Professor John Robertson OBA Real Ferry Expert 2022-2025
Thanks to Linda Graham of Broadcasting Scotland (https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/) for alerting me to this:
Coming up on Scottish Questions this morning: Q13. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on improving transport connectivity to Scottish islands. (902935) – Joe Robertson MP (Isle of Wight East, Conservative)
Kirsty McNeill Labour answered:
There are few issues which better encapsulate the incompetence and arrogance of the SNP government than their long-running ferry fiasco.
Scotland’s island communities have been let down time and time again, from Nicola Sturgeon pretending to launch a ferry with the windows painted on, to the recent reports that the Glen Rosa may not be delivered until 2026 – eight years behind schedule.
John Swinney and the SNP have left Scotland’s islands with no functioning ferry network. Our island communities deserve better, they deserve a new direction.
https://members.parliament.uk/member/5255/writtenquestions#expand-1781282
You couldn’t make it up. Well, actually, these days it would be not that difficult.
What’s so funny about an Isle of Wight MP criticising CalMac?
Sheesh, where to begin. I’ve written countless timer to contrast Isle of Wight ferries with CalMac. See them all at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Wight
Recent examples:
Evidence CalMac is the best?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
This looks like a typical set up to try and deflect some of the flak from his own dismal record on ferries for the constituents that he is actually responsible for.
Ask a question that has no relevance to his constituents and get a opportunity from a colleague to then slag off a demonstrably better ferry service than his own.
Eg. It was a pre planned set up to attack the SNP nothing more.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Isle of Wight Tory MP in denial in respect to his own constituency’s poor ferry service, well that figures , as being in denial was and still is a common characteristic of many Tory politicians, which as a position, is now also being continued , as a characteristic, by many politicians from the Labour party as well.
The Tories and the Labour party at WM…are still , I see, a tag team against Scotland’s democratically elected Scottish government.
Sometimes they , the Tories and Labour, also allow other UK parties to join in too, like the Lib Dems and now too the Reform UK party also gets to play , so they too become a part of the pro UK political tag team at WM , that in regards to Scotland only exists to disrespect and attack the SNP as the Scottish government. (in fact even the HOC Speaker gets to occasionally play as well).
What fun , all at the expense of the sweaty jocks, the SNP ones that is.
BTW who votes for the SNP anyway ?
Oh that would be the people, as in voters, in Scotland.
However that’s no problem for them, as when they, all of the pro UK parties disrespect and also attack the SNP they are then also indirectly (yet kinda directly too) attacking all of those voters in Scotland as well , as in voters who have democratically voted for the SNP MP’s to represent them at WM.
Apparently democracy is a big thing with these UK political parties, so much so it enabled them all to declare and so justify Brexit being voted for, democratically ??
However their democracy overrules our democracy in Scotland, but only when votes in Scotland have been democratically cast for the SNP.
Of Course the same thing happened at WM’s Scottish Q’s when the Tories were in charge as the UK government, as we would then see and hear Labour MP’s also join in at the weekly (short) Scottish Q’s session at WM, where it was just a succession of #SNPBAD opinions from all UK politicians and not actual Q’s.
Because a succession of actual Q’s being asked may then just be of benefit to Scotland, which is yet another thing that is not “allowed” to happen with and for Scotland.
How many things is it now that we as a people, and too the SNP as our government, are not allowed to do or get ?
#LostCount
I also once lost count of the number of times when the then shadow SOS for Scotland, Ian Murray, started most of his supposed but not ‘questions’ with a “Does the Honourable member agree with me.” to the then former Tory SOS Alister Jack, and then where Murray proceeded to diss the SNP as the Scottish government….
Well….Duh….of course Alister jack agreed with you Ian , especially as you were attacking the SNP as the Scottish government, so what’s not to like as far as the Tory SOS Alister Jack was concerned.
As not so great (pro UK) minds do stick “Together”, but not for the “Better” of Scotland more really for the “Better” of their beloved state that is the UK.
Also , I wonder, exactly in whose opinion was Alister Jack ever considered to be ‘Honourable” ?
Surely for Scotland he was most dishonourable , as far as him never acting in Scotland’s best interests , in fact all he ever did as WM’s man in Scotland, was acting against Scotland’s best interests to then act only to benefit his Tory party and his UK’s best interests (in that order).
This is the S*** we are up against with EVEL politicians at WM, where their business is not our business but our business is always, they assume, their business too.
Confused ?
Well that’s their strategy, in the past, present and also in the future unless we GTF out of their UK stranglehold….
Vote for a SNP government in 2026, or keep getting more of this WM S***
Liz S
LikeLiked by 3 people
Aye, the classic patsy question, I wonder what Joe Robertson got out of the deal……
On reading the Wikipedia history for Kirsty McNeill, would a large parachute from Starmer Inc plastered with “Change” have anything to do with her winning by a majority? – In reality 29% of the electoral roll, with SNP on 18% and Reform on 4.5%, real democratic and “kingmaker” creds there eh?
There can’t be many ferries in Midlothian, but as Kirsty claimed “ Scotland’s islands with no functioning ferry network “, I expect the Midlothian chorale singing “shite”, “pish”, “arse” with repetitive undertone of “change” would have been repeated in every constituency including gaelic variations across Scotland, never to be reported by James Cook….
Yet it was her ” Our island communities deserve better, they deserve a new direction ” which gave the game away – All this hyperbolic nonsense and bullshit intended was to simultaneously throw red meat to the usual ‘ungrateful bastards’ promoters in Westminster, and attempt rescue of Sarwar’s much derided ‘Wan direction, pick a windae’ campaign for Holyrood in 2026.
Kirsty may have fulfilled her ambition of being parachuted into a constituency and becoming an MP, but does Starmer Inc have an extract plan for when it all goes tits up? Granted that a hot air balloon can be theoretically self propelled by Labour speeches and BBC Scotland output, but it’s getting so many balloons to physically contribute to the intended balloon which remains the puzzle.
I suspect on removal of the Ministerial car, the dismal etc SNP etc Scotrail service would be dismissed, so a Uber it would have to be… I’m sure the Midlothian chorale will give her a good sendoff, with contributions from “Our island communities…” were the manure not s valuable…
LikeLiked by 1 person