In response to Peter.

A comment from Professor Alf Baird to Peter Young’s article published today on Yours for Scotland.

“Our European trade was very strong in the Middle Ages”

When I entered the shipping world in the 1970s Scotland still had extensive direct shipping services every week to Copenhagen, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Rouen, Porto and Reykjavik, and Orkney and Shetland. In the early 1970s Peter might still have been able to travel by sea between Scotland and Denmark, as Scots and Danes had been doing for 500+ years before.

What happened? Our shipping companies and export/import industries were rapidly acquired by London-based firms and rationalised or closed down. There were no Scottish national protections for Scottish industry. 

Another key factor relating to the absence of Scottish national governance is that there was no government policy to create advanced and competitive seaports in Scotland to cater for the changing needs of shipping, mainly the upsizing of roro, cruise and container ships. Scotland was left with Victorian enclosed docks/ports at Leith and Grangemouth which were/are entirely unsuited to more modern ships. Meantime Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and most other sovereign nations all upgraded and modernised their seaports.

This is why Roy Pedersen and I proposed a Scottish National Maritime Policy several years ago, to develop essential ports infrastructure in Scotland to help grow international trade/travel. This policy was duly passed by the SNP Conference in 2019, however, the SNP hierarchy, which clearly takes its instructions on matters of ports and trade etc also from London, has done nothing about that.

But Scotland’s longstanding problem is clear, too much meddling in our national affairs by another dominant exploitative power, and too many collaborators still enabling this.

MY COMMENTS

When I read this I instantly determined it was important to share it widely. Knowledge is power, the poor state of our maritime infrastructure is no accident, it is intentional, all designed to create no risk of competition to the ports down South. So instead of opportunity we have decay. It is yet another failure of our political class over a very long period that has allowed this to happen. Have a look at Ireland and see what can be done when your politicians are free to determine what is best for their country.

I am, as always

Yours for Scotland.