Scottish Labour is calling for CalMac to be scrapped and replaced with a brand new state-owned ferry service.
At its party conference in Edinburgh, members voted in favour of a proposal to overhaul the Western Isles ferry service, saying the current set-up is damaging local economies and forcing families out of the area.
This comes after the SNP government has faced months of heavy criticism for its handling of the ferries and for delays in introducing two new ferries.
But now Scottish Labour have agreed that if they win the next Holyrood election, they will create a brand new service called ‘New CalMac’ to run these lifeline ferries.
Islanders ‘beyond angry’
The proposal was brought forward by Torcuil Crichton, who will stand as a Labour candidate for the Western Isles in the next general election.
He said Scottish ministers in Edinburgh “don’t understand” how much of an impact the ongoing ferry fiasco is having on islanders.
Mr Crichton said: “I spoke recently to a man who is retired after 30 years of working away from the islands while still living in a village and raising a family there.
“He said if he was 30 years younger, he would move his family away.
“And that conversation is echoed by young families throughout the islands who are considering whether to stay or go.”
He said those who rely on the ferries are “beyond angry” at the failures and now don’t expect them to turn up anymore.
Mr Crichton added: “We all lived with uncertainty during the pandemic, but that is a way of life in the islands.”
The proposal would see the current “scandalous” structure of CalMac turned “on its head” to create a service that “prioritises islanders”.
Members agreed to the proposals, and this will now become an official party policy.
Calls for sleeper train to be publicly-owned
Scottish Labour members also voted in favour of campaigning to bring the Caledonian Sleeper train service into public ownership.
The service, which operates overnight trains from Inverness, Aberdeen and Fort William directly to London, is operated by a private company called Serco.
The RMT union and others have been campaigning for the service to become publicly-owned, after ScotRail was taken over by the Scottish Government last year.
The Scottish Government has committed to ending the current sleeper franchise agreement in June this year, but Aslef told Labour it is still “very unclear” whether this will lead to public ownership.
This proposal was also agreed by members and will now also become official party policy.
Conversation