Scotland’s ferry network is sinking, and taking the SNP with it

There has been more ferry chaos this week for Scotland’s beleaguered island communities, so much so that it now looks like the Scottish government is bringing in the Ministry of Defence to help with the fallout. One senior SNP MP, Ian Blackford, has urged military bosses to provide a ‘short-term solution’ to the ferry network breakdown. Blackford’s pleas come after warnings that, with further disruption to services, Highland companies could be at risk of going bust.

On top of this, this last week has seen days of disruption after the MV Loch Seaforth, state owned ferry operator CalMac’s largest vessel, developed problems with its engine control system. The boat is the main vessel linking the Isle of Lewis to the mainland.

Commenting on the breakdown, Helen Sandison, who runs the Western Isles Cancer Care Initiative, highlighted the case of one patient and the impact it had on them. ‘We had one service user today who was due to start chemo in Inverness,’ Sandison explained to