After six decades, is this the end of the SNP’s Ewing family dynasty?

It also marked the start of an extraordinary political dynasty. But after six decades, could this now be coming to an end?

"Without doubt, there's no family that has contributed more to the SNP and the independence cause than the Ewing family, over all these years,” said James Mitchell, professor of public policy at Edinburgh University and an expert on the party.

Winnie lost her seat in 1970, but was re-elected less than four years later in Moray and Nairn. She later became a long-serving member of the European Parliament and earned the nickname Madame Écosse.

The then 79-year-old famously “reconvened” the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as its oldest member, with her son, Fergus, among those taking their seats in the new institution, representing Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber.

Meanwhile, her daughter, Annabelle, was the MP for Perth between 2001 and 2005, before being elected to Holyrood in 2011, first as the MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region and later for Cowdenbeath.

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As if that was not enough, Fergus’s late wife, Margaret, was also an MP who stood against Alex Salmond for the SNP leadership in 1990, and served as the MSP for Moray from 1999 until 2006, when she died from breast cancer.

Winnie died in 2023 at the age of 93. Earlier this month, Annabelle, who is one of Holyrood’s deputy presiding officers, announced her intention to stand down at the Scottish Parliament election next year.

Fergus has also said he will not stand for the SNP at the election, but left the door open to potentially running as an independent. He has been a vocal critic of the party’s leadership in recent years, including criticising the slow progress in dualling the A9 and A96.

"I must admit, I do quite relish the idea of being an independent,” the 67-year-old told The Scotsman. “I suppose you could say that I've been a de-facto independent for the last four years anyway, because I've done exactly as I've pleased.”

However, he has yet to make up his mind, and may not do so until early next year. If Fergus does head for the exit, it will mark the end of an era for Scottish politics - and even if he stands, he will not be wearing an SNP rosette.

It is a remarkable development for someone who grew up steeped in the party.

"I suppose it is in the blood, in the family, and we were brought up with it,” Fergus said. “It's not unique. Throughout the history of politics, there have been many dynastic families."

He added: "My brother Terry is not obviously elected, but he has always supported the cause and the party. His life has followed an entirely different course, so he must have been vaccinated against the political bug at some stage."

Winnie did not push her children into politics, Fergus said. "My parents had a very simple ethos in life, and that was that it was the duty of the parent to make sure that your child got every possible chance in education and trying out things, opportunities and sports,” he said.

"I even tried out things like gliding and so on, and ice skating. Their thing was that the most important thing in life is opportunity, and the worst mistake you can make, is spurning a good opportunity."

Prof Mitchell said Winnie was "the personification of the SNP for many people for many years”, but also transcended party politics.

"People have often said that one of the things about Winnie Ewing is the way she campaigned - and I think it's a family approach to campaigning - is that even if she had a thumping great majority, she fought as if she was about to lose,” he told The Scotsman.

He highlighted Winnie’s focus on her constituents. "I interviewed her on a number of occasions,” he said. “I suspect I was the last person to interview her before she died, actually.

"She always took the view that to win and to continue to win, you had to serve your constituents. It wasn't just about independence.

"There's no doubt at all she was very committed to that, but she understood that, regardless of what her party was saying, she would stand up for her constituents. And that's why she kept winning these thumping great majorities, increasing her majorities in the Highlands and Islands.

"People always go on about 'Madame Ecosse', but she was really Madame Highlands and Islands as much as anything, and I think that's something Fergus has done as well."

Fergus has a "mind of his own", Prof Mitchell said, adding: "I think that's frankly a healthy thing, whether you agree with his politics or not. We could do with a bit more independent thinking in that bloody place down the road."

Might a younger generation of Ewings emerge to continue the family tradition?

"My daughter is 17, so she's coming up to her Highers, and politics was very boring until about a year ago when it suddenly became slightly more interesting,” Fergus said. "I think she is interested in it, but it's far, far too early to tell."

He added: "I joke with [Deputy First Minister] Kate Forbes that my daughter will take over from her circa 2039, so she better just get ready now to be pushed out."