Fergus Ewing suspended by SNP following string of rebellions against Scottish Government

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Fergus Ewing has launched a blistering attack on the SNP after his fellow MSPs voted to temporarily suspend him from the party.The veteran politician claimed tonight the Nationalists were no longer "putting Scotland first" by pursuing a series of policies to which he has repeatedly voiced his opposition.Speaking after a packed meeting of SNP MSPs voted by a majority to suspend him from the group, Ewing tore into the party's recent record in government.Flanked by former SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes, Ewing said: "I bit my tongue when I didn't agree with certain policies the party was was promoting."He added: "I did so because I thought fundamentally that the party that has been such a big party of my life was fundamentally proceeding in the right way for Scotland - standing up for Scotland."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."But in good conscious, and it grieves me to say this, I don't believe that is any longer the case."Ewing went on to insist his issue was with policies - such as the deposit return scheme - and not individuals in the partyBut he has repeatedly criticised the SNP's decision in 2021 to sign a powersharing agreement with the Greens at Holyrood.It was his support in June for a motion of no confidence in Lorna Slater, the Greens co-leader, finally prompted party bosses to take disciplinary action.SNP MSPs were issued in advance with a three-line whip to attend a special meeting at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday evening.More than two-thirds then voted in favour of suspending Ewing from the Holyrood group for one week.The MSP for Inverness now has two weeks to lodge an