Life, politics and election in the last commercial shipbuilder on the Clyde
“So that will all come down,” says Jim McColl airily, pointing at the handsome old red-brick facade and entrance to the shipyard.
“Yes – it’s a shame in a way but we need more room to expand the slipway and the yard.”
Wha? Stop. Cut. Rewind.
But yes – you got me right first time.
Here at Inverclyde, near Greenock, a shipyard boss is talking about expansion! Tell me when you last heard that word in relation to a shipyard anywhere in these islands?
A new hybrid ferry for CalMac – the Scottish government-owned island ferry company – is being welded together on the slipway beside us. Launching in December, Monaco-based Scot Jim McColl is in expansive mood as we talk about the excitement of a new ship going down a Clyde slipway.