FERRY TALE
The EU ship may have sailed but the ferry could keep Scotland connected
It’s still too early to work out the ramifications of what was, at least as far as I’m concerned, that disastrous Brexit vote in June. As short-sighted, cutting-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face decisions went, it was a lulu. I can fully understand Nicola Sturgeon’s determination to shout f rom every rooftop her – and most of Scotland’s – disgust at the decision. However, shouting is one thing, actually doing anything is a whole different ball game.
I’m thinking of all the hoo-haa about the Brexit vote paving the way for another independence referendum. I’ve lost count of the number of times over the summer months when First Minister Sturgeon has repeated dire warnings that the UK decision to come out of the EU should not and could not apply to Scotland, where more than 60% voted to stay in.
That is complete hogwash: Scotland is part of the UK and two years ago voted to remain so. Furthermore, there is not a cat in hell’s chance of the big boys in what’s left of the EU allowing Scotland to Remain under its present status. Nor would it get accelerated entry if it ever broke away from the UK.
But it is this last message that La Sturgeon must keep hammering away at, even if she knows that she wouldn’t win another referendum.
The idea that the Scottish people would vote to leave Britain just to get into the EU is too bizarre for words. Scotland’s economy is in no better shape now than it was when Alex Salmond blustered his way to defeat in 2014, and in many cases, with oil taxation now at zero, it is worse.
First Minister Sturgeon, however, has to try to keep happy a daft but sizeable minority in her party who would rather go broke under independence than stay in the UK. As a result, we can expect a lot more tub-thumping on this issue as we head towards the Nats’ Glasgow conference in October.
But what of the rest of us, who’re fed up with the anti-EU vote but who want nothing to do with another indy ref, as it’s now called? I offer gratis an idea whereby Ms Sturgeon could underline her and Scotland’s positive European credentials in an entirely non-political way.
I’m referring to the direct ferry link between Scotland and Europe. From 2002 until 2010 there was such a passenger and freight service from Rosyth in Fife to Zeebrugge in Belgium but, sadly, for the past six years only three weekly freight sailings survive. A resumption of the service for both foot and car passengers would be a huge boost for the image Ms Sturgeon seeks to portray of Scotland.
It would also be a fantastic boost for the tourist industry with visitors from Europe able to journey right into the heart of Scotland.
The advantage for people from this part of the world would be that we could, once again, bypass England’s creaking motorway system. It’s true that we can use the ferry service operated by DFDS between Newcastle to the Dutch port of Ijmuiden, or the P&O ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge, both of which help you avoid those horrible long drives south.
I’ve tried both and each is excellent, although the latter is my clear favourite, as it gets you into France – which is where I’m normally heading – much quicker.
But given the effort in PR and marketing expertise that the Scottish Government and our airports devote to boasting about all the new air routes into and out of this country, it would be a huge boost if we could get that car ferry link from Rosyth restored. Hundreds, probably thousands, of Scots take their cars to the continent on holiday – and many more would like to – and all have to use English ports, just as we often used to have to travel to English airports to catch the best holiday flights.
The Rosyth/Zeebrugge passenger service was wound up because there wasn’t enough demand and without hefty government subsidies the operators couldn’t make it pay. However, under EU rules such subsidies were illegal. But, if we’re not in the EU, as we soon won’t be, who cares about EU rules? Dare we hope that the Fife-Belgium route could once more be on the cards?