By Bill Heaney
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay seems desperate to pin the blame for Scotland’s ferry scandal on First Minister John Swinney.
Findlay, a former tabloid newspaper reporter, rolled out a raft of colourful cliches to support his case in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.
He smiled widely as though enjoying himself thoroughly when he asked Mr Swinney: “Scotland should be able to build ferries here, in Scotland, to serve the islands of Scotland and to carry the people of Scotland, so why will seven new vessels for CalMac Ferries instead be built in Poland?”
But the First Minister was not amused: “It is for the simple reason that a competitive tendering process was undertaken to ensure that we can deliver seven new vessels for some of the smaller routes that are part of the CalMac network.
“That process involved companies in Scotland and in other countries, as is consistent with the terms of the procurement legislation that the Government must follow.”
But Russell Findlay pressed on: “Those vessels could and should have been built here, in Scotland. Ferguson Marine could and should be fit to win such contracts. For decades, before the Scottish National Party had anything to do with it, Ferguson Marine built ferries on budget and on time, but now, under the direct control of John Swinney’s Government, it is unable to compete. Will the First Minister tell us, frankly, who is responsible for that?”
Mr Swinney replied: “The Scottish Government intervened when there was a risk that Ferguson’s would cease trading on the Clyde. We arranged for new ownership to take the yard forward. The Government subsequently took decisions that led to significant orders being placed with Ferguson’s following a competitive due process.
“We are in the process of concluding the small vessel replacement programme—we are in the 10-day standstill period, so I can give little detail to the Parliament on that process at the moment. Most recently, the Government has supported the work at Ferguson’s through additional investment of up to £14.2 million in the yard in order to support it and guarantee its long-term future.”
Russell Findlay and his deputy Shona Robison poured scorn on Mr Swinney’s reply: “Two ferries with a £97 million price tag will end up costing taxpayers more than £400 million and entering service at least seven years late … now you are talking down the yard.”
And Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone had to intervene a number of times to hold back the tide of critisism.
Mr Findlay insisted: “That all began with the contract that John Swinney personally approved 10 years ago. It was rushed through for one purpose, which was to promote the interests of the SNP—not the interests of islanders or taxpayers.
“The evidence shows that the entire process was rigged and that rules were repeatedly broken. There was not even a bog-standard financial guarantee to protect taxpayers. John Swinney personally signed off a process that was not just flawed but corrupt.”
He added: “After 10 years, Ferguson’s is still dealing with the fallout. Does John Swinney accept that his actions a decade ago are causing Scottish shipyards to lose contracts to eastern Europe today?”
The first Minister replied: “No, I do not accept that in any way, shape or form. If the Government had not intervened and I had not taken actions when the yard faced difficulties, there would be people today who would not have had a livelihood for the best part of a decade. I know that that does not concern Russell Findlay much, because he represents a party that destroyed the industrial base of Scotland.
That is what happened under the awful leadership of Conservative Governments in the United Kingdom. This Government is working with the workforce to make sure that we can secure the future of the yard.
“At the heart of Russell Findlay’s question is a complete contradiction because, on the one hand, he has accused the Government of rigging a process in the past …”
The First Minister turned for support to the back benches: “The Government is being accused of rigging the process on one occasion, and now the Government is being accused of not rigging the process to make sure that the contracts for the vessels can go to Ferguson’s.
That demonstrates that Russell Findlay is scraping the bottom of the barrel of political insults. He does it week after week in the Parliament, and it is a disgrace to the Conservative Party.”
Russell Findlay hit back: “I am sorry, John, but we do not want the SNP to fix contracts for Ferguson’s … “
But the Presiding Officer admonished him again – “Mr Findlay, I am sure that you know that we do not use only first names in the chamber.”
Russell Findlay refused to back off: “I am sorry, First Minister, but we do not want the SNP to fix contracts for Ferguson’s; we want the SNP to fix Ferguson’s so that it can win contracts fairly and squarely, because Scottish shipyards should be able to build ferries here, in Scotland.
“After nationalisation, the SNP had a duty to get Ferguson’s back into a position to win contracts legitimately, and it has failed to do so. SNP politicians want all the credit when they are grabbing headlines and launching a ferry with painted-on windows, but they never accept responsibility for what has gone wrong.
“The First Minister’s fingerprints are all over the scandal from the very beginning. He signed off a dodgy deal that has let down islanders, taxpayers and shipyard workers, who face an uncertain future.
“Scotland was once world leading in shipbuilding, and now we are losing CalMac ferry contracts to Poland. How can anyone trust John Swinney to repair the damage at Ferguson’s when he caused it in the first place?”
First Minister John Swinney, Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone and Tory leader Russell Findlay.
The two continued to trade blows. The First Minister said: “There would not be a Ferguson’s yard trading just now if I had not intervened more than 10 years ago to try to secure the future of the yard. I make no apology for doing that over all those years.
“I want to tell the Parliament what Russell Findlay really thinks, because he has not been straight with the Parliament in all his questions today. This is what Russell Findlay said before. He called Ferguson Marine ‘a terrible drain on the public finances’.
“He called my Government’s support ‘recklessly throwing taxpayers’ money away’.”
“I am not finished yet—I have lots more to share with the Parliament today. He said that ‘the non-stop squandering of cash cannot go on’. What we know today is that Russell Findlay has specialised in talking down the yard at Ferguson’s.
“We know that he has come here today just to demonstrate the political opportunism that we hear from him every week. Furthermore, we know why he is doing it: it is because the Conservative Party is being hammered by Reform, and Russell Findlay is on his way out, along with most of his colleagues. Thank goodness, and good riddance to the lot of them.”
