Veteran SNP stalwart, scion of a political dynasty, former Minister of the Scottish state, MSP … now rebel suspended by the people he called colleagues in the independence cause for voting against his own party’s government.
Just who is Fergus Ewing?
Time in the Scottish Parliament
A life-long member of the SNP, Fergus Ewing, 66, was among the first MSPs elected in Scotland, taking up his seat for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber in 1999 after the first election to Holyrood following the establishment of the first devolved Scottish Parliament
He held the seat until 2011, then held the reorganised constituency of Inverness and Nairn until the present day.
Ewing served as Minister for Rural Affairs from 2016 to 2021 after being appointed by Nicola Sturgeon.
The family connection
He sais he was "literally born into the SNP", and it's no word of a lie. Fergus Ewing is the son of Winnie Ewing, the ‘Grande Dame’ of Scottish nationalism who served as President of the SNP in its formative years.
Winnie Ewing was also member of the European Parliament – where she earned the monicker ‘Madame Ecosse’ - from 1979 to 1999, when she left to become an MSP for the Highlands.
READ MORE: Fergus Ewing shows no sign of backing down before showdown
Fergus sister Annabelle is an SNP MSP, currently the Scottish parliament’s Deputy Presiding Officer, while his late wife Margaret Ewing, who stood against Alex Salmond for the party’s leadership, was the MSP for Moray until her death in 2006.
Why has he been suspended?
Once a loyal cog in the SNP machine, Ewing has become something of a spanner in the works of the Scottish Government of late.
While the debate on climate change and the use of fossil fuels has been thrust into the political limelight, Ewing expressed his backing for new oil and gas exploration and drilling projects in the North Sea, saying last year that "we need all oil and gas production we can get in the short and the medium term", and that "the transition period away from hydrocarbons will last decades."
This has put him at loggerheads with the Scottish Greens, SNP’s partners in government – who he described as “somewhat extreme”.
READ MORE: SNP MSPs due to hear if Ewing ballot would be held in secret
Matters came to a head in June this year, when he voted against Green minister Lorna Slater in a no-confidence vote on June 20, 2023 - the only SNP MSP to do so – over the collapse of the Deposit Return scheme.
He has also voted with the Tories against a new licensing regime for short-term lets.
What happens now?
For voting against his own party and government, many expected Ewing to lose the whip. He did not do so, but it was announced in September that NP MSPs would vote on disciplinary action against him.
He has now been suspended from the party for one week. But don't expect this to end there.
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