Scotland’s Finance Secretary has pledged to work with bus companies to bring buses back under public control after a major firm accused First Minister John Swinney of behaving like a dictator.
Jenny Gilruth, who is also the Deputy First Minister, said the Scottish Government was “protecting” Scots who have faced a series of route closures over recent years.
Ms Gilruth also said it would be “remiss” of her “not to mention” that the McGill’s brothers were Labour donors.
Sandy Easdale, who owns McGill’s alongside his brother James, launched a furious attack on Mr Swinney after he announced plans to bring buses into public control.
Sandy Easdale, McGill’s CEO Ralph Roberts and James Easdale (Jeff Holmes/handout)
PA Media
Speaking at the SNP conference in Aberdeen, the First Minister said buses would be brought under public control by 2031 through franchising and regulation, with a Bill tabled in Holyrood next year.
The changes, it is understood, will allow regional transport partnerships to have more control over routes and fares on the bus network, without the Government having to actively own it.
One of the owners of McGill’s, the UK’s largest independent bus operator, accused Mr Swinney of acting like a dictator.
Sandy Easdale said: “What has come over mild-mannered John Swinney? He appears to have transformed into the next Idi Amin or Robert Mugabe, both men, incidentally, who bankrupted their countries through catastrophic financial policies.”
Ralph Roberts, chairman of McGill’s Group, accused Mr Swinney of “business confiscation”.
He said McGill’s was “prepared to pursue every available legal avenue to protect” the business.
Despite the attacks, Ms Gilruth promised to work with bus companies on her plans.
Asked about the comments, she told BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show: “Well, of course, the Easdale brothers I think are significant donors to the Labour Party. It’d be remiss of me not to mention that point.
“Fundamentally, we’re trying to protect our people, and across the country just now we see a number of routes having been removed.”
Ms Gilruth said the Scottish Government was already providing significant investment in buses, including free travel for under 22s and over 60s.
She said: “Of course we work with bus operators like McGill’s and others to hear their views. We’ve always done that in terms of how we’ve rolled out our approach to the under 22s, and of course to the £2 bus cap.”
At the SNP conference on Saturday, Mr Swinney also announced the extension of the £2 bus fare cap, with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to be covered from April.
The current cap covers the greater Glasgow area and the Highlands and Islands, with the Government planning to expand it to the whole country by the end of the parliamentary term in 2031.
She said the current private bus model was “a legacy of Thatcher’s time when she took away that opportunity for there to be direct intervention from the state around about a number of bus routes”.
She added: “So we’re going back to an approach that better protects people. We only need to look at the approach that’s used, for example, in the city of Edinburgh to see how public ownership on this issue of McGill’s the number of routes that are available.”
Mr Roberts said the First Minister’s announcement “threatens businesses built through years of private investment, hard work and commercial risk”.
“McGill’s has never been publicly owned,” the company chairman added. “There is nothing to ‘bring back’ into public control in our case.”
He added: “From our perspective, removing a company’s ability to operate the network it has built and putting those services out to competitive tender amounts to business confiscation.
“Ministers would not contemplate treating hotels, supermarkets or clothing retailers in this way.
“When the Scottish Government intervened at Prestwick Airport and Ferguson Marine, it bought those businesses rather than removing their ability to trade.”
He said the SNP’s plans could cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds each year.
He warned: “Our owners have invested substantially in growing this business and improving services. They have the resources and determination to defend what they have built and are prepared to pursue every available legal avenue to protect it.
“Ministers should be in no doubt that any attempt to strip away that business will be vigorously resisted.”