Scotland is facing its most decisive election in a generation and no Highland constituency will have more eyes on it than Inverness and Nairn.
That is in large part down to the outsize impact of Fergus Ewing whose rebellion against the SNP leadership in recent years made national news.
May’s Scottish Parliament election will be the first time since 2011 that Mr Ewing has not been on the SNP constituency ticket, making the seat truly competitive.
Since leaving government, Mr Ewing’s reputation has soared on some quarters as he has positioned himself as fearlessly picking fights for his constituents, often using every trick in the book to make a point.
He attacked government policies like the bottle return scheme and highly protected marine areas and has been relentless on the failure to dual the A9 and A96 by the previous 2025 deadline.
It was that failure that ultimately prompted his departure from the SNP – and the significance of such a move by the son of independence icon Winnie Ewing cannot be overstated.
First up against him in May’s ballot is the SNP’s Emma Roddick, who has the experience of a slightly turbulent time in Holyrood behind her, often for speaking her mind.
She has spoken out on maternity, A9 dualling and the (lack of a) Nairn bypass, as well as consistently raising the spectre of homelessness as someone who experienced it herself.
Neil Alexander will be carrying the Lib Dem flag, hoping that Mr Ewing will split the pro-independence vote though he would still have to overcome a huge majority to attain success.
What works in his favour is that Tory Edward Mountain and Labour’s Rhoda Grant are both standing down while neither of their parties are at a high ebb.
One thing that will certainly not improve the chances of Labour’s Shaun Fraser is the recent decision of the Westminster Labour government to house 300 asylum seekers in Inverness.
In fact, if you set out to try to deliberately harm a candidate’s chances then you could arguably not do worse than what the Home Office has done.
Its actions have introduced a strain of divisiveness into Highland politics not seen in the devolution era – and Labour’s candidate had zero control over it.
As a Skye councillor Conservative firebrand candidate Ruraidh Stewart has excelled in taking the fight on almost any issue straight to the Highland Council administration’s doors.
But his party are still struggling to emerge from the enormous shadows cast by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss and a list seat is perhaps a more realistic prospect for Mr Stewart than grabbing the constituency itself.
And then there is the indefatigable Inverness South councillor Duncan Macpherson whose independent candidacy is perhaps a long-shot.
He broke away from the independent group on the council at the last election and formed the Highland Alliance, creating a new voting block within the local authority chamber.
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