FERGUS Ewing’s future hangs in the balance with the longstanding SNP MSP failing to commit to rejoining the Holyrood group after his suspension.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, he indicated he has not yet made up his mind as to whether he will rejoin the SNP group when his suspension is up.
It's important to note he remains a member of the party itself – he’s just been suspended from the parliamentary group.
Ewing has been a member of the SNP for decades and a constituency MSP since 1999.
He was brought up in the party, with his mother Winnie Ewing – who died earlier this year – one of the SNP’s biggest names for much of the 20th century.
So what happens now he is out of the fold?
Appeal
His suspension was approved by MSPs in a vote on Wednesday night, for which party leader Humza Yousaf was not present. It came with the proviso that Ewing could appeal the ruling in the next two weeks, if he wanted.
One party insider said they felt it was likely he would appeal the decision, given Ewing’s defiant statement following the vote.
But his chances of success seem slim. SNP MSPs voted against him by a margin of 48 for to nine against. There were four abstentions.
In the event of an appeal, a panel of three would be formed by people who are either SNP MPs or members of the party’s national executive committee. The national executive committee decides the make up of the panel.
While Ewing has two weeks in which to appeal, the appeal itself should take place within 21 days of him submitting a request for one.
Take the suspension and rejoin
Ewing would not be drawn on his plans when approached by journalists in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.
It seems like it could be unlikely for a man who has now developed a reputation as being a member of the awkward squad, but he could just take his punishment and quietly come back into the fold.
Ewing has been a member of the SNP for longer than some of its members have been alive and he knows the benefits of looking united.
But a quote from his speech suggests this is no longer an option for him: “Many is the time as a minister and as an MSP I have bitten my tongue for the greater good.”
It appears the “greater good”, in Ewing’s mind, has shifted from backing the SNP to pointing out its failings.
Sit as an independent
He could, as Angus MacNeil (below) did, refuse to rejoin the parliamentary group and sit as an independent.
This would be a drastic option as it would result in his expulsion as a rank and file member of the SNP.
But he might enjoy the freedom of no longer being shackled to party structures. Ewing has been in the Scottish Parliament for 24 years as an SNP politician and could relish the chance to go it alone.
Join another party
This would be his most explosive option. Ewing is seen as close to former first minister Alex Salmond, now leader of the Alba Party.
They would consider it a major coup if Ewing defected: “Madame Ecosse’s son says SNP are no longer the best party for Scotland or independence," they would say.
Green critics have suggested he might do well to join the Conservatives, missing that they are the Conservatives and Unionists and so Ewing could no better toe the party line there than in the SNP.
