Fergus Ewing's suspension was inevitable, but it's a headache for Yousaf

For many, the former SNP minister had crossed a line

Fair play to Fergus Ewing. The former SNP minister knows exactly how to inject a sense of drama into proceedings.

His statement to the media following his one-week suspension from the party was tailor-made to create newspaper headlines.

“The SNP is not an ordinary party – we are a party that has always put Scotland first, and that means to me, putting the interests of the people of Scotland first,” he told journalists. “But in good conscience, and it grieves me to say this, I don’t believe that is any longer the case.”

The Inverness and Nairn MSP – son of the late SNP trailblazer Winnie Ewing – has been an outspoken critic of the party’s leadership in recent months. He has rebelled over a string of policies, including Highly Protected Marine Areas, the deposit return scheme and the failure to dual the A9.

Political parties should be able to cope with some internal criticism. It’s healthy to have a few backbench heavyweights willing to take the Government to task, and unafraid to say it as they see it.

But for many, Mr Ewing had crossed a line. His decision to back a Tory no-confidence motion in the Green minister Lorna Slater left the SNP leadership with little choice. Not to take action after such a display of open disloyalty would have made Humza Yousaf, who is still a relatively new First Minister, look weak.

At a meeting of the SNP's Holyrood Group on Wednesday evening, a proposal to suspend Mr Ewing for a week was backed by 48 votes to nine with four abstentions.

This might not seem like a big deal. It’s only one week, after all. But it marks a significant moment.

Mr Ewing was, in his own words, "literally born into the SNP". His mother Winnie, who died in June, is a nationalist legend. He was a Cabinet minister under Nicola Sturgeon until 2021, and he has been an MSP since the dawn of devolution.

His statement harking back to the “old SNP”, in which “country and constituency” came first, will strike a chord with many who are disillusioned and frustrated with the party’s current direction.

Mr Ewing represents the rural, pro-business wing of the SNP. There are plenty who sympathise with his policy positions. There is also real anger in the Highlands over the A9 dualling fiasco, which has fuelled a sense that Scotland’s political elite care only for the central belt.

Thirteen MSPs failed to back the one-week suspension. That’s not an insignificant number. Significantly, Kate Forbes, the former SNP leadership candidate, stood beside Mr Ewing as he gave his statement to the media after Wednesday’s meeting. It was a show of support that will not go unnoticed.

The decision to suspend Mr Ewing was inevitable. But his comments afterwards show he has no intention of shutting up. Mr Yousaf’s headache may only get worse in the months to come.

In the words of Mr Ewing, “let the cards fall where they may.”