We've got failing ferries, doomed DRS and wasted millions... but it's never the SNP's fault

Jun 12, 2023

From Lorna Slater's disastrous handling of the bottle return scheme to the islanders stranded by ferry chaos, the SNP-Green coalition can point the finger but will never accept the blame

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This week has seen calls for compensation from the huge number of Scottish businesses, large and small, who have invested millions of pounds in preparing for the SNP-Green government's Deposit Return Scheme.

Now that it's been postponed, for at least the next two years, they are understandably put out. During its introduction, a good many of them pointed out that the scheme was – not to put too fine a point on it – a total mess.

There was a string of unanswered questions (there still are) and Lorna Slater, the minister in charge, seemed to be utterly ill-prepared and out of her depth (she still does). But the Greens co-leader was having none of it.

With a combination of blithe assurances and veiled threats, she insisted that come hell or high water, the scheme would be coming in exactly as designed and to her timetable. Everyone knew that this was about as likely to keep together as a wet paper bag holding a kilo of ball bearings.

READ MORE: Lorna Slater in 'shambolic' deposit return interviews as she dodges questions on compensation

Still, reading out the same prepared statements and making no attempt to answer the questions, she kept this up until earlier this week. Then – and I know you will be shocked to hear this – she and the SNP-Green government blamed Westminster.

Since the UK government specifically said they could have continued with it by excluding glass, and the chief companies involved in the scheme backed that approach, there are even fewer takers than usual for that line, which we were already tired of hearing, since it's trotted out for every Scottish government failure.

No one has any doubt about where the blame, and the legal responsibility, lies. Nor is anyone in any doubt about who bears the responsibility for what is an even more expensive and long-running disaster manufactured on the SNP's watch – the ferries fiasco.

The two new ferries that the SNP government commissioned are already hundreds of millions over budget and six years late. They led to a shipyard being nationalised and a ruling that it would be cheaper to start one of the vessels from scratch. Oh, and they’ve yet to arrive.

But that's just part of the story. The Scottish government, under the SNP and Greens, has for years neglected the basic upkeep and maintenance of the rest of the ferry fleet – with some vessels now several decades old.

That has resulted in an entirely predictable shortfall, as ships break down or require extensive maintenance. CalMac are now unable to fulfil some of the basic requirements of what is, for islanders, a lifeline service.

That was graphically illustrated by the news that residents on South Uist are to have no ferry at all for a month.

At First Minister's Questions, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross made the point that this is a hammer blow to the local economy, to island businesses focused on tourism, but also to many of the everyday aspects of life for islanders – medical appointments, family visits, routine errands.

But, despite asking Humza Yousaf, three times, whether his government would be providing compensation for something that is, like the DRS scandal, undoubtedly their fault, the best the First Minister could offer was a muttered aside that he might think about it.

It's not difficult to guess why the SNP-Green government are reluctant to admit their liability for these two colossal scandals and ensure that those affected receive some form of support and compensation.

After all, thanks to their mismanagement, everyday services – health, education, transport and housing – have deteriorated dramatically. Despite savage cuts to councils, and thus to local services, there's a black hole of around £1billion in next year's budget.

They’ve made Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK. They’ve failed to deliver the rates relief that businesses get in other parts of the UK, even though they were given the money to do so. They’ve turned their back on the North Sea energy sector.

They’ve already squandered huge amounts of public money on doomed, unnecessary and unpopular court cases, often on their pet obsessions. In the Rangers case, they had a sharp lesson in just how expensive compensation can be, when they had to hand over £50million – which, of course, was taxpayers’ money.

So many people, on so many issues, have suffered as a result of SNP-Green policies. But those who have suffered direct and punitive financial loss as a result of their incompetence – betrayed islanders and the drinks producers and retailers – deserve to be compensated.

Before we get there, it would at least be a start if they admitted that it's their fault.

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