KATE Forbes has admitted that she was “extremely torn” about entering the SNP’s leadership contest because of her faith. 

The comments came during an event with the Reform Scotland thinktank, where the Finance Secretary also criticised her party, saying they had become "so embroiled in discussions about process" they had given up "trying to persuade people" about the benefits of independence.

She also took a sly dig at Ian Blackford, saying his vote was not worth any more than any other members of the SNP. 

The Finance Secretary’s campaign to replace Nicola Sturgeon got off to a chaotic start last week, as comments about same-sex marriage, transgender rights and children born to unmarried parents sparked an almighty backlash. 

Many of the MPs and MSPs who had endorsed her moved quickly to take back those endorsements. 

Ms Forbes was asked if she had thought about quitting the race.

The minister - who is a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland - said her doubts had come before she formally announced her candidacy. 

READ MORE: Kate Forbes attempts to reset chaotic campaign

“For the last seven months, I've been on maternity leave, and I haven't said a public word in seven months. And then the weekend after Nicola Sturgeon resigned, it seemed that Twitter, the press were just absolutely consumed with discussing me and my faith, despite the fact that I had not said a word. 

“So I knew what was coming if I entered the race.

“And that weekend, I was extremely torn, and finally concluded that despite the fact I had a baby and life might have been happier and calmer at home, I had something to offer in the way of experience around the economy, around the budget and felt I needed to contribute that.

“So I suppose I went into it knowing what might happen because it was already happening before I'd said a word.” 

Ms Forbes said she was “stunned” by the scale of the interest. 

She also admitted she could have “framed” her answers better. 

In one interview, Ms Forbes, who was not a member of the Scottish Parliament when the equal law marriage was passed in early 2014, said she would have voted no if she had been.

In another interview she said having children outside of marriage “would be wrong according to my faith.”

She also said she did not support self-identification for trans people.

READ MORE: Neil Gray suggests Kate Forbes won't protect the rights of minorities

Speaking to Reform Scotland, Ms Forbes said: “As a leader, I do think you need to be humble enough to learn and to recognise when you could have framed things better. 

“One of the things that always stood out about Nicola Sturgeon is the way that she was able to answer a lot of questions with humanity and compassion. 

“And I think that's a point that I've acknowledged over the course of last week, which is that I was feeling quite burdened about the hurt that had been caused by the framing, even if people agreed with my right to indicate my views.” 

Ms Forbes said she had gone into the contest “thinking that if a direct question came, I needed to answer directly.”

She added: “I take on board the point that taking a step back as someone who believes in a tolerant and liberal country, and who recognises that we should welcome the fact that Scotland is a lot more open and fairer for minorities, that it was important that I answered that in a way that recognised that progress, but also recognised that this is a question of compassion, and not just of honesty.

“And I suppose I was more focused on how to try and be honest, knowing the avalanche of unhappiness that would cause perhaps rather than seek to spin or prevaricate.”

READ MORE: Kate Forbes 'heartsore' over hurt caused by comments

Ms Forbes was also asked about the reaction to her campaign from Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney, with both senior politicians criticising her comments. She was asked if the “party machine” has turned against her candidacy.

In her answer, the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch appeared to take a dig at Ian Blackford, the former SNP Westminster leader who came out for Humza Yousaf over the weekend.  

“I don't really know what's going on and I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about who [Swinney and Sturgeon] are favouring or not favouring or anything like that. So I'm quite relaxed about everything. 

“Because I'm confident in the voters within the SNP. Every elected representative in the SNP has one vote. They are equal to an activist on the Isle of Skye who's a crofter and who has one vote. So in a democracy, I think you put yourself forward as a candidate and you let democracy do its thing. And that's okay."

On the constitution, Ms Forbes told the meeting that she had recently been told that the SNP had “become the referendum party and not the independence party. 

“So the conversation has become so embroiled in discussions about process, we've given up actually trying to persuade people. 

“And certainly, just as an aside, what I would bring to the process is, first of all, a willingness to reach out beyond Yes voters, to properly listen to No voters, to not offend them, and dismiss them, to listen to them and bring them on board. 

“But secondly, to have a significant focus on our economy, which seems to be where the fault lines or the battle lines are drawn when it comes to arguments for and against independence. 

“And the mission is ultimately to shift the dial in support for independence. Because once that dial starts to shift significantly, then I think it's a lot harder for other governments to see no to a referendum. 

“The difficulty to date has been they're saying no, and they know that they can get away with it because there hasn't been that sustained majority support.” 

Ms Forbes said she was “not sitting here with a new brand new proposal that no one else has thought about, because I think that ultimately it comes down to hard work and the mission to persuade.”