Luke Graham: Epic mismanagement at the SNP’s nationalised shipyard exemplifies how devolution goes wrong

Luke Graham was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ochil and Perthshire South from 2017 to 2019, the candidate in Perth and Kinross-shire in 2024, and a former head of the Downing Street Union Unit.

British devolution was a New Labour project, intended to usher in a new era of more effective government bringing power closer to local people, specifically in Wales and Scotland.

Unfortunately, as the Ferguson Marine ferry saga illustrates, having more powers locally does not necessarily lead to better results for local people.

Ferguson Marine had been a cornerstone of Scottish shipbuilding, with a legacy spanning over 100 years. In 2019, the SNP-led Scottish Government nationalized the shipyard to prevent its closure and preserve jobs following financial difficulties and delays in delivering two ferries: the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa.

These projects were plagued by cost overruns with expenses escalating from an initial £97 million to nearly £400 million (and who can forget the famous painted-on windows at a staged launch with Nicola Sturgeon).

Fast forward to 2025 and the Ferguson Marine saga continues, this time after the loss of a crucial £175 million contract from Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) for the construction of seven small electric ferries. Awarded instead to Poland’s Remontowa shipyard, the decision has profound implications politically and commercially, turning the spotlight once again on the SNP’s handling of the affair.

Commercially, the loss is devastating. With no substantial pipeline of new contracts, Ferguson Marine faces increasing uncertainty. The appointment of new CEO Graeme Thomson, a respected figure in military shipbuilding, represents an attempt to steady the shipyard. Nevertheless, immediate financial pressures remain, exacerbated by the absence of substantial orders.

Politically, the situation is even more charged. The SNP administration’s mismanagement of Ferguson Marine has attracted sharp criticism from almost every corner of Scotland. Despite the investment of substantial public funding and political capital, the devolved administration failed to secure a critical domestic contract, raising questions about its procurement strategy and effectiveness in supporting a vital domestic industry.

Yet again, the SNP have failed to focus on delivery, instead spending their time on politics, staged photo shoots, and press releases.

If I was trying to be balanced, an argument could be made that the SNP’s noble intentions are marred by systemic issues, including the inability to competitively price Ferguson Marine’s bid due deeper operational and strategic challenges.

However, the Nationalists’ closed and opaque operating model, combined with a weak committee structure in the Scottish Parliament, makes it difficult to get the transparent decision making that would elicit such sympathy with the Government or indeed the individual politicians. Local MSPs and MPs should not let this go: island communities have suffered for years as a result of ferry delays, increasing their living costs and putting real time penalties on their lives.

Time and time again the SNP fail Scotland, but because of their dominance of devolved services (and media) they are able to get away with poor behaviour and delivery at a scale that would not be tolerated in Westminster. One can only imagine the uproar if the procurement of this work was controlled by the British Government, and the contract was awarded to foreign builders instead of local Scottish shipyards. The SNP certainly wouldn’t be letting the issue rest.

As I have argued for over a decade, a softly-softly approach does not work with the Nationalists; any move to placate them will not be reciprocated, any chink in the armour will be exploited, and any chance to blame others will be fully utilised. Our elected officials need to pursue the SNP’s failures with the same vigour the SNP continue to attack the UK and its institutions day in, day out.

It is tiring, even exhausting, but essential – not just for the Union, but also for local people whether nationalist, unionist, or indifferent. It is essential for good government too; because all this mismanagement, there is £300m less to spend on local schools and hospitals, as well as the loss of hundreds of jobs, security and opportunities for missing out on the new contract. Across Scotland, MSPs and MPs need to turn up the heat.

Instead of reviving Scottish shipbuilding, the SNP’s incompetence has led to a further embarrassment of Scotland, where shipbuilding is now propped up by the British Government’s promised (and delivered) programme of Royal Navy warships – never a problem for me as a Unionist but makes the Scottish economy more reliant on the national government and naval orders.

As polling shows, the SNP aren’t going anywhere, and although their cause is dampened, it is not defeated. Anyone saying so needs a good dunk in the Tay. Although many will find the recent Survation (via Scotland in Union) polling – showing that people in Scotland feel more secure as part of the UK (47 per cent vs 35 per cent) – encouraging, the margins are still too tight.

Taking on the SNP isn’t just a unionist requirement, it is a demand from local people: knock any door in Scotland and few are voting SNP for love of the party, but either for legacy reasons or dislike of Labour/Conservatives.

The Holyrood elections of 2026 may seem far away. But in order to drive the SNP out of government in Scotland and deliver the refresh that is required, we can’t let failures like Ferguson Marine get brushed under the carpet.