Veteran SNP MSP to stand against party at Holyrood elections

20 June 2025, 09:56

One of the SNP's longest serving politicians has revealed he will stand as an independent candidate in next year's Scottish Parliament elections, saying the party had "deserted the people whose causes we used to champion."

Fergus Ewing - whose family have been an integral part of the SNP since the 1960s - has announced he will standing against the SNP candidate for Inverness and Nairn.

He has represented the pro-independence party as an MSP since 1999 and served as a government minister under both Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.

A close of ally of Kate Forbes, he has become increasingly critical of the SNP and the Scottish Government - especially around the decision to sign a co-agreement which brought the Scottish Greens into government, until Humza Yousaf ended that arrangement.

He also repeatedly challenged the party on its stance on oil and gas, the proposed deposit return scheme, gender recognition reform, and plans for Highly Protected Marine Areas.

And he was temporarily suspended from the SNP Holyrood group in 2023 after voting against then Green minister Lorna Slater in a motion of no confidence, defying party whips.

But it is the slow progress on the dualling of the A9 and A96 roads which he said were key to his decision to run as an independent.

He said: "I cannot stand again for the SNP and defend the indefensible.

"I have taken it (the decision) because I love the people of Inverness and Nairn, and the people of Scotland, more than my party which I have been in for more than half a century."

He added: "I have seen the Scottish Parliament at its best and its worst. I fear in recent years it has been at its worst.

"The failures of the SNP to deliver on its longstanding pledges to dual the A9 and A96 are a major part of that."

SNP Leader John Swinney said he had heard of Ewing's decision to leave the SNP with "real sadness and deep regret."

He added: “We have both served the SNP and the cause of independence for many years, and I commend him for all that he achieved while serving in the SNP Government until 2021.

“Fergus had the option of standing at the forthcoming election for the SNP, given his status as an approved candidate. He chose not to accept that opportunity and I regret that he has ultimately decided instead to leave the party.

“The SNP approaches the 2026 election ahead in the polls, with growing support for independence, and I am looking forward to taking our positive, ambitious vision for Scotland’s future to the people.”

Mr Ewing is the son of nationalist trailblazer Winnie Ewing - who became MP for Hamilton in 1967, a seat the SNP lost in the Scottish Parliament earlier this month.

In the first elections to Holyrood in 1999 both he and his wife Margaret were elected, along with his mother. In 2011 his sister Annabelle Ewing also became an SNP MSP and is a current deputy Presiding Officer in Holyrood, though is standing down at the next election.

Mr Ewing said in March this year he would not seek selection as an SNP candidate, warning the party was “no longer the party for all of Scotland."

He has also argued that party leaders have prioritised loyalty over competence in candidate selection. “The party machine has become too all-powerful,” he said in an interview last month. “Candidates who may be suitable from the party point of view – in other words, obedient and pliant – but perhaps not what the people want.”

He will now face a battle against Emma Roddick who has been selected as the SNP candidate for Inverness and Nairn.

Reacting to the news, SNP's Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee disagreed that the pro-independence party had "lost its way", saying: "I don't believe we have, I think under John Swinney's leadership, we're taking forward priorities for the people of Scotland."

He continued: "I'm disappointed in Fergus's decision, I have worked with him on a number of things over the years.

"I think he's not correct on this and I think it would be more effective for him to stay in the party and work to deliver the change Scotland needs."