Islanders stage mass protest after being cut off from mainland in ferry fiasco

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Islanders turned out in force in a massive protest on South Uist after being cut off from the mainland for over a month in peak holiday season.

Around 500 residents, 200 cars, 40 vans and 20 lorries converged on Lochboisdale, which links the Outer Hebridean island to the the mainland on Sunday, in a protest over CalMac's decision to cancel almost every ferry service in June.Around a third of the population turned out, with signs reading 'ferry is our oxygen', 'every cancelled ferry is killing our islands', and 'no ferry, no future' - while motorhomes were banned from a ferry to North Uist at the weekend.Business leaders were told there will be no compensation from the Scottish Government for a month-long cancellation of services - although the saga of issues on the route was allegedly killing livelihoods worse than lockdown.Islanders claimed they felt "depressed" and "expendable", and social media users compared it to the Tom Hanks film Cast Away.CalMac blocked motorhomes travelling to and from North Uist from Saturday because of a problem with a mezzanine deck, with disruption continuing today.The Lochboisdale Ferry Business Impact Group organised the protest as a "show of solidarity against the constant abuse of our ferry service and our community".It said: "There are many people who have been doing all they can in their power to improve the ferry situation for Uist, with zero progress.

In fact, things have got worse."John Daniel Peteranna, from the business group, said: "People are leaving the island. The atmosphere is awful.

People are depressed - the government think we are expendable."CalMac effectively decide which islands survive and which don't.