Published: Thursday, 18th March, 2010 1:39pm

Political row over ferry fares

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Former MSP Allan Wilson has again blundered on to the pages of the News talking about ferry fares.

Two years ago he was embarrassingly exposed as knowing absolutely nothing about the issue when he attacked the SNP for raising ferry fares 20%, only to have it explained to him by Calmac that this was the seasonal increase which is reduced again each autumn. Astonishingly, Mr Wilson did not know this, despite being the MSP for Cumbrae for eight years, which goes to show how often he visited!

Now Mr Wilson repeats the ludicrous claim that Labour had planned to cut ferry fares by 40% in 2007. Calmac say they have no knowledge that such a proposal was ever mooted and the civil service were never asked to undertake costings by any Labour Minister when Mr Wilson was in office. If Labour had, indeed, intended to cut fares, why has it not been proposed at any of the last three Scottish Parliament Budgets or mentioned on the campaign materials of the MP, who mentions ferries in her leaflet?

As the First Minister pointed out last Thursday, the SNP has increased expenditure on ferry services by 38% since 2007 to £105 million in financial year 2010/11.

Regarding the £1 return ferry charge to be imposed on concessionary fares, it seems that Mr Wilson is unaware of the fact that this matter is one wholly for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). The SNP Government has no powers to act. As the current SPT structure was established in 2006 by the administration in which Mr Wilson was a Minister he should know this.

Ironically, given Mr Wilson's misguided attack on the SNP, SPT is under Labour control. Of the 20 councillors who serve on SPT, 12 are Labour, including the chair and both vice chairs. North Ayrshire council is represented by its deputy leader, Councillor John Reid. Perhaps if SPT's Chief Executive, Chair and Vice Chair, all Labour Party members, were not forced to resign by former Glasgow Labour Leader Steven Purcell after they had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds lavishly travelling the world, then SPT would not have felt it necessary to impose the charge at all!

The question is what we do about it? I have discussed the matter with Calmac, who will not absorb the charge.

I await a response from SPT and have suggested that a way to help fund the scheme is to remove the concession from holiday home owners who do not reside permanently on Cumbrae, adding that young people should have the same concession on ferries as on land, a one third reduction in fares.

Mr Wilson appears to be doing nothing positive, hoping only to mislead islanders for political gain. Perhaps he could lobby Councillor Reid and his Labour colleagues on SPT?

Kenneth Gibson MSP

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