FERGUS Ewing has said he has submitted an application to be a candidate for the SNP at the next Holyrood election, according to reports.
It comes after reports also suggested former first minister Humza Yousaf had submitted his application and both the Daily Record and our sister paper The Herald reported that Nicola Sturgeon had also applied but was keeping her options open in terms of whether she would run to be an MSP.
Ewing previously said he had no plans to resign or retire at the next Holyrood election, and intended to stay in the party and “push for change”.
The veteran MSP has frequently made the headlines in the past few years due to his criticism of SNP policy, including opposition to the Bute House Agreement and the deposit return scheme.
Ewing was suspended for a week following an internal SNP disciplinary hearing in September 2023 after the former frontbencher delivered a scathing attack in Holyrood, saying the SNP is no longer “putting Scotland first”.
He ripped up the Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) legislation in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament before it was ultimately abandoned by the Scottish Government following a backlash from some fishing and coastal communities.
Ewing had been a long-term critic of the Bute House Agreement and the policies aimed at protecting Scotland’s environment spearheaded by former ministers Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater.
As well as rebelling and voting in favour of a vote of no confidence brought by the Conservatives against Slater following the collapse of the Deposit Return Scheme, Ewing also described the Greens as “wine bar revolutionaries” and claimed winding down oil and gas production in the North Sea amounted to “economic masochism”.
In 2023, Ewing, the son of the late legendary SNP campaigner and representative Winnie Ewing, said: “I’m only 66. As Leonard Cohen once said, at heart I’m just a young guy with a crazy dream. There’s life in me yet. When 2026 comes along I’ll be younger than my mother was when she stood for the Scottish Parliament.
“I’ve got no plans to retire. A decision will be made but so long as my health is ok and my brain is semi-operational then that is all I require."
