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Where now for Scottish nationalism?
As Fergus Ewing’s suspension unfolds, the two paths open to the SNP become increasingly stark: upholding its progressive image amid growing conservative influences or sinking deeper into neoliberal rot, writes PAULINE BRYAN
Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf with SNP Westminster candidates, local Hillhead SNP by-election candidate Malcolm McConnell(L) and SNP activists at the Lord Roberts Monument in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, to call on people across Scotland to vote SNP to Exit Brexit, February 26, 2024

THE suspension of Fergus Ewing MSP for a week from the SNP group in the Scottish Parliament may not feel like a shift of the tectonic plates of Scottish nationalism, but, as anyone who has seen a decent disaster movie knows, it is the small events that presage the final catastrophe.

The notion of an SNP catastrophe may seem all the more ridiculous given the resilience in support for independence in Scotland, which bobs along at around 50 per cent — never enough above that margin to threaten the union and never enough below that number to say that it can be declared as dead.

Ewing is of course part of the Scottish Ewing dynasty. Back in 1979, Alex Salmond, as part of the “79 group,” argued that the SNP should adopt policies that would appeal to working-class voters.

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