We’ll back you but things have to change, says SNP stalwart
... AS HER PARTY FACES TURMOIL, STURGEON PARTIES ON (WITHOUT HER WEDDING RING!)
SNP stalwart Fergus Ewing has delivered a devastating ultimatum to Humza Yousaf ahead of a confidence vote this week: I will support you this time, but change has got to come.
In a fresh salvo against his embattled leader, outspoken Mr Ewing has said he will back Mr Yousaf, but he must do some ‘policy spring cleaning’ or else face an internal challenge.
If Mr Yousaf scrapes through the confidence vote and remains as First Minister – a scenario which Mr Ewing believes to be likely – the veteran Nationalist MSP will demand that a number of green ideas are scrapped or reviewed by the summer recess.
His conditions include that the SNP government must commit to creating a timetable for the dualling of the A96, scrap the ban on wood-burning stoves in new homes and ditch spending plans for national parks.
He also wants the Heat in Buildings Bill, which relates in part to the installation of heat pumps, to
‘I am not doing this in anger, but in sorrow’
be scrapped or revised and will leverage Mr Yousaf’s weak bargaining position to call for a review of proposals to extend rent controls, which he fears will have an adverse impact on property investment.
In an interview with The Mail on Sunday yesterday, the rebel former rural affairs secretary pledged to write to Mr Yousaf if he survives the confidence vote, outlining such conditions in return for his continued support.
He said: ‘I am the MSP of the Highlands, he would benefit from listening to me. He has got until June, the summer recess, to actually deliver on his promises.
‘He also needs to deliver on coming up with a timetable for dualling the A96 from Inverness to Nairn, including the bypass, within that time.
‘I am not doing this in anger, but in sorrow. I am not prepared to be a doormat and I am not content to be an SNP apologist in the Highlands.
‘Unless there is satisfactory progress I cannot see my constituents let down.’
Mr Ewing, son of SNP trailblazer Winnie Ewing, has been critical of the Bute House power sharing agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens since its inception.
He also raised concerns about the shambolic Deposit Return Scheme for bottle recycling, as well as the controversial Highly Protected Marine Areas – two policies which were later shelved owing to a fierce backlash.
He has continuously railed against what he calls the ‘wine bar revolutionaries’ in the Scottish Greens, who he claims do not have an adequate understanding of the day-to-day issues that are faced by Highlanders.
Last year, following the SNP’s Rutherglen and Hamilton by-election defeat, Mr Ewing gave Mr Yousaf two months to demonstrate that he was capable of leading the party.
He said at the time: ‘We’ve seriously lost trust. We must change course and we must change course radically. That must be done now and before Christmas. If that fails to happen, then I fear for the future of the SNP succeeding in elections.
‘Once you lose trust, you cannot expect to win elections. It is only salvageable if Humza is honest and stands up there in Holyrood and says, “We’ve got a number of things wrong. I’ve been reflecting on the result and the people have spoken. We’re going to make changes and they’re going to be major changes, and I’ll be announcing them over the next few weeks”. That’s all he needs to do.’
In February, he was disciplined by his own party for voting against Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater in a confidence vote. At the time she was a Minister in Mr Yousaf’s cabinet.
Mr Ewing, who is the SNP’s longest-serving MSP, branded his party ‘authoritarian’ after he had
‘Not content to be an apologist for the SNP’
the whip withdrawn for a week over the dissension. At the time, he hinted that he could quit the party for good unless it ends its ‘disastrous’ coalition deal with the Greens.
He also said that the SNP leadership no longer tolerates MSPs voting with their conscience on issues.
He added: ‘The SNP has now become an authoritarian party requiring strict obedience to the leadership at the expense of personal freedom for any individual member.’ However, the MSP for Inverness and Nairn yesterday said that he felt vindicated by Mr Yousaf dumping the Bute House Agreement on Thursday.
He said: ‘I was disciplined because I did not have confidence in one Green Minister, and Humza has now stated that he does not have confidence in two.
‘It is time for him to deliver on the SNP’s promises. I am loyal. I will support the leader, but he has got to spring clean his policies.’