Meeting of the Parliament 08 June 2023
Who created that context? It was this Government that made a series of terrible decisions over many years, many of which were outlined by Richard Leonard in his opening remarks.
It has been an expensive episode. The mistakes have been so costly that, if we had awarded the contracts elsewhere back at the start and sent every Ferguson’s worker home with £300,000 in their back pockets—a third of a million pounds for every worker to sit at home—we would still have change left over, and we would have two ferries sailing to the isles now, serving the islanders and the communities that we seek to represent.
However, the minister thought that it was wise to take credit. He hardly flinched as he opened the taxpayers’ cheque book to sign a blank cheque and spend taxes that were raised from nurses who battled through the pandemic, teachers who work long hours to keep up with the demands of the job and workers who do 12-hour shifts in a fish factory or juggle three jobs just to make ends meet. Perhaps the minister should think of those people next time he seeks to blithely spend millions of pounds of their money.
The ownership of this fiasco is not in doubt. We should remember that it was the SNP that brought in its favourite businessman to run the yard when he had never built a ship in his life; the SNP that awarded the contract to the yard; the SNP that interfered in the procurement process for party advantage; the SNP that interfered with the builders guarantee; and the SNP that took over the yard when it collapsed. The minister thought that he should take credit for saving the yard when it was his Government’s decision that put it under potential threat.
We thought that we had seen the worst, but the fury on the faces of the South Uist islanders has told us just how angry they are. Lines of cars were parked up for as far as we could see at Lochboisdale and 600 people rubbed shoulders to make their views known. That is about a third of the population of South Uist and Eriskay. We would need 500,000 Glaswegians in George Square to match that strength of feeling. They are angry about the lost bookings and because businesses are under threat, income has been lost, hospital appointments have been missed, weddings have been postponed and there are empty shelves in shops.
What is worse, the Government is not providing even a penny in compensation. Ministers are content to issue a ministerial direction to spend millions more at Ferguson’s, but there is not a penny for the shopkeepers of South Uist. Ministers are happy to shell out £1 million a month for the MV Alfred, but there is not a penny for the bed and breakfasts on Eriskay. Ministers sit idle while Ferguson’s pays millions in bonuses to the bosses, but there is not a penny for the islanders.
Apparently, the money would be better spent by CalMac. Apparently, it is for the greater good. We have come to a pretty pass, have we not? Those who have suffered the most at the hands of this incompetent Government are lectured by ministers of this Government about the sacrifices that they need to make for the greater good.
I say to the Government: for goodness’ sake, stop the faffing. Give the islanders the compensation and end the insulting boasting about the virtue of the Government’s decisions. Do the right thing.