Annabelle Ewing, the Cowdenbeath SNP MSP, has voted against her party in order to demonstrate her support for Scottish firefighters facing deep cuts.

She was the only SNP member to vote against an amendment which watered-down a motion calling out fire service cuts and the loss of jobs in the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service in Holyrood this week.

SNP colleagues in Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes voted to support the amendment, which deleted any mention of the cuts or criticism of the Scottish Government.

Katy Clark, Labour’s West of Scotland MSP had originally tabled a Motion for debate outlining the “concern at cuts proposed” by the fire service leadership and detailing the impact of budget cuts and the loss of over a thousand firefighters since 2013. Her full motion, which was then amended by the SNP, is below.

An SNP-led amendment completely reworded the motion, watering down the criticism of the service and the impact of the cuts on communities. The full motion, agreed as amended by the SNP, is below.

The amended motion passed with 56 votes (54 MSPs in the SNP and 2 Independents) and was opposed by 53 MSPs across the chamber including Scottish Labour, Lib Dems, Conservatives and Greens. Alba MSP Ash Regan and 2 Independent MSPs abstained and Reform MSP Graham Simpson did not vote.

Kelty Labour MSP, Alex Rowley, also supported the original motion and talked during the debate of his support for the firefighters in Lochgelly.

Fire Brigades Union Scotland East Area Secretary, Steve Weir, told us, “Yesterday at Holyrood, I sat alongside several FBU officials, including Lochgelly branch Secretary and firefighter, Jamie McDonald, and witnessed SNP MSPs betray Scotland’s firefighters and the communities we serve. By backing a watered-down amendment, they placed party loyalty above public safety.

“Since the creation of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service in 2013, we have lost 1,250 frontline firefighters, endured a £58 million per annum real-terms resource budget cut, and seen response times increase, as overstretched crews are asked to do more with less. This is not reform, it is managed decline, with the Scottish Government and SFRS leadership dismantling a vital public service piece by piece.

“Only one SNP MSP, Annabelle Ewing, showed the courage to defy her party and stand with firefighters and the communities she represents. She deserves recognition for her integrity and leadership. By contrast, her colleagues, including those who have previously claimed to support our campaign, allowed themselves to be whipped into line. That is not leadership, it is weakness, and it reveals a troubling disregard for the people they were elected to serve.

“Cuts leave scars.”

The campaign against SFRS cuts to Lochgelly Fire Station, proposed as part of a nationwide Service Delivery Review, continues with a decision expected on the outcome of the review in December.