As metaphor for SNP 'incompetence', the already rusting Glen Rosa ferry is hard to beat
Union official says skilled shipbuilders were ‘lions led by donkeys’ as she condemns ‘the hubris, incompetence and mismanagement’ of Scottish Government ministers and others
February 16, 2016, was supposed to be a historic date in the River Clyde’s shipbuilding history, with the first steel cut for the construction of two new ferries at a ceremony attended by an SNP transport minister.
The vessels were expected to take two years but it was not to be. The Glen Sannox only finally carried its first paying passengers in January this year.
Its even more unfortunate sister ship, the Glen Rosa, was already going to see its tenth anniversary go sailing by and now won’t even be ready in time for the Scottish Parliament election in May, with a further six-month delay pushing its completion back to the end of next year.
Louise Gilmour, of the GMB union, said the “skilled and committed shipbuilders” at the state-owned Ferguson Marine shipyard were “lions led by donkeys” as she condemned “the hubris, incompetence and mismanagement of ministers, government agencies, and executives”.
The reason for the latest delay? “Corrosion in its stern tubes and deterioration of the hull coating.” It’s been there so long, it’s started to rust. As a metaphor for the SNP’s failings in government, it’s hard to beat.
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