Ewing's solo bid threatens to turn SNP stronghold into political battleground
Fergus Ewing's decision to stand as an independent in the Holyrood election next year doesn't come as a huge surprise.
He has been hinting at this ever since he announced he wouldn't be standing for the SNP.
Ewing has frequently been described as a thorn in the party's side in recent years.
In fact, he has been a full bed of roses given the number of issues he has disagreed with them on – the deposit return scheme, gender reform, marine protected areas, the dualling of the A9 and A96.
The Ewing name is of course steeped in SNP history.
Fergus Ewing has been an MSP since 1999. He served as a government minister for 14 years.
But now he is no longer a member of the party – he will sit as an independent backbencher at Holyrood for the rest of this parliamentary term.
Then next year he will be taking on the SNP party machine in the election.
That runs the risk for the SNP of splitting their vote, and allowing a challenger to squeeze through the middle and take what has been a safe seat.
So the Fergus Ewing headache looks set to continue for some time yet for the SNP.
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