The Holyrood dynasty has come to an end as Fergus Ewing failed in his bid to be re-elected to the Scottish Parliament. He was first voted into the devolved legislature in the inaugural elections of 1999 and had held his seat continuously since then. However, running as an independent without the backing of his former party, the SNP, he was unable to retain the Inverness and Nairn constituency.
A Storied Political Family
Mr Ewing, a one-time member of the Scottish cabinet, hails from Scotland's most famous political family. His mother, Winnie Ewing, known as Madame Ecosse, was the oldest MSP elected in 1999 and famously declared the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament after a 300-year adjournment. His late wife, Maggie Ewing, served as MSP for Moray from 1999 until her death from cancer in 2006. His sister, Annabelle Ewing, was among those MSPs who stepped down at this election. Mr Ewing's defeat marks the first time the Scottish Parliament has not had an Ewing family member as an MSP.
Political Career and Rebellion
After the SNP came to power, Mr Ewing served as business, energy and tourism minister before being promoted to the cabinet in 2016 as rural economy secretary. Following the 2021 Holyrood election, he left government and became a vocal critic of the SNP. He defied party whips to vote against then Green minister Lorna Slater in a no-confidence motion, resulting in his temporary suspension from the SNP group. He also criticised the government on issues such as gender recognition reforms and delays in dualling the A9 road.
In March last year, Mr Ewing claimed the SNP was 'no longer the party for all of Scotland', accusing it of self-destructing through its deal with the Greens, obsession over gender recognition, the ill-fated deposit return scheme, and turning its back on oil and gas workers, tourism enterprises, food producers, farmers, and fishermen.
