When political charlatans took over at Ferguson Marine, that's when everything started to go wrong, writes Herald columnist Brian Wilson.

Trade unions and Inverclyde politicians launched a campaign this week aimed at securing a direct contract award for the Ferguson yard at Port Glasgow to build a CalMac ferry which will replace the ailing 36 year-old MV Lord of the Isles – or “LOTI” as she is known to islanders.

The LOTI has mainly served the Mallaig to Lochboisdale route. As a result of the shambles generated by events at Port Glasgow, the LOTI has been frequently redeployed elsewhere. As a result, South Uist is one of the islands worst affected by years of well-chronicled chaos.

It was unsurprising then that South Uist’s response to the Inverclyde campaign was less than enthusiastic. The island’s Business Impact Group, which was formed to fight its corner in ferry matters, deplored the prospect of another fix on top of the “politically motivated award of contracts for MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa”.

Its statement added: “Those decisions, driven more by politics than practicality, have resulted in disastrous delays and spiralling costs, with consequences that continue to reverberate across the Western Isles”. And across Scotland too, they might have added. When everything is........

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