SNP MSP Fergus Ewing rebels against Scottish Government again despite facing party suspension

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Serial SNP rebel Fergus Ewing has voted against the Scottish Government again as speculation mounts he could soon be suspended by his party.

MSPs had today been asked to vote on a Tory motion calling for the introduction of a licensing scheme for short-term landlords to be delayed for a year.The Bill is backed by Humza Yousaf and is aimed at regulating the rapid growth in properties used by Air BNBs and other short-term letting agencies across the country.But it has faced a fierce backlash from landlords despite the severe lack of affordable housing in Edinburgh and many rural communities.Ewing this week claimed the legislation had made "hard working law-abiding people feel they are like criminals".The Inverness MSP has previously opposed Scottish Government plans to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) and has repeatedly questioned his party's decision to sign a powersharing deal with the Greens.He also voted in favour of a Tory motion of no confidence in Green minister Lorna Slater - a decision which infuriated many SNP MSPs.The on-going row over short-term lets saw Labour and the Tories try to force the legislation back to the drawing board.Housing minister Paul McLennan tonight tabled an amendment which welcomed the "reassurance and safeguards for visitors, hosts and communities that the short-term lets licensing scheme provides".This was passed by a majority thanks to SNP and Green MSPs - with Ewing being the only Nationalist to vote against it.The veteran Nationalist's frequent opposition to his own government has led to increasing speculation he could lose the party whip.Ewing himself acknowledged the fact at a political awards bash in Edinburgh last week.In a speech, he said: "I hope the next time my name is