Veteran MSP Fergus Ewing has been suspended from the SNP’s parliamentary group at Holyrood for a week.
The Inverness and Nairn MSP – son of the late SNP trailblazer Winnie Ewing – has been a loyal cog in the SNP machine for decades, but now finds himself out in the cold.
An outspoken critic of the party’s leadership in the past year, the former rural affairs secretary has publicly objected to a number of policies, most notably plans for highly protected marine areas (HPMAs), the deposit return scheme and the Scottish Government’s deal with the Scottish Greens.
But the final straw appears to have been his decision to vote with the opposition in favour of a motion of no confidence in Green co-leader and Government minister Lorna Slater.
Party discipline requires that members pull in the same direction, and this crossed the line, resulting in him losing the whip.
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The decision to suspend Mr Ewing will not impact the Scottish Government’s ability to pass legislation, with the Greens providing more than enough votes for a majority in his absence.
A spokesperson for the SNP said: “At a meeting this evening, a proposal was carried to suspend Fergus Ewing from the SNP Holyrood Group for a period of one week.”
Mr Ewing has been given 14 days to appeal the decision.
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