Fergus Ewing, the veteran Scottish politician, has lost the Inverness and Nairn seat he held for 27 years after standing as an independent. The SNP’s Emma Roddick won the constituency with 11,162 votes, while Ewing finished third with 7,840 votes, behind Liberal Democrat Neil Alexander on 10,735.
Ewing, 68, left the SNP last year, accusing the party of “letting Scotland’s people down”. He centred his campaign on the long-standing promise to dual the A9 and A96 roads. Speaking after the result, he admitted he had believed he had “a sporting chance” of retaining the seat.
Despite the defeat, Ewing insisted he had “no regrets” about leaving the SNP, saying the party had moved away from its traditional position. He congratulated Ms Roddick on her victory and described serving the constituency for nearly three decades as “the greatest privilege of my life”.
The son of legendary SNP figure Winnie Ewing also hinted that his political career may not be over. “I’m not quite ready for the bath chair yet,” he told the Press and Journal. “I think there’s still some life in the old dog.”
