The Scotsman today quotes a Labour MSP saying ‘Our islands have been let down, time and again, by the SNP.’
Readers will know that CalMac is almost certainly the best – cheapest, most frequent, most reliable, safest – in the world.
How reliable, currently, has CalMac been for, say Mull? In February 2026, latest figures, in a winter month- 387 out of 392 scheduled sailings operating – 98.2%; 366 on time, 94.3%. All of the cancellations were for unsafe weather conditions. https://assets.calmac.co.uk/media/dkrpvvnm/mull.pdf
Is the Scottish Government using our taxation to give the islanders a wee bit extra to try to stem the depopulation?
Around £5 000 each more than the rest of us in grant subsidies:
Source – https://www.gov.scot/publications/funding-local-government-scotland-2026-27/pages/12/
What is causing depopulation?
There is no reliable research suggesting the ferry service matters much in this.
What really matters?
Limited employment opportunities and poor economic prospects ~35–45% (most consistently ranked as the top or leading structural driver). Lack of diverse, well-paid jobs with career progression is repeatedly identified as the dominant reason young people leave for education or work elsewhere, creating a “brain drain.” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ijpg.265
Housing shortages and lack of affordability ~20–30% (second-most prominent structural barrier)
Insufficient suitable/affordable housing (exacerbated by second homes, tourism lets) prevents young families from staying or returning and deters in-migrants. Recent SRUC research and government reviews frequently pair this closely with jobs as a core constraint. https://sruc.figshare.com/articles/report/Demographic_change_and_out-migration_in_rural_and_island_Scotland/30617195
Youth out-migration leads to ageing populations, low fertility, and service erosion, creating a feedback loop.
Note again, the above Scottish Government grants.
Are we subsidising the ferries enough? AI search: Compare central government funding of ferry services for Scotland, Channel Isles, Isle of Wight, Washington State USA and British Columbia Canada.
Scotland provides by far the highest per-capita support, reflecting a strong policy commitment to remote island connectivity, affordable fares, and economic viability for small populations.
Finally, in the January 2026 management report (covering recent performance data), the average vehicle deck utilisation for Oban–Craignure Mull stood at 51.54%. – half empty.
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“The Scotsman today quotes a Labour MSP saying ‘Our islands have been let down, time and again, by the SNP “.
Well when I read this I automatically thought this:
Scotland , as a nation, has been “let down time and time again” by the Labour party (that is the Labour party at all political levels).
Mind you Scotland has also been “let down time and time again” by the so called (but clearly not) ‘Scotsman’ newspaper as well.
(Other rags that are also distributed within Scotland, who have the audacity to add “Scottish” before the titles of their papers names, are also guilty of wilfully attempting to “let down” Scotland “time and time again” , just so as to uphold their UK State , that coincidentally as a UK State also “let’s down” Scotland “time and time again”).
We see the pattern here with them all , but clearly a “cheap shots” Labour MSP lazily jumps onto the #SNPBAD Ferry bandwagon, while as a Labour MSP he is ignoring the mess and chaos within his own party.
A mess that includes a former, now departed from Holyrood, so called ‘Scottish’ Labour leader who abandoned Scotland and it’s politics to jump onto the HOL’s gravy train (another election loser , just like Ruth Davidson , who was also rewarded for failure)- and also for him (Sarwar) to work for the UK government (no doubt for him to continue to contribute to “letting down” Scotland “time and time again” as part of the UK government).
No ******* “Real Change” nor “New Direction” with Sarwar , of that I am 100% sure.
Liz S
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100,000 islanders. 40+ ferries. One ferry per 2,500 islanders. Not using them all the time. Subsidised ferries and flights. Two innovative ferries saving £Billions in fuel. Investment. Spend a little to save a lot.
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Where is the evidence to demonstrate that the investment in the two hybrid diesel/LPG vessels will save £billions, especially given that since the first one came into service it has hardly, if ever, ran on LPG. What about the Gourock-Dunoon service which for most of 2026/2027 will be down to a one boat, hourly service. People have stopped using that service, why, because rhe couldn’t rely on it, so they either switched to the more reliable, every 20minutes, Western Ferries, despite both of their facilities being outside the town centres, or in some cases, the moved out of Dunoon.
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