Ferguson Marine ferries fiasco is a monument to SNP incompetence that looks set to keep getting bigger – Scotsman comment

Ferguson Marine shipyard warns that ‘supplier issues’ mean the two ferries being built for CalMac could be delayed by up to two months

After the week the SNP have had – dominated by a chorus of justified outrage and condemnation of the Scottish Budget – they must have been looking forward to a break from it all over Christmas. However, ministers didn’t manage to make it to the end of the week before they were hit by another piece of bad news.

Once again, for the umpteenth time, we learned that the two over-budget and much-delayed CalMac ferries being built at the state-owned Ferguson Marine shipyard face yet more delays. As a reminder, these ferries were commissioned in 2015 and were supposed to have been in service in 2018. They were supposed to cost £97 million, but the current estimate is now £337 million.

In a letter to MSPs, Ferguson Marine chief executive David Tydeman revealed that “supplier issues” could cause up to two months’ delay. And, what’s more, the shipyard plans to review the current completion “dates and budgets” on January 25. Given the consistent direction of travel, that can surely mean only one thing – even more taxpayers’ money and an even longer wait for these much-needed ferries.

Neil Gray, the Well-being Economy Secretary, said news of the review was “extremely concerning”, adding that he had recently “impressed upon” Tydeman that the Scottish Government was facing “significant challenges... in terms of spending” and that “he should exercise every possible mitigation over potential overspend”.

The Scottish Government thinks that its recent decision to increase the top rate by 1p will raise an extra £82 million, or expressed in ferry terms, about half of one. However, the sum raised may well be less as higher earners take steps to cut their bills. High taxes already appear to be putting people off moving to Scotland and there are fears a “brain drain” could gather pace.

So ministers' calamitous handling of the ferry project may well have prompted them to take a step that is causing serious damage to the Scottish economy. Ferrygate is not quite the disastrous Darien scheme – not yet anyway – but it is, without doubt, a monument to SNP incompetence.