Greens Ross Greer suggests Fergus Ewing may be too fond of alcohol
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Greens MSP Ross Greer has hit back at Fergus Ewing for labelling the Greens “wine bar revolutionaries” by appearing to suggest the Inverness and Nairn MSP is too fond of booze.
In Holyrood last week Mr Ewing slammed the Greens' 'economic masochism' over developing new gas reserves in the North Sea, underlining that imported fossil fuels came with a higher carbon footprint.
On the BBC Sunday Show, Mr Greer said: “To be fair to Fergus, I think he knows a lot more about wine bars than I do.”
Mr Greer, a West Scotland MSP, has form when it comes to making controversial public statements, previously describing the Highlands as "desolate" and "sterile" and potentially in need of more windfarms.
He was asked about Mr Ewing’s 'wine bar revolutionaries' jibe and said: “To be fair to Fergus, I think he knows a lot more about wine bars than I do, but the man’s so far on the backbenches you would need a flashlight to find him.
“Ninety-five percent of SNP members voted for the Bute House Agreement. And we can see from public polling that the Scottish Greens are more popular than we were two years ago when we entered government.
"That's because we're actually delivering things people want and need.
“It's the Greens in government who delivered a rent freeze keeping tenants in their homes over the winter. We've delivered an eviction ban that we've extended across the summer into this year as well. We’ve delivered under-22 free bus travel. We're now about to remove peak time rail fares.
He added: “It's Greens in government who are delivering what people really need right now to help them through the cost of living crisis and to take action on the climate emergency, which we all recognise needs to be our top priority.”
Mr Ewing has been highly critical of the Greens in recent months, saying policies such as the Deposit Return Scheme were potentially "catastrophic" before it was postponed.
He told the Strathy: "The Greens do not reply to the facts - that if we do as they wish and scrap new gas fields we will just have to replace them with imports with a proven higher carbon footprint
"Their policy would decimate our economy.
"Tens of thousands of highly skilled well paid jobs are at stake – some here in the strath.
"The Greens prefer to play the man not the ball perhaps because they are losing the game. They have lost the argument .
"And I must add that I have not seen the insides of a wine bar for some years – and unlike the some of the Green MSPs I did not visit any such establishment during the Covid lockdown."
