not to put his name forward to be a Holyrood candidate before Ms Forbes announced her intention to stand down and told the paper that standing in the election “is not what I had in mind'”.

He said: “One or two people have approached me and I am grateful that people are thinking about me, but I've not given any indication one way or another. In all honesty, I hadn't really thought about it, it wasn't what I was planning.

READ MORE: Kate Forbes quitting is a major blow to the SNP and raises wider questions

“It is not what I had in my mind, it really wasn't. I obviously purposefully didn't put myself forward for the Scottish Parliament a few months ago, so I don't know.”

Mr Blackford admitted he has received “a number of phone calls” from people encouraging him to launch a political comeback. He has stressed he is “really worried about the economy” across the UK.

The former SNP Westminster leader insisted that whether to push ahead with a return was “not an easy call” to make, but he “will have to give it careful consideration”.

The Scottish Lib Dems had been oozing with confidence they could win Ms Forbes’s seat at next year’s Holyrood election.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “We'd be delighted to have Ian Blackford as an opponent. He's been a controversial figure in the Highlands for many years and we'd relish making the case that the SNP have failed on access to health and the state of the local economy.

“It was poetic to see Charles Kennedy's - and Ian Blackford's - former seat return to the Lib Dems at last year's election. But it would have been even sweeter to have defeated a former SNP Westminster leader.

“I have no doubt that the Lib Dems' Andrew Baxter could defeat Ian Blackford if the humble crofter chooses to throw his hat in the ring.”