Scotland’s new Transport Minister, Kevin Stewart, has been welcomed into office by yet another ferry controversy.
CalMac announced they were withdrawing Lochboisdale’s ferry service for five weeks less than a day after Mr Stewart was appointed.
His quick response in meeting Transport Scotland, CalMac, and locals has been praised.
Councillor Paul Steele, leader of Western Isles Council, says he “clearly understands the gravity of the situation”.
But only time will tell if Mr Stewart is able to regain the trust of the island communities affected by the ferry crisis.
In this article, we tell the story of a timeline that shows how long islanders waited for a response to a fairly simple request.
Only time will tell if Mr Stewart can permanently buck the trend and make islanders feel listened-to again.
Ever since the cancellations first began to pile up, islanders have faced not only the frustration of having travel cut off, but the difficulty of getting those in power to listen.
At the end of 2022, the Na h-Eileanan an Iar MSP Alasdair Allan received a rejection of the Lochboisdale Ferry Impact Group’s plea for the Scottish Government to reimburse Uist businesses for funds lost due to ferry breakdowns.
Behind the Government’s response there were months of meetings and waiting, hope and anger.
May 2022 – the Lochboisdale Ferry Impact Group launches
The Ferry Business Impact Group’s first meeting was on the May 23, 2022. It was formed by the community-owned South Uist estate, Stòras Uibhist, in response to the closure of the Lochboisdale-Mallaig ferry route during May 2022.
Their goal was to find out how much these closures had cost the community, and seek compensation.
By July 4, their economic survey was completed and released. It found that around £648,000 had been lost over the two-week closure.
MSP Alasdair Allan said the report “clearly demonstrates the tangible financial losses” ferry disruption costs Uist.
But the Ferry Business Group got no official response to the report from then-Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth.
September – a meeting with the Deputy First Minister
August brought hope that the issue could be directly raised with the Scottish Government again.
The then-Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, visited South Uist on September 1.
He was attending the opening of Gaelic language centre Cnoc Soilleir. It was agreed that the Lochboisdale group could meet with him.
But, the day before, they say they were told that only two representatives could attend, and “no papers [were] to be given”.
Still, they left the meeting with the Deputy First Minister hopeful.
Over the months that followed, though, they say that there was still little communication from Transport Scotland.
‘No responses forthcoming’
Jenny Gilruth referred to the Lochboisdale Ferry Business Impact Group’s “very helpful study” during a speech on the ferry crisis in Parliament on September 8.
But by October, the group says, there were still “no responses forthcoming from the direct emails sent to Transport Scotland”.
In fact, it wouldn’t be until December that a letter was sent to MSP Alasdair Allan rejecting the idea of compensation.
There are “no plans” for a repayment scheme, said Transport Scotland representative Alistair Thomson, writing on Jenny Gilruth’s behalf.
He had begun the letter by apologising for the “lengthy” delay in responding to the idea.
In total, the letter came five months after the economic losses to South Uist were known.
It’s a delay that Stòras Uibhist says was “appalling”.
And, as Kevin Stuart takes on his new role – and faces a new ferry crisis in Uist – many islanders will be waiting to see if communication will improve.
‘Still we are being ignored’
The Transport Minister says he shares “the desires of island communities for sustainable and effective ferry services”. He says he “looks forward to continuing our constructive engagement with them on future services and vessel replacements”.
“I have already met with local stakeholders on these matters, and continue to engage with CalMac to urge them to explore alternatives.”
But, reacting to the news of the planned closures in Lochboisdale, Stòras Uibhist Chief Executive Darren Taylor said that “still we are being ignored”.
“It feels as if no one is listening or even cares… and that is simply not acceptable.”
More local reporting from the Western Isles:
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