My special guest this week is one of the world’s leading ship designers and architects, Stuart Ballantyne. A Glaswegian by birth and now living in Australia. He gives us an in depth insiders knowledge on the entire Caledonian MacBrayne/Ferguson Marine/Scottish Government ferry fiasco. You determine for yourselves is it incompetence, stupidity or downright corruption that sees us having two inadequate ferries built in Turkey while two more gather rust and dust in Port Glasgow. There was and remainsxan alternative to this entire fiasco again ask yourselves why our Scottish Government refuse to listen.
Later, in the show I am joined by Prof.Alf Baird himself an marine expert. Indeed he was Professor of Maritime Business and Director of the Maritime Research Group at Edinburgh Napier University. He has a PhD in Strategic Management in Global Shipping. He gives us his input. On the panel with Alf I have Phil Boswell and Iain Lawson. We discuss Stuart’s interview as well as recent events in Ukraine and Scotland.
India tells UK delegation to not bother visiting . The Colonised telling the colonisers what to do, how refreshing! The sanctions against Russia effective or a boomerang? The Rouble is the best performing currency in March. Meanwhile, energy prices rocket in the west. Lastly we discuss the news that the Referendum Bill will not be on the statute before the Local Authority Elections. Will the electorate accept yet another delay or will the SNP face a voters backlash in May?
Stuart Ballantyne is an outstanding asset NOT being used.
An excellent background exposure of an incompetent Government.
Highly qualified people, like Mr Stuart Ballantyne, are well able to advise wherever that qualification may be useful or even essential? Yet, someone who’s a so-called ‘Civil Servant’ may believe that he/she knows better?
In fact, we’re seeing that ludicrous nonsense here in Scotland… However, many, many of Scotland’s population are now realising just how important this situation is; however, as Scotland’s people are ARE sovereign people, the information that’s given here and elsewhere is going to be very persuasive in guiding our future voters!
That was a particularly good Prism Roddy . Good on ye for getting Stuart on , allowing us to hear his views on the subject first hand .
We’re all a bit cautious in our expectations for real change happening within and without the current SNP/Gov – been disappointed so often in that regard , but it does feel and appear a tipping-point is gathering with more people becoming critical and aware of the many failures of this Administration . Helped in no small measure by honest , questioning blogs like your own .
Great contributions also from yourself , Chris , Alf and the redoubtable Mr Lawson . Braw stuff .
BTW I imagine the show may have been recorded too early to catch the news about the investigation into perjury re the Alex Salmond trial . Another possible nail in the Cabal’s coffin ? Again , we’ll have to be * a little * circumspect about the nature , degree and outcome of this .
I know this is a little off topic but I want to put this on record, I’ve been member of the SNP since 2014, when Nicola Sturgeon came to power in November of that year I believed firmly she was the one who would lead us to independence (how wrong was I),
I learned around 2019 that she was a fraud, I can’t remember what straw broke the back there’s been so many but I couldn’t officially resign because I lost my membership number so I just cancelled the DD at the bank, recently I’ve had endless emails and text messages reminding me my fees are due and up to now I’ve just ignored them.
Yesterday I received a letter telling me their sorry my membership’s expired and listed 3 ways to pay and get my membership up and running again,but nowhere to say or give any reason why I let my membership expire, so I’m gonna send the letter back, thankfully they kindly sent a freepost envelope with an option to attach a stamp to save them money ( I think I’ll pass on that offer)
So I wrote a letter which I don’t suppose anyone at the party will read but it felt good to get it off my chest and hopefully someone will read it, so here it is.
“To whom it may concern
I’ve attached a letter you sent to me regarding my expired membership, I note on the second paragraph you asked if there’s any way you can help support me in continuing my membership, and then with no way to do that go on to give me 3 ways to give you my money.
So I am returning your letter along with this note to explain why I allowed my membership to expire,
Firstly I would have thought the £600,000 you stole from myself and fellow independence supporters would be more than enough to cover my membership fees and that of many others.
Secondly I support Scottish Independence which is why I joined the party in the first place in the mistaken belief that it was what you stood for, sadly in spite of your founding principles it’s become clear to me that’s no longer the case, I’ve voted SNP since 1979 in every election and joined the party in 2014, I voted for SNP at the last Holyrood election, that is the last time you will ever get my vote
I voted SNP for independence for my country of birth I did not vote for Nicola Sturgeons ego, I did not vote for her criminal conspiracies and trumped up charges against true independence supporters such a Alex Salmond, Craig Murray & Mark Hirst etc, I did not vote to put Pete Wishart in the speakers chair in the English parliament, I did not vote to introduce sleazy sex workers into primary school classes, I did not vote to have my rights to free speech taken from me and my fellow Scots, I did not vote for policies denying science and stripping women of their sex based rights and the mutilation of children, I did not vote to have female victims of rape and sexual abuse told to leave their bigotry at the door by a MAN at a refuge, I could go and on and on but I’m boring of it now and doubt whoever is reading this will get this far anyway.
So get the message don’t send me anymore letters, don’t send me anymore emails & don’t send me anymore text messages.
Yours affectionately”
An absolute betlter of a letter it deserves a wider audience.
I’m happy for it to be published anywhere Roddy, I’m sure there are many Scots feel the same way
Thoroughly enjoyed that but it made me angry too. How can the arrogance of the Scottish Government be excused?
It cannot and should not be excused. They didn’t even acknowledge Stuart’s last letter,
ANOTHER fantastic prism which highlights the need for a TOTAL revamp of Scottish politics , Scottish Governance , and a fully independent SCOTTISH civil service where they are ALL HELD TO ACCOUNT for ANY actions they take
I would say that for ANY of the above to take place we DESPERATELY NEED A CITIZENS ASSEMBLY to OVERSEE and MANAGE our parliament and governance , NOT another quango of arseholes moving from one board to another , but a rotating assembly of citizens who serve a maximum term of 3 years and are paid the maximum of the national average wage , THIS is NOT about personal enrichment but a SERVICE for your country , NO ONE would be FORCED to serve on the assembly
Liebour and now the nsnp are destroying our country by their DELIBERATE incompetence in government , liebour at least had the excuse that they were NOT autonomous and were INSTRUCTED by London, the nsnp do NOT have an excuse they WERE prior to sturgeon autonomous , NOW they are controlled by a narcissistic deviant despot who FAILS and DESTROYS everything she attempts and introduces , yet the CRAVEN COWARDLY elected representatives within that party lack the morality , honesty and integrity to EXPOSE this deviant for the danger she poses to Scotland and Scots
I believe it was liebour who first introduced these quangos to enable their FRIENDS and ASSOCIATES from academia and the middle classes to profit and gain financially through suckling at the taxpayer funded establishment bottomless teat , a benefit that has been enthusiastically embraced and utilised by the nsnp
It is frightening when you dissect the recurrent failures and incompetence of this government over their terms in office and realise that instead of learning from mistakes made they have continued with the same failed policies and people , the likes of humza useless , John swinney Shirley Anne shit for brains, and others , every one of these morons have failed spectacularly in every post they have been given , yet they continue to be promoted well above their competency by a morally repugnant creature who herself excels in failures
It should not surprise anyone that Mr Ballantyne was given the bums rush , HE was about injecting sense to a situation that was stupidity personified , but again people (idiots) are making decisions far outwith their competence because they don’t pay for the failures , it is the bottomless public purse of the taxpayer , there is NO COMEBACK, they may be forced to resign their position on THAT committee but don’t worry they won’t suffer because they are also members of a further 10 committees , IF they were FORCED to be responsible financially for failed decisions made how many of them would be queuing up for those positions
I have to say Twathater I agree with everything you say there from the start to the finish. The quangos you are correct were introduced by Labour. Who else, but continued with a vengeance with the SNP . The big difference is this SNP is corrupt to the core and they have demolished democracy in Scotland. This has to be dealt with. The SNP’s behavior must be dealt with. I do not mean removed as they were voted in. I mean the ones around Sturgeon forced to step aside and a new Gov under the SNP as they were voted in ( by you ) so a proper Gov is set up where the democratic process is put back in place.
After 300+ years of subjugation, Scotland’s entrenched institutional malaise goes far deeper than a few political figureheads, reflecting a ‘Cultural Division of Labour within the UK Internal Colonialism Model’: https://yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2021/08/01/the-determinants-of-independence-institutions/
Sandy I would have more respect for your support if it were not just an excuse to denigrate the snp , we Scots have been abused and conned for decades by lying corrupt scum of ALL parties , I have said to you before I am 71 and have lived under liebour governments in Scotland for all that time , I have also been a trade union member since I was 16 and also a shop steward for most of my working life , I have no hesitation in stating categorically that the trade unions of today and the liebour party are corrupt scum , what infuriates me is that trade unions are a great idea and an absolute necessity for the working classes which I fully support , BUT they have been taken over by the same self centred self aggrandising greedy manipulators that infest the liebour party , any party or person that works on behalf of the union is betraying his country and his nation , don’t be a second class englishman be a FIRST class Scotsman
None of this is accidental or down to incompetence.
The destruction of Scotland’s YES juggernaut has been a deliberate objective from the moment Sturgeon took over.
The SNP’s infiltration by sleazy inappropriateness and deviant criteria is not an organic development of the YES movement, but an invasive hijacking that means to discredit Independence and has the disruption of Scottish Independence as its objective.
The trumped up conspiracy and political assassination of Alex Salmond was deliberate and orchestrated at the highest level, with the Scottish Government, Crown Office, Civil Service, the “Media”, and Police Scotland all implicated.
The latest SNP scandal to run down public services prior to Tory style privatisation is a deliberate strategy to undermine the left leaning grassroots of the YES movement.
The undermining of Scotland’s Industrial and economic prosperity, the starving of investment, and the sustained downgrading of Scotland’s links with the Continent and the rest of the world has gone on for decades.
Scotland’s enemies are moving freely amongst us, gatekeeping for the Union, selling Scotland out so that for decade after decade, Scotland hemorrhages wealth, prosperity, confidence and self belief.
The only initiative which struck fear into the heart of the British Establishment was a Scottish SNP Government under Alex Salmond.
Learn the lesson Scotland. The only initiative which will deliver Scottish Independence is a Constitutional initiative led by Alex Salmond to resurrect Scotland’s Constitutional Sovereignty and collapse the Treaty of Union.
I’m inclined to agree that this is way more than mere incompetence, although bureaucracy will always find a way to stifle, stymie and confound. These people have no accountability except a wee slap on the hand when things go wrong. The remuneration, incompetence notwithstanding, for serving on all these quango boards puts the determination of the ‘trans’ lobby to oust women from such positions into a clear perspective, too. Where there’s brass, there will be those who want a piece of the action.
Everyone makes mistakes; none of us is perfect; but it does seem as though both the civil service, the quangos and politicians make a virtue of not listening, not learning and not changing regardless of the fact that they so often out of their depth. So many people, down through the years, have offered their expertise to the SG to get things sorted – and free of charge, at that. Nah, far better to make a pig’s ear of things, from independence to GRA reform to Brexit and the ferries. They would be forgiven a lot if they would only kickstart the independence campaign and drop the GRA reform. They won’t, of course, hell mend them, so they will lose their seats as sure as night follows day. They will be wiped out at the next SE. Oh, and the last thing we need is a pre independence referendum. Not necessary. At all.
First-class podcast. Superb contributions from all concerned.
Cracks are appearing all over the Sturgeonite monolith this weekend; long may they multiply and widen!
Interesting to hear from the horses mouth, from a man who has successfully built ferries around the globe, why these two Port Glasgow ships were an unmitigated disaster.
Rotten, incompetent, corrupt sleaze driven politics. Sturgeon and sleaze are synonomis. She is at the heart of it and her malign influence has its hand on everything.
But the signs were there. Were there when as a young solicitor she was found guilty of maladministration, when she chucked the law before she got the penalty. A bad un from the start, with super injunctions apparently in place to cover other incidents, the extent of her malfeamce is now becoming clear for all to see.
Too busy scheming, plotting, spinning, looking out for her status, the Scottish Government and its clique are delivering governance worse than before devolution.
And we are all the losers. Governments not working, not working at all.
And the Law. Bent and corrupt. A foul vicious police and prosecution more suited to a Latin American narco state.
But it’s not just the failed ferries, the inability to see a GP, access A and E, move up the operation waiting list, get an ambulance, but also the failed education, the gerry built schools and hospitals, and now the absolute onslaught of fuel poverty.
And we thought Labour were bad. Never, ever ever did they have anyone like the trul maelovolent Sturgeon.
Ah well in May we can send a message and start to clean out the pig sty and vote out the Sex’N’ Pee
An outstanding session.
I have to say BB that was an excellent programme. The guy Stuart Ballantyne certainly knows his stuff and its a pity he was turned down by a Gov namely SNP who I thought at that time was doing an alright job. The only bit that let the show down was blaming Scotland’s failure to grasp that opportunity was colonialism. But the show recovered from that I must say. In the early days of the SNP reign I did not mind them. Never voted for them but they won the election. That is democracy. They were under Salmond doing fairly good. Indy1 changed that. Now we have an incompetent , corrupt to the core Gov. Gladly bit by bit the net is closing in and the corrupt way this Gov is running will at last be exposed.exposed.
That’s your problem Sandy you haven’t grasped the fact that Scotland,Wales and tge 6 occupied counties of Ireland are colonies of England. If we are not a colony why do we need permission to hold a referendum? Why can we not allow whoever we choose to settle in our nation?
Absolute cracker, gents. We have so many talented and clever people right on our doorstep, but, because they are not “one of us”, they will be ignored. It’s shocking and such a waste of talent. The civil servants in Scotland obey one master, and that’s Whitehall. They have no incentive to do other than nod through the daftest proposals because they don’t see Scotland as being in any way important. You don’t get into the highest echelons of anything in Scotland unless you are willing to toe the line.
A woman on Debate Night this week pointed out that not having to pay fees is pointless if Scottish kids cannot take advantage of that by gaining entry to university and the course of their choice. This woman stated that, on the course her daughter had chosen (the girl was not successful, incidentally) around, I think, 87% of the candidates were English. What a state of affairs for any country to be in, because, let’s not pretend that it’s because we have world-class universities, although we do. It’s because we are stupid enough to give them a place when they can’t get one in England, and we are doing that at the expense of our own young people who will have no choice but to seek other climes to see their ambitions realized. Our loss every time.
If anyone wants to call what I’ve just said anti English or racist, I won’t be responsible for my actions! What is using other people’s resources as if they belonged to you? It’s racist and it’s colonialist because you really have to have a very low opinion of the people you are taking everything from, and you really need to be pretty sure that they are so supine that they won’t say boo to a goose! I would hope that there would be no way I would ever treat another people the way that we are treated – and without even a modicum of self-knowledge on the part of those who do this. We are a convenience and they use us like a convenience without ever a thought crossing their minds that we might resent it. I’m done with selfish, self-centred people who cannot see past their own wants trampling on the rights of others.
As for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the latter is all but destroyed. It will be in no fit state economically for many a long year to join the EU, and it cannot afford security-wise to join NATO, so what the hell was it all for? All the refugees and dead and maimed? Why didn’t that clown Zelensky do what he should have done right at the beginning and what he has been forced to do anyway. By declaring Ukraine’s neutrality, he would have neutralized the security situation and probably been far more attractive to the EU in the longer term. More to the point, he would have saved his people from going through what they have to no purpose. Now? Conquest was never Russia’s goal; neutralizing Ukraine was; and carving out the Donbas was. Precisely as some of the finest geopolitical minds have been saying for some time. This generation of politicians have probably been the worst in the history of the planet in modern times – nary a one anywhere who has the sense he or she was born with. We are not alone in our utter stupidity and gullibility.
Everybody can see whats going on except the Scottish Media who operate a propaganda system where bad news on Scot Gov is filtered to protect Sturgeon because the UK State know she has no bottle for Scottish Independence. The media are protecting her and SNP because it suits their protect UK agenda.
Latest survation poll giving the SNP every excuse to kick indy into the long grass. Looks like their plan is working.
Everything that the Wee Crankie touches turns sour , ironically she maybe about to have a landslide victory at the council elections, being protected by the British state and their corupt media. The enemy within maybe safe again for the moment, however there is a change in the air, let’s hope this time she gets kicked out .
Roddy, I haven’t even finished watching this yet… Stuart is halfway through the story about the small catamarans working the tough waters of the Australian coastline… And his despair at the cars on small islands queuing in Scotland for 3 and a half hours …
I am ashamed to be Scottish.
Just ashamed.
Dear Scottish Government, whoever wrote the lie about the design details of catamarans shamed us all… And you in particular.
ACH.
Still not finished watching the episode.
Alf’s point that the civil servants may have been sabotaging shipbuilding on the lower Clyde… It’s a big statement… And I think it’s true… How on earth could so many mistakes have been made, and so much money wasted, otherwise.
I can tell you are enjoying this episode Tom 😃😃
It was a cracker, Roddy.
Strangely energising too…
Ah, the Scottish psyche.
What an excellent job you are doing, Roddy. 😉
Thank you sir,you are too kind,
This is from the former FMEL management team’s response to Holyrood’s RECC, 4 Feb 2020:
“The Scottish Government did not save this yard from administration, they forced it into administration by repeatedly refusing to instruct CMAL to engage in reasonable requests for mediation, an expert witness process or arbitration to address the significant cost pressures being put on the yard – even when recommended by their own appointed independent expert.”
Let’s also remember here that Ferguson’s yard had also gone bust only a few years prior to Jim McColl’s ownership whilst working on a CMAL order – the ‘heavy’ hybrid ferries – the latter another of the CMAL/CalMac in-house, unproven, untested, complex, costly, concept design of what is really a prototype ferry nobody ever built before. A bit like asking Ford to build an entirely new car model.
The far better alternative as repeatedly proposed by myself and others for a decade and more is for Scotland to build proven designs of low-cost, medium-speed catamarans, as used very successfully since 2011 in Orkney, and for the last 30 years in numerous other parts of the world – and which can be acquired at less than a third of the price of a CMAL concept prototype ferry: https://www.seatransport.com/ferries/
Scottish Government agencies’ waste and mismanagement here may ultimately cost up to £500 million, if we include several port modification costs, which brings the ferries fiasco into the realm of the Trams Fiasco and the Holyrood Parliament Fiasco. More importantly, we could easily have replaced all 31 CalMac ferries with new catamaran ferries based on Stuart’s proven designs for less than that amount, so the opportunity cost for islanders, for Scottish shipbuilding, and for the taxpayer is enormous.
And accountability? None so far, and the very same agencies and officials in CMAL, CalMac and Transport Scotland who ‘specified’ and sanctioned the costly heavy-hybrids and the two concept prototypes now languishing on the Clyde, have just gone and ordered another two concept prototypes in Turkey. Meantime a larger car-capacity standard Norwegian ferry design ordered in the same yard is costing half that of the CMAL vessel!
https://mullandionaferrycommittee.org/2022/04/03/two-ferries-two-buyers-same-shipyard-but-two-very-different-prices/
So whilst a convenient political scapegoat may be found, and Audit Scotland’s timely report points the finger in the wrong direction (again), let’s not forget who the real culprits are.
Time for a change, get rid of the extremist Greens and insipid SNP. We have to have Independence so that the Scottish Government works for us, not themselves and their stupid agendas. Vote for a Party which listens and knows what we want and expect. There’s only one option really.