Image: secretlondon123, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland - a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson
By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS
Front page in the Herald today, 18 paragraphs putting responsibility for the maintenance of the Ardrossan dock, one of the two hubs for Arran crossings, onto the First Minister, based on the prompting of Katy Clark, MSP and Baroness of Kilwinning:
After reading those 18 paragraphs, would any reader wonder who owns the dock? CalMac? Scottish Government? North Ayrshire Council? Nope, it’s James Whittaker, a Manchester billionaire.
Read on.
In the UK Defence Journal in April 2024:
“The facilities at Ardrossan have not been maintained to an acceptable standard,” stated Duncan Mackison, Interim Chief Executive of CalMac, in the submission. He detailed the “continuing deterioration” of the Ardrossan berths, emphasising that the lack of investment has significantly impacted the operation and safety of ferry services. Over the past decade, CalMac has paid a staggering £15,480,000 in fees for the use of the berths, split into berthing and traffic dues. Despite this substantial outlay, the necessary reinvestment in harbour maintenance appears lacking argue the ferry firm.
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/calmac-criticise-peel-ports-harbour-maintenance/
Where does that money go?
Peel Ports Group Ltd are the statutory harbour authority and owner of Ardrossan harbour, and are responsible for day to day management of the port; including the delivery of the marine and landside infrastructure of the project.
Who owns Peel Group?
John Whittaker (born 14 March 1942) is a British billionaire. He is chairman of the Peel Group, a property business that mainly invests in North West England. According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2019, Whittaker is worth £1.95 billion.
How much tax does he pay on that £15 million?
The tycoon is a director of an astonishing 312 companies, according to Companies House. Almost all are Peel Group subsidiaries, which include interests in Liverpool, Durham and Doncaster airports, the Manchester Ship Canal, Scottish ports, and docks along the banks of the River Mersey.
The labyrinthine nature of the Peel Group’s corporate structure means it is difficult to say how much tax it pays to HM Revenue and Customs.
In June [2013], the MPs made a visit to the premises and the committee chair Margaret Hodge said the Peel Group was not contributing enough to the Inland Revenue, claiming the group paid a maximum average of 10 per cent corporation tax. “They do not pay their fair share,” she said.
For more on how Peel exerts political influence, see:
https://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=1761
I think the above counts as investigative journalism but why does a 73 year-old retiree with one of his part-time elves have to do this when papers like the Herald used to do it for us back in the day?
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brow
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Manchester millionaire owns Ardrossan Harbour – expect Labour Government to allow him to close it down then provide a huge grant to build a new one in …anywhere but Scotland !
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Port Patrick in Scotland harbour was rebuilt with EU funding. I noticed that when there a few years ago. All gone now, no EU funding for essential infrastructure, because England dragged Scotland out of the EU, I mean why in god’s name are more people not majorly angry about that and clammering for independence! Is there a list of sites and infrastructure that was funded or part funded with EU funding, aside the research money for universities etc, that’s now gone.
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B
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F off
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£15.48m wasn’t enough revenue, Peel Ports intend to charge boats, 6m to 24m, £100 per year or £75 for the summer to sail the Clyde. This will be in addition to the pontoon and mooring fees.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24670452.outrage-firms-plans-charge-scots-sail-clyde/
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