SNP has presided over ‘£1bn ferry fiasco’ says Anas Sarwar

Anas Sarwar has accused the Scottish Government of presiding over a “£1bn ferry fiasco”.

The Scottish Labour leader said the SNP “cannot be trusted with the public's money” at the weekly FMQs session.

But First Minister John Swinney said there were “stringent controls over government finances”, as he pointed to the delivery of balanced budgets each year since his party took office. 

He was under fire from both main opposition party leaders after it was revealed the cost of the two new ferries for the Clyde and Hebrides route would be over £460m – far higher than the original £97m price tag.

MV Glen Rosa is still under construction and is now not expected to be delivered until spring 2026 – nine years later than planned.

In a letter to parliament’s economy committee, Ferguson Marine CEO Graeme Thomson confirmed the new timetable. He added: “We are estimating that, very regrettably, the forecast costs will increase to £172.5m, with an additional £12.5m risk contingency on top. This means our total cost to complete is currently forecasted as £185m.”

The Glen Sannox entered service earlier this year, seven years later and also over-budget.

Sarwar said that in addition to this, repair costs for the existing ageing fleet of vessels had totalled £500m.

He said: “This is now a £1bn SNP ferry fiasco – made by the SNP, paid for by working Scots. And isn’t it the case that John Swinney and the SNP can’t be trusted with the public’s money?” 

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay also accused the government of making taxpayers “pay the bill for the SNP's mess”.

He added it was “deeply concerning” that the government still could not confirm a final cost for the two vessels, and that “no SNP minister has been held to account” over the matter.

He said: “The truth is they prefer PR grandstanding instead of providing a decent ferry service for islanders… John Swinney has sunk half a billion pounds, money that could have been spent raising school standards, fixing the roads or creating more GP appointments.” 

The first minister agreed the delay to the Glen Rosa was “unacceptable”.

But he defended his government's record on transport to the islands, pointing to increased investment in ferries since 2007. He said: “The government has invested in the road-equivalent tariff, we’ve reduced ferry fares for island communities, we’ve provided specific support for island communities that have been affected by disruption, and we’re investing in a new vessel fleet.

“That is this government delivering on its commitments to support island communities in Scotland.”

And on public finances, he added: “The government has applied consistent stewardship of public finances that has resulted in us balancing the government’s budget, delivering balanced budget for every year of this governments term in office… We will invest in our island communities and we will apply stringent controls over public finances that has seen this government re-elected several times before, and we attend to do it again in 2026.”