NEW BLOW FOR SWINNEY AS VETERAN NAT STANDS AGAINST SNP

Embattled First Minister loses two more council by-elections ... and popular MSP

- By David Walker Scottish Politics Reporter

JOHN SWINNEY suffered another major blow as Fergus Ewing confirmed he will be standing against the SNP as an independent in next year's Scottish Parliament election.

The veteran Nat is popular with voters, having represented Inverness and Nairn since Holyrood was created in 1999, and the move will further undermine Mr Swinney's crumbling authority.

The embattled party leader also saw the SNP lose two council by-elections in the Highlands yesterday — including one in which he campaigned personally. Mr Ewing, 67, has repeatedly clashed with the party leadership recently, voting against gender reforms and highly protected marine areas, as well siding with the Tories in a confidence vote in Lorna Slater, of the Greens, as a Scottish Government minister.

SNP had "deserted many of the people whose causes we used to champion".

This led to the former Rural Affairs Secretary being suspended from the party for a week, with the SNP claiming he has now officially left a party he served for decades.

In March, he confirmed he would not stand for the SNP in 2026, saying the party needed to change as it was "no longer the party for all of Scotland".

He has become increasingly angered by the lack of progress in dualling the A9 and A96 roads in his constituency, while also raising concerns about an absence of support for the oil and gas industry and has become famed for his outspoken criticism of the Scottish Government.