John Swinney tells McGill’s to ‘watch language’ after being compared to dictators Idi Amin and Mugabe over bus nationalisation plan

Scotland’s First Minister has told a bus company boss to watch his language after he branded him a dictator over plans to bring the country’s bus network under public control.

McGill’s Group co-owner Sandy Easdale said John Swinney “appears to have transformed into the next Idi Amin or Robert Mugabe”.

At the SNP conference in Aberdeen, Swinney announced that Scotland’s buses would be brought under public control by 2031 through franchising and regulation, with a Bill to be tabled in Holyrood next year.

McGill’s Group, the UK’s largest independent bus operator, owned by brothers Sandy and James Easdale, condemned the proposals as “business confiscation” and pledged to pursue every available legal avenue to protect the company.

Responding to the comments, Swinney said: “I think we’ve all got to watch our language in these discussions.

“You know, my interest in all of this is to make sure I’m acting on behalf of the public, and the public want to have bus networks that work for them.

So my determination is to make sure we have a bus network that’s under public control through using franchising and regulation to make sure the public interest is protected.”

The First Minister said he was looking forward to discussing the issues around about the regulation of the bus network with individual bus companies.

“We make significant financial contributions towards the operation of buses in Scotland through concessionary travel and through the £2 bus fare cap,” he said.

It’s understood that the changes will allow regional transport partnerships to have greater control over routes and fares on the bus network, without the government having to actively own it.

Swinney announced the extension of the £2 bus fare cap at the SNP conference on Saturday, with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to be covered from April.

The current cap covers the greater Glasgow area and the Highlands and Islands.

The Scottish Government plans to expand throughout the whole country by the end of the parliamentary term in 2031.