THERE are many ways in which the (mis)use of Scotland as a resource to be exploited by the British establishment could be illustrated.

From the pillaging of Scotland's oil and gas reserves, to recent proposals to build a cable network in order to send Scotland's renewable energy south without fair recompense. 

However, the plan unveiled this week by Peel Ports Clydeport is naked in its colonialism. 


The plan would see the company levy an annual fee of £100 on all boats six to 24 metres which are moored or berthed within the Clydeport area. This stretches from Glasgow to Brodick and Lochranza on Arran, and includes the entirety of Loch Fyne, Loch Striven, the Holy Loch and the Sound of Bute. 

Peel Ports Glasgow is ultimately owned by English property management firm The Peel Group which reported pre-tax profits of £397.3 million in 2023, up from £66.6m in 2022. 

The plan has not yet been formally adopted by the company, but the fact that it is even being considered is a stark illustration of how without independence, nothing belongs to the people of Scotland, not our country's natural resources, or our coastal waters. 

They are all available for commercial exploitation by companies based outside Scotland and the profits derived from them exported outwith Scotland, providing no benefit to their rightful owners but making some individuals elsewhere very rich indeed. That is pretty much the definition of colonial exploitation. 

The Royal Yachting Association Scotland – not a body noted for its radicalism – has posted a statement on its website stating that it has been made aware of Clydeport's plans to implement a conservancy fee since late summer, but is not aware of any consultation or formal means by which it or the public can share feedback with Peel Ports group. 

The statement adds: “Whilst we recognise that as the Statutory Harbour Authority Peel Ports do have a right to levy fees under the Clyde Port Order (1965), it is clear from that order that charges made must be for very specific services and be reasonable. 

“RYA Scotland are writing to Peel Ports, to express our specific concerns around the proposal, and will make several key calls for action for an appropriate engagement and consultation around their proposals.” 

Clydeport was privatised in 1990 by the Conservative government of John Major, a move which was enthusiastically supported by the Tory MP for Eastwood, Allan Stewart, then the undersecretary of state for Scotland. 

Stewart was forced to resign his ministerial post after an incident in February 1995, when he brandished a pickaxe at demonstrators who were protesting at the construction of the M77 motorway. 

He was subsequently fined £200 by the Paisley Sheriff Court for breach of the peace and had to give up his position in the Scottish Office.

In 1994, four years after privatisation, Labour MP Tony Worthington sponsored a motion in the House of Commons, deploring "the crude and greedy exploitation of the privatised Clydeport by a small handful of directors, who have now become multi-millionaires." 

Then, 11 years after privatisation, Clydeport was purchased by the Peel Group for a reported £184 million. Needless to say the benefits to the public which were promised by the advocates of privatisation failed to materialise, but a handful of businessmen made themselves extremely rich on the back of what had been Scottish public property.

And 34 years on, the same thing is still happening, the crude and greedy exploitation of the privatised Clydeport by a small handful of directors is still very much in play.

'Keir Starmer must give a cast-iron guarantee'

There are fears that the Labour Government's plans to raise National Insurance contributions for employers could negatively affect the Scottish Budget and Scottish public services.

The SNP commissioned research from the House of Commons Library – published on Wednesday – which found that such a move could cost NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government hundreds of millions of pounds. 

The SNP have now written to Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, calling for a full impact assessment of the hike on small and medium-sized businesses and the jobs and pay of workers. 

The analysis commissioned by the SNP found that increasing employers’ National Insurance contributions by one or two percentage points would cost NHS Scotland, Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Government between £70 million and £142m a year. 

Across a five-year parliament, it means the tax hike would cost the Scottish Government and Scottish public services in the region of £350m to £710m. 

While exact figures are not available for how the change would affect Scottish local government due to difficulties in calculating the cost, the SNP has said Scotland's 32 local authorities would face a similar bill of hundreds of millions of pounds across the course of the parliament given they employ a total 240,000 people between them. 

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Scotland has “already suffered 14 years of Westminster austerity cuts” under previous Tory governments. 

He added: “Keir Starmer must give a cast-iron guarantee that the Labour Government's National Insurance tax hike won't hit Scottish public services or slash the Scottish Government's Budget. 

“By increasing National Insurance taxes, the Labour Party will be breaking yet another election pledge." 

He continued: "This isn't the change that people in Scotland were promised. I urge the Labour Government to think again, put the austerity axe down and deliver meaningful investment instead." 

The sleaze allegations continue...

The Labour Party continues to be dogged by allegations of sleaze after the fiancé of health secretary Wes Streeting was given a highly paid job at Labour HQ. 

The Times reports that Joe Dancy, who stood as the Labour candidate in Stockton West at this year's General Election but failed to get elected, will take on a new role as Labour’s executive director of policy and communications on a salary of £104,985. 

Dancy is associated with the centre-right Blairite faction in the Labour Party and his appointment further cements the Labour Party's drift to the right.