Only 0.33% turn out to protest ferry move and ‘ghost town’ threat

Professor John Robertson OBA

On 12th April 2025, The Scottish Sun reported:

We’ve been left to live in a ‘ghost town’ thanks to Scotland’s £400m ferry fiasco, it’s a disgrace. Today fed-up locals gathered at Troon Harbour to protest over the failings and to demand answers. Dozens of campaigners gathered with banners at the protest.

There might be more than two dozen in some of the images. Let’s be generous and give them 50?

How many folk live in Ardrossan? 10 670. Arran? 4 629. Total is 15 299.

So, 0.326% could be bothered to turn out for a threat to a ‘lifeline’ ferry service needed to stop a town becoming a ‘ghost town’, according to the local Labour MSP and maybe 50 protestors?

We really need a proper poll to see just how serious this problem is for the folk of Ardrossan and Arran.

My poll of 186 islanders found more than 90% feeling well or very well served by the ferries: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2025/04/16/is-this-why-there-have-been-no-surveys-of-ordinary-ferry-users-more-than-90-feel-well-or-very-well-served/

9 thoughts on “Only 0.33% turn out to protest ferry move and ‘ghost town’ threat”

  1. An interesting read for hyperbole https://archive.ph/JURIv, particularly the daft notion the design of the vessels went ahead without extensive discussions with Peel Ports over vessel requirements…

    But my hypocrisy meter exploded over this bit – ‘ Jim McSporran, port director at Peel Ports Clydeport, said: “Peel Ports Group welcomes the Scottish government’s statement that it intends to explore the potential purchase of Ardrossan Harbour. Regardless of the outcome of this process, our willingness to invest in the harbour remains steadfast ” ‘ – A fat lot of good spending over a decade doing NOTHING but expressing “willingness”.

    When was the Irish berth closed down for safety reasons, 2022 ?

    It’s the one glaring aspect of this ” ferry fiasco ‘, the business connections… Money talks….

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  2. Presumably the bulk of the protesters are immigrants from England.

    Let’s suspend all subsidies for a month and see how that works for them.

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    1. Och behave – The vast majority are local born, and genuinely concerned due to the rumour mill being worked overtime.

      Ardrossan being worked on was always going to need a temporary port, Troon is it, and can also serve later as backup for unforeseen circumstances, it’s all there in the information HMS James Cook et al don’t report – Whip up hysteria about it being permanent, fill up letters pages with 25% of Arran being cancer patients unable to meet appointments, no longer being able to ‘njoy a day oot in Glesga’, and thus the ‘ferry fiasco’ lives on – It’s very much in the mould of the SiU poison-pennington letters posing as Joe Public….

      The problem is the media with an agenda – As one on Facebook put it, they were there 2 hours, and featured 10 secs on the news – The Wrecker and Depress stories last longer, but they still end up on the bottom of the budgies cage…..

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      2. Do you not smell ‘Eau de Latrine’ in the ‘Anonymous’ responses’ John ?

        Who the hell calls Unionists ‘dirty rotten’, or repeats ‘ It’s not a good look ‘, or ‘ Presumably the bulk of the protesters are immigrants from England ‘ – It’s a pattern, likely the same IP address….

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  4. I read in your headline “Ghost” and “Ferry” and automatically thought of the Tory (failed) government Minister, Chris Grayling aka Failing Grayling, and his Brexit ‘Phantom Ferries”.

    The same Chris Grayling who has now been rewarded (for his many failures as a Tory UK government Minister ) in him being awarded in 2024 a life peerage by Rishi Sunak and so he, Grayling, is now a Baron. (when will it be Sunak’s turn to be awarded a peerage, in the next honours perhaps ?).

    See Wikipedia to research his, Grayling’s, far from illustrious career as a useless Tory Politician and Tory Government Minister.

    That’s why I laugh, hollow laugh, when any Tory here in Scotland or elsewhere within the UK talks about the supposed SNP Bad Ferries, as the daddy of all #BAD Ferry stories still sits with Tory Minister Chris Grayling , in him in 2018 awarding £46.6m to French firm Brittany Ferries and £42.5m to a Danish shipping firm DFDS to supply a Ferry service for a very much English (potential ‘No Deal’) Brexit as in EXIT

    (While dragging along other nations like Scotland and NI to have to Brexit as well against our wills, Wales also voted Brexit but only in the parts that were not dominated by Welsh people but were dominated by ‘settlers’ mostly from another nation within the UK – clue not from Scotland nor from NI- , at least that is what I heard , from a Welsh man).

    Grayling also gave a lesser amount of £13.8m to a ‘British’ firm Seabourne Freight in 2018 , who were then, after the money was paid, reported to have never ran a Ferry service and who also had no Ships hence the ‘Phantom Ferries’ reference.

    Ultimately Seaborne Freight’s contract was cancelled on 8 February 2019 by Grayling’s department.

    However let’s also not forget about yet another expensive episode in this Tory debacle, fiasco, scandal and controversy linked to ‘Ferries’ where a further £33 million was paid to Eurotunnel in an ‘out of court’ settlement , paid by the UK government , as they, Eurotunnel, claimed that “that the awarding of ferry contracts for the event of a no-deal Brexit had been “secretive and flawed”, and that Eurotunnel, which also operates freight services across the English Channel, had not had the opportunity to compete”.

    In fact it amazes me that whenever Ferries as a subject is ever raised within the UK , but apparently now only in relation to #SNPBAD Ferries in Scotland , that the ‘media’ then do not also recall the infamous Failing Grayling Ferry episode, I jest of course, as that episode is now both well hidden and also consigned to history ( that is a history that is to be forgotten and also seemingly forgiven , as in with Failing Grayling having now been awarded a life peerage).

    Vote SNP in 2026 for obvious reasons (way way way too many) to write down on here.

    Liz S

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    1. If you look at a map of Wales re voting demographic (is that what it’s called?) there was a distinct and clear blue border shall we say, within Wales which went from the English border to half way across Wales north to south. The blue area is where the ‘settlers’ live, and they live very well there as do many if not most English folks settling in Scotland. Properties are again selling like hotcakes in our part of the capital, most selling anf indeed rented by well off folks from outwith Scotland. Why would you stay in England if you had the choice to live somewhere with clean water, free bus pass at 60yrs, free prescriptions, and a functioning SNHS.

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