Fergus Ewing received the MSP of the Year Award at the Holyrood Garden Party Political Awards

Fiona Campbell, Chief Executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said:

“Everyone at the ASSC warmly congratulates Fergus Ewing MSP on this well-deserved award. He has been a longstanding champion of the small businesses that comprise our industry, from his time as Cabinet Secretary for Tourism to life on the backbenches. He has a deep understanding of what matters to Scottish tourism and has shown real leadership by supporting it.
 
Both inside and outside of government, he has been generous with his time and is prepared to meet and listen to business representatives and crucially work with them to find solutions to challenges faced. Amidst talk of ‘resetting’ government and business relations or ‘stakeholder engagement’ with industry, Mr Ewing has been putting it into practice for years, including with self-caterers.
 
From deposit return to short-term let licensing, he has shown immense courage and integrity for standing up for small businesses – even when this was not appreciated by all within parliament. In what can often be a tribal environment, it is refreshing that Mr Ewing is more than willing to reach across the divide and work with others on a cross-party basis to secure meaningful change.
 
We need more MSPs like Fergus Ewing with an independence of mind who are willing to challenge policies which we know will inflict harm on local economies and communities.”