From Cllr Richard Quigley, chair of IW Labour:

It's taken me a while to respond to Bob Seely MP's letter on privatising the ferry companies as my initial response was to say "ya boo!, we said that in the 2019 general election and you dismissed it as communist fantasy", but that wouldn't further the debate.

I, like most people, got involved in politics to make the Island a better place and do the best for the people I represent, regardless of whether they voted for me or not.

So assuming Bob didn't vote for me (I know he likes me, but that may be pushing it) my best response is to offer to help Bob improve the ferry services for the benefit of all of us.

Read more: Bob Seely's original letter about the ferries

Nationalisation is a great idea, but without a change of government, it isn't going to happen anytime soon. So where do we start?

A service level agreement would be a good place. Reliability, regularity, customer satisfaction are a few of the measures.

A ferry users' forum that includes stakeholders such as councillors whose ward has a ferry port, regular commuters, businesses and individuals whose lives have been impacted by the poor service of late, that meets fortnightly with both CEO's, would be a good way to focus Red Funnel and Wightlink on where their profits come from.

Asking them to provide the reliable service we have had in the past isn't a request too far either.

These aren't pie in the sky aims. When the government provided the money needed to keep the services running during Covid, they stated it was because the route is deemed an essential service. They can't unsay that.

So Bob, if you are serious about improving the ferries, let's talk.

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