SNP's Fergus Ewing to run as independent in next election

SNP veteran Fergus Ewing has announced that he will stand as an independent in next year's Scottish Parliament elections.

Ewing has represented Inverness and Nairn since 1999, and previously served as rural affairs secretary in government.

In March, he confirmed he would not stand for the SNP in 2026 and said the party needed to change as it was "no longer the party for all of Scotland".

He has been increasingly at odds with the SNP over its slow progress in dualling the A9 and A96 roads.

The MSP has also raised issues with the deposit return scheme, gender recognition reform, marine protected areas and what he perceived as a lack of support for the oil and gas industry.

He defied party whips to vote against then Green minister Lorna Slater in a motion of no confidence in 2023 - with this resulting in him being temporarily suspended from the SNP group at Holyrood.

Ewing said he had seen the Scottish Parliament at its best and worst during his time at Holyrood and he believed he had seen it at its worst in recent years.

"This has not been an easy decision," he said.

"I have taken it 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."

But Ewing said the party had "deserted many of the people whose causes we used to champion".

He added: "I believe the SNP has lost its way and that devolution itself – presently - is letting Scotland's people down. It doesn't need to be this way.

"Holyrood is more fractious and tribal than ever before.

"Too much power rests unchecked in the hands of party leaders, free to choose candidates who will slavishly support them, rather than stand up for the people who sent them to Holyrood. Choosing the pliant over the talented."

He urged politicians in the main parties to work together "whether in a grand coalition or a less formal arrangement" to reform public services and maximise economic growth.

Ewing first hinted to BBC Scotland in March that he could stand as an independent in the 2026 election.

At the time, SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney said that he was sorry to learn of Ewing's decision, describing him as a "faithful servant" of his constituents who had contributed much to the Scottish Parliament.

He added: "I said I would be the first minister for all of Scotland and that is what I will do."

Fergus Ewing is the son of Winnie Ewing, whose 1967 by-election victory in Hamilton was a historic breakthrough for the SNP. He is also the brother of Cowdenbeath MSP Annabelle Ewing.

He was first elected to the Scottish Parliament when it was re-established in 1999 and held a ministerial portfolio for 14 years in the governments of both Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.

Ewing added: "It's time for Holyrood to live up to the high expectations people rightly held for it, when my mother, Winnie, reconvened our own Parliament in 1999.

"It came of age some years ago - surely now it's time for it to grow up."

Slice the history of the SNP down the middle and you'll find the Ewing family running close to its core.

Fergus Ewing, his late wife Margaret, his late mother Winnie, and his sister Annabelle have clocked up a combined 102 years of elected politics in Holyrood, Westminster and the European Parliament.

But in 2026, a Ewing will stand against the SNP at the ballot box – and it's entirely possible he could beat them.

Inverness and Nairn may end up being a straight fight between the SNP – who have already selected a sitting regional MSP, Emma Roddick – and Fergus Ewing, independent.

In recent years it has been a very safe seat. On the current boundaries, Mr Ewing has never had a majority under 20%.

And he has a significant footprint in the area; he will be one of three MSPs seeking to represent the same seat they won and have held since 1999, with John Swinney and Jackie Baillie being the other two.

It is going to be one of the most fascinating races of the 2026 campaign.