Andy Burnham, John Healey and Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, took time out from the Labour Party Conference to board the publicly-owned new £26 million Royal Daffodil, the first new Mersey Ferry in more than 60 years. Nice pictures as they say…
Burnham’s nautical nationalisation fantasies will likely hit choppy if he checks how the last state-run ferry adventure went north of the border. The SNP took Ferguson Marine’s Port Glasgow shipyard into full public ownership in December 2019, pitched as the rescue that would finally get Scotland’s ferries built properly. The original 2015 deal was two Clyde and Hebrides ferries for £97 million, delivered in 2018. When the state took over, the minister promised to “progress work on the vessels and achieve the best possible outcome for the yard and its employees.” How’d that turn out?
According to Audit Scotland: “The first vessel, MV Glen Sannox, was delivered six and half years later than planned and the second, the MV Glen Rosa, is due to be delivered in Summer 2026, eight years late. The cost to complete the vessels, since nationalisation, is now expected to be £335 million.” Glen Sannox finally arrived in 2024 and has been plagued by faults ever since, including a hull crack caused by propeller vibration that now needs replacing. Glen Rosa still isn’t carrying passengers. It’s now not expected in service until the end of 2026, and is on course to cost four times its £50 million contract price. Welcome aboard the Labour nationalisation Titanic…
Kemi Badenoch at the 1922-ConHome bash last night:
“I did praise [Burnham] for his stamina, it was amazing. All I had to do was sit back and lie there. I didn’t have to do anything at all…”