If SNP can't run Scotland's ferries, why should voters trust them to run the country?
The SNP may eventually pay a high price at the ballot box for the ongoing problems with Scotland’s ferry services
Shortly after John Swinney sailed into Stornoway on the MV Loch Seaforth, it had to be withdrawn from service for repairs. The subsequent disruption added to hard-pressed CalMac’s woes, the troubles of islanders, and the general impression that the SNP are hopeless at running the state-owned service.
On Monday afternoon, a total of five major vessels and at least three smaller ones were out of action for one reason or another, with CalMac describing the situation as “critical”.
To be fair to the First Minister, he did have the grace to apologise to islanders. However, his claim that there had been a “perfect storm” of breakdowns and planned annual maintenance did little to assuage concerns.
Islanders have been complaining about poor services and ageing vessels for years. The problems are not related to an unexpected, one-off event but are the consequences of poor planning, with echoes of complaints about the government’s poor workforce planning for the NHS and in education.
Democracy denied
Now comes the news that a Scottish Parliament election hustings on Islay has had to be cancelled because of, you guessed it, problems with the ferries. Candidates would have been unable to get to the island and back because of the disruption.
The state of the services would doubtless have been a major topic of debate, but now that particular conversation will not happen. There’s also a potential threat to the island’s ten-day Fèis Ìle festival, while Islay whisky haulage firm B Mundell said the chaos was having a “devastating and ongoing impact”.
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Obviously, only a minority of voters will be affected by this issue and the SNP appear set to win next month’s election. But they should beware.
The growing impression that they’re incapable of managing Scotland’s ferries could fuel suspicions, even among their supporters, that they are also part of the problem with other public services, particularly the NHS.
And if the SNP can’t be trusted to ensure the ferries run on time and hospitals don’t keep hundreds of 95-year-olds waiting for more than 12 hours in A&E, why would anyone trust them to run a nation, let alone create a new one?
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