Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" xmlns:fb="http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:og="http://ogp.me/ns#"> <head>  <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://d2zv5rkii46miq.cloudfront.net" /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://visitanalytics.userreport.com" /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://a02342.heraldscotland.com" /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net" /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://cdn.adsafeprotected.com" /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://micro.rubiconproject.com" /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://experience.tinypass.com" /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://c.amazon-adsystem.com" /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://tpc.googlesyndication.com"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://www.googletagservices.com"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://cdn.ampproject.org"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://tags.crwdcntrl.net"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://bcp.crwdcntrl.net"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://c.ltmsphrcl.net"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://tags.crwdcntrl.net"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://bcp.crwdcntrl.net"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://c.ltmsphrcl.net"> <title>Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted | The Herald</title> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"> <meta name="OMG-Verify-V1" content="4389-366acdfc-5224-4c07-bb70-f74d8fbfc2db" /> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:large"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no">  <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Libre+Franklin:300,400,500,600,700"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Noto+Serif:wght@400;600;700&family=Source+Serif+Pro:wght@400;600;700&display=swap"> <meta property="og:article:published_time" content="2024-11-23T06:57:00Z" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="The Herald" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/18800238.jpg?type=og-image" /> <meta property="og:image:width" content="945" /> <meta property="og:image:height" content="630" /> <meta itemprop="image" content="https://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/18800238/" /> <meta name="twitter:image:src" content="https://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/18800238/" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="612240812916784" /> <meta property="og:name" content="Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted" /> <meta property="og:description" content="The first thing I did was check whether the windows were real because you’ll remember that when Glen Sannox was “launched” in 2017, the… " /> <meta itemprop="name" content="Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted" /> <meta itemprop="description" content="The first thing I did was check whether the windows were real because you’ll remember that when Glen Sannox was “launched” in 2017, the… " /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="The first thing I did was check whether the windows were real because you’ll remember that when Glen Sannox was “launched” in 2017, the… " /> <meta name="medium" content="news" /> <meta name="title" content="Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted" /> <meta name="description" content="The first thing I did was check whether the windows were real because you’ll remember that when Glen Sannox was “launched” in 2017, the… " /> <meta name="parsely-post-id" content="24745365" /> <meta name="keywords" content="" /> <meta property="article:location" content="city:glasgow, scotland" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/" /> <meta property="og:article:author" content="Mark Smith" /> <meta property="fb:pages" content="271154343382" /> <meta property="fb:pages" content="285985008233564" /> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted", "datePublished": "2024-11-23T06:57:00Z", "dateModified": "2024-11-23T06:57:00Z", "articleSection": "politics", "mainEntityOfPage": "https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/", "url": "https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/", "isBasedOn": "https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Smith" }, "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "http://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/18800238.jpg/", "width": 1280, "height": 720 }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Herald", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "http://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/sitelogo/", "width": "385", "height": "91" } }, "keywords": ["article_types:opinion","topics:economy","topics:politics","topics:transport","content-level:3","source:newsquest"] } </script> <link id="page_stylesheet_vars" href="/resources/responsive-static/build/mds/css/palette-1-serif-vars.css?r=D5b3rJbf" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link href="/resources/responsive-static/build/mds/css/header-footer.css?r=D5b3rJbf" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link id="page_stylesheet" href="/resources/responsive-static/build/mds/css/blockarticle.css?r=D5b3rJbf" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/resources/images/17853003/" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon"> <link rel="icon" href="/resources/images/17853003/" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon">  <script> window.startExec = performance.now(); </script>  <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/resources/shared/responsive-sync/?r=D5b3rJbf"></script>  <script>"use strict";function _typeof(t){return(_typeof="function"==typeof Symbol&&"symbol"==typeof Symbol.iterator?function(t){return typeof t}:function(t){return t&&"function"==typeof Symbol&&t.constructor===Symbol&&t!==Symbol.prototype?"symbol":typeof t})(t)}!function(){var t=function(){var t,e,o=[],n=window,r=n;for(;r;){try{if(r.frames.__tcfapiLocator){t=r;break}}catch(t){}if(r===n.top)break;r=r.parent}t||(!function t(){var e=n.document,o=!!n.frames.__tcfapiLocator;if(!o)if(e.body){var r=e.createElement("iframe");r.style.cssText="display:none",r.name="__tcfapiLocator",e.body.appendChild(r)}else setTimeout(t,5);return!o}(),n.__tcfapi=function(){for(var t=arguments.length,n=new Array(t),r=0;r<t;r++)n[r]=arguments[r];if(!n.length)return o;"setGdprApplies"===n[0]?n.length>3&&2===parseInt(n[1],10)&&"boolean"==typeof n[3]&&(e=n[3],"function"==typeof n[2]&&n[2]("set",!0)):"ping"===n[0]?"function"==typeof n[2]&&n[2]({gdprApplies:e,cmpLoaded:!1,cmpStatus:"stub"}):o.push(n)},n.addEventListener("message",(function(t){var e="string"==typeof t.data,o={};if(e)try{o=JSON.parse(t.data)}catch(t){}else o=t.data;var n="object"===_typeof(o)&&null!==o?o.__tcfapiCall:null;n&&window.__tcfapi(n.command,n.version,(function(o,r){var a={__tcfapiReturn:{returnValue:o,success:r,callId:n.callId}};t&&t.source&&t.source.postMessage&&t.source.postMessage(e?JSON.stringify(a):a,"*")}),n.parameter)}),!1))};"undefined"!=typeof module?module.exports=t:t()}();</script> <script type = "text/javascript"> ( function () { var module = 'BlockArticleModule'; if (module === 'BackboneUserModule' || module === 'AdBlockerFaqModule' || module === 'ResponsiveEducationModule' || module === 'PianoSubscriptionPageModule') { var events = "event70"; trackSPEvents(events); return; } window._sp_ = { config: { baseEndpoint: 'https://a02342.heraldscotland.com', accountId: 52, targetingParams:{ subscribed: false, privacy: false }, gdpr: { }, events: { onMessageReady: function (message_type) { trackSPEvents('event76'); }, onMessageChoiceSelect: function (message_type, choice_id, choice_type_id) { console.log('message_type: ', message_type); console.log('choice_id: ', choice_id); console.log('choice_type_id: ', choice_type_id); if ('no' === 'yes') { if (choice_type_id === 12) { trackSPEvents('event83'); //Consent Banner Reject All trackSPEvents('event82'); //Journalism Message Shown } if (choice_type_id === 11) { trackSPEvents('event78'); } if (choice_type_id === 9) { trackSPEvents('event77'); } } else { // these are the second argument in non-gate if (choice_type_id === 12) { trackSPEvents('event77'); } if (choice_type_id === 11) { trackSPEvents('event78'); } if (choice_type_id === 13) { trackSPEvents('event83'); } } }, onPrivacyManagerActionStatus: function(message_type, status, actionType) { console.log('message_type: ' + message_type); console.log('status: ' + status); console.log('actionType: ' + actionType); if ('no' === 'yes') { if (actionType === 11) { trackSPEvents('event79'); //Privacy Manager Accept } if (actionType === 9) { trackSPEvents('event68'); //Privacy Manager Redirect } if (actionType === 1) { trackSPEvents('event75'); //Forced tcf String Change } } else { // these are the second argument in non-gate if (actionType === 13) { trackSPEvents('event81'); //Privacy Manager Reject } if (actionType === 11) { trackSPEvents('event79'); //Privacy Manager Accept } if (actionType === 1) { trackSPEvents('event80'); //Privacy Manager Save & Exit } } }, onPMCancel: function (message_type) { console.log('onPMCancel', message_type); trackSPEvents('event84'); //Privacy Manager Back }, } } } // document.addEventListener('sp.blocking', function (e) { // var events = "event70"; // if ($.cookie('nqab') === 'false') { // events += ',event74'; // } // if ($.cookie('nqab') !== null) { // events += ',event72'; // trackSPEvents(events); // $.cookie('nqab', 'true', { expires: 365, path: '/' }); // return; // } // $.cookie('nqab', 'true', { expires: 365, path: '/' }); // events += ',event71'; // trackSPEvents(events); // }); // document.addEventListener('sp.not_blocking', function (e) { // console.log('DFP: Not blocking triggered, cookie is %s', $.cookie('nqab')); // // If they have the cookie set, it means they saw the banner and now have disabled their adblocker. // if ($.cookie('nqab') === 'true') { // trackSPEvents('event73'); // $.cookie('nqab', 'false', { expires: 365, path: '/' }); // } // }); __tcfapi('addEventListener', 2, function (tcData, success) { // console.log('DFP: Event Listen:', tcData); if (success && tcData.eventStatus === 'useractioncomplete') { var csnt = 'none'; if ($.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'true') { csnt = 'yes'; } else if ($.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'false') { csnt = 'no'; } googletag.cmd.push(function() { // console.log('DFP: Cookie check - setting dfpcsnt to ', csnt); googletag.pubads().setTargeting('dfpcsnt', csnt); }); // ready to start DFP startAdvertising(tcData.listenerId); setTcfCookie(tcData.purpose.consents, tcData.purpose.legitimateInterests); } else if (success && tcData.eventStatus === 'tcloaded') { startAdvertising(tcData.listenerId); } }); $(document).on('click', '.gdpr-option-v2', function (e) { e.preventDefault(); sendEvent76 = false; var id = $(this).data('v2-id'); if ($(this).data('is-gate') === 'yes') { trackSPEvents('event87'); _sp_.gdpr.loadPrivacyManagerModal(id); } else { trackSPEvents('event77'); _sp_.gdpr.loadPrivacyManagerModal(id); } }); function getTcfData() { __tcfapi('addEventListener', 2, function(data, success) { setTcfCookie(data.purpose.consents, data.purpose.legitimateInterests); }, [755]); } getTcfData(); function setTcfCookie(data, legitimateInterests) { var consents = []; $.each(data, function(id, consent) { var c = (consent === true) ? 'yes' : 'no'; consents.push(c) }); // console.log('DFP: consents length: ', consents.length); if (consents.length !== 10) { // consents = consents.fill('no', consents.length, 10); for (var i = consents.length; i < 10; i++) { consents[i] = 'no'; } } // console.log('DFP: Found consents to store in cookie:', consents); $.cookie('prev-tcf-v2', consents.join(','), {domain: '.heraldscotland.com', path: '/', expires: 100}); var consentEvent4 = 'none'; if (typeof data[4] !== 'undefined') { consentEvent4 = data[4] ? 'true' : 'false'; } $.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads', consentEvent4, {domain: '.heraldscotland.com', path: '/', expires: 100}); var legitInterest = 'none'; if (legitimateInterests && typeof legitimateInterests[2] !== 'undefined') { legitInterest = legitimateInterests[2] ? 'true' : 'false'; } $.cookie('_sp_legitimate_interests', legitInterest , {domain: '.heraldscotland.com', path: '/', expires: 100}); } var sendEvent76 = true; function trackSPEvents(events) { if (events === 'event76' && !sendEvent76) { return; } else if (events === 'event76') { sendEvent76 = false; } if (typeof window.s !== 'object') { // console.log('DFP: No window.s object found, trying again in 1 second'); window.setTimeout(function () { trackSPEvents(events)} , 1000); return; } // console.log("ADB: Tracking %s", events); // Re-create the Omniture object so the data can be tracked. var s = window.s; if (events.indexOf('event70') !== -1) { // console.log('DFP: Events passed, added evars'); s.eVar35 = 'enabled'; s.prop35 = 'enabled'; } s.events = events; s.linkTrackEvents = events; s.linkTrackVars = "eVar2,eVar3,eVar4,eVar5,eVar6,evar7,evar8,evar9,eVar16,eVar19,eVar26,eVar35,eVar43,prop35"; s.suppressPageView = true; s.tl(true,'o','Ad Block'); } function startAdvertising(id) { if (typeof window.doNotAdvertise !== 'undefined' && window.doNotAdvertise === true) { return; } // console.log("DFP: Is the page fully loaded?", window.googleReady); if (window.googleReady !== true) { window.setTimeout(function () { // console.log('DFP: Google not fully loaded yet, pausing quarter of a second before trying again'); startAdvertising(id); }, 250); return; } // console.log('DFP: Starting advertisement loading routine'); if (window.advertisingStart === true) { return; } // console.log('DFP: Running advertisement'); window.advertisingStart = true; var googletag = window.googletag; // init google objects and array (function() { var gads = document.createElement('script'); gads.async = true; gads.type = 'text/javascript'; gads.src = 'https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js'; var node = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node); })(); var e = new Event('launch:cmp:choice-made'); window.dispatchEvent(e); // AP code fetchAp(); if (usePrebid) { // load prebid script // console.log("DFP: loading Newsquest Test script"); var site = 'desktop'; var _site = 'desktop'; // load IAS scripts and set up vars (function() { var ias = document.createElement('script'); ias.async = true; ias.type = 'text/javascript'; ias.src = 'https://cdn.adsafeprotected.com/iasPET.1.js'; var node = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; node.parentNode.insertBefore(ias, node); })(); (function() { var pbs = document.createElement('script'); pbs.async = true; pbs.type = 'text/javascript'; pbs.src = 'https://micro.rubiconproject.com/prebid/dynamic/11022.js?group=newsquest'; var node = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; node.parentNode.insertBefore(pbs, node); })(); // console.log('DFP: Starting header bid code from CMP v2 flow'); googletag.cmd.push(function () { // console.log("DFP: loading header bid code - Google is loaded"); fetchHeaderBids(); }); } if ( window.data_layer.user.advertising_experience !== 'Ad-Free' && window.data_layer.config.disable_outbrain !== 'yes' ) { (function() { var ob = document.createElement('script'); ob.async = true; ob.type = 'text/javascript'; ob.src = 'https://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js'; var node = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; node.parentNode.insertBefore(ob, node); })(); } // remove the listener if (id !== null) { window.__tcfapi('removeEventListener', 2, function (success) { }, id); } } })(); </script> <script src="https://a02342.heraldscotland.com/unified/wrapperMessagingWithoutDetection.js"></script>  <script type="text/javascript"> data_layer_helper.setIsArticle(true); data_layer_helper.setCookieDomain('.heraldscotland.com'); data_layer_helper.setModuleType('BlockArticleModule'); data_layer_helper.setLocalInfoFolder(''); data_layer_helper.setHomesData('', '', '', 'politics'); data_layer_helper.setPrimaryDomain('www.heraldscotland.com'); data_layer_helper.setPath('/politics/viewpoint/'); data_layer_helper.setGoogleNetworkCode('154725070'); data_layer_helper.setArticleTimestamp('1732345020'); var articleSubjects = []; var extraTags = []; extraTags.push('user_level_anonymous'); var data_layer = { environment: { is_test_site: 'no', is_live_site: 'yes', is_paywall_site: 'yes', is_portable_screen: (data_layer_helper.isMobileScreen()) ? 'yes' : 'no', is_desktop_screen: (data_layer_helper.isMobileScreen()) ? 'no' : 'yes', is_mobile_device: data_layer_helper.getMobileDevice(), is_tablet_device: data_layer_helper.getTabletDevice(), server: 'dmh-martini-web17', platform: 'Martini' }, site: { id: '308', centre_id: '14', centre_name: 'Herald and Times', country: 'Scotland', name: 'The Herald', domain: 'www.heraldscotland.com', editor_name: 'Catherine Salmond', onboarding_enabled: 'yes', onboarding_flow_id: 'the_herald', cookie_domain: '.heraldscotland.com', uses_cmp: 'yes', short_domain: 'heraldscotland', using_piano_id: 'yes', enable_skimlinks: 'yes', skimlinks_domain_id: '1680368', disable_newsletters: 'no', is_archant_site: 'no', shc_merchant_name: '', piano_application_group: 'Bespoke', piano_site_name: 'The Herald', piano_site_name_possessive: 'The Herald\'s', piano_site_name_with_prefix_lower: 'The Herald', piano_site_name_with_prefix_capitalised: 'The Herald', piano_site_name_with_prefix_capitalised_possessive: 'The Herald\'s', piano_site_name_with_prefix_lower_possessive: 'The Herald\'s', piano_location_primary: 'Scotland', piano_location_primary_possessive: 'Scotland\'s', piano_location_county: 'Scotland', piano_location_county_possessive: 'Scotland\'s', piano_primary_sports_team: '', piano_primary_sports_team_nickname: '', piano_primary_sports_team_sport: '', piano_primary_sports_team_possessive: '', piano_primary_sports_team_nickname_possessive: '', has_app: 'yes', app_provider: 'pagesuite', app_platform: 'pagesuite-hybrid', app_store_url_ios: 'https://apps.apple.com/app/the-herald/id980623432', app_store_url_google_play: 'https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pagesuite.theheraldsundayherald' }, page: { module: 'BlockArticleModule', referrer: data_layer_helper.getReferrerHostName(), name: '(www) ' + data_layer_helper.getOmniturePath(), title: document.title, path: data_layer_helper.getOmniturePath(), section: data_layer_helper.getPathFragment(0), subsection: data_layer_helper.getPathFragment(1), subsection_2: data_layer_helper.getPathFragment(2), subsection_3: data_layer_helper.getPathFragment(3), reference: qs.get('ref'), layout: 'BAM Standard Article', ad_timing: data_layer_helper.getCookie('adtiming'), template_namespace: 'standard', template: '', colour_scheme: '', layout_template: 'BAM Standard Article', mds_font: 'serif', mds_colour_palette: 'palette-1', feature_block_a_enabled: ($('[data-name="Feature Article Block A"]').length > 0) ? 'yes' : 'no', feature_block_b_variant: (typeof $('[data-name="Feature Article Block B"]').data('variant') === 'undefined') ? '' : $('[data-name="Feature Article Block B"]').data('variant'), is_article_list: 'no', error_404: '', top_stories_article_count: '', interstitial_article_count: '', news_stories_article_count: '' }, user: { id: '', first_name: '', advertising_experience: 'Ad-Full-Herald', is_privacy_plus: 'no', is_alist: 'no', level: data_layer_helper.getCookie('nq_ul'), seen_cmp: (data_layer_helper.getCookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'true' || data_layer_helper.getCookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'false') ? 'yes' : 'no', given_consent: (data_layer_helper.getCookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'true') ? 'yes' : 'no', consent_string: data_layer_helper.getConsentString(), type: 'anonymous', parsely_type: 'Anonymous', chartbeat_type: 'anon', type_as_int: '1', is_logged_in: 'no', is_admin: 'no', has_full_admin_link_permissions: '', has_registered: (data_layer_helper.getCookie('nqr') !== null) ? 'yes' : 'no', comments_verified: '', comments_verified_date: '', age_decade: '0' , gender: 'u' , is_known: data_layer_helper.getCookie('__siren') ? 'yes' : 'no', hash: '', lr_hash_1: '', lr_hash_2: '', lr_hash_3: '', gender: 'u' , user_decade: '0' , subscription_plan: '', subscription_tier: 'null', subscription_plan_and_frequency: ' - ', commented: (data_layer_helper.isArticle() && qs.get('action') === 'success') ? 'yes' : 'no', time_since_last_visit: 'not implemented (maybe drop)', device: data_layer_helper.getDevice(), using_ad_blocker_sourcepoint: data_layer_helper.getSourcepointAdbockStatus(), admin_user_name: '', card_expired: '', card_will_expire: '', expires_urgency: '', abandoned_cart: 'no', subscription_expired: 'no', payment_attempt_one: 'no', payment_attempt_two: 'no', payment_attempt_final: 'no', is_archant_site: 'no', signed_up_primary_news_newsletter: 'no', signed_up_primary_sport_newsletter: 'no', has_app_access: 'no', played_free_puzzles_last_7days: '', played_paid_puzzles_last_7days: '' }, analytics: { hierachy: 'newsquest,Herald and Times,www.heraldscotland.com,' + data_layer_helper.getPathFragment(3).replace(/\//,','), link_filters: 'javascript:,heraldscotland.com,fish4.co.uk,adsys.newsquest.co.uk,www.exchangeandmart.co.uk,www.communigate.co.uk,', tracking_block: data_layer_helper.getTrackingFromCookie('tracking_block', ''), tracking_block_index: data_layer_helper.getTrackingFromCookie('tracking_block_index', ''), previous_page_name: data_layer_helper.getCookie('nq_prev_page'), advert_id: '', position_in_list: data_layer_helper.getTrackingFromCookie('o-prop30', ''), featured_content: data_layer_helper.getTrackingFromCookie('o-ref', qs.get('ref')), account: data_layer_helper.getAccount() }, chartbeat: { enabled: "no", id: "", domain: "", sections: 'article_types:opinion,topics:economy,topics:politics,topics:transport,content-level:3,source:newsquest' }, parsely: { enabled: "yes", site_id: "heraldscotland.com", type: 'Anonymous' }, piano: { tags: data_layer_helper.getPianoTags({ piano_domain: 'heraldscotland', piano_master: '', breaking_news: false, editorial_opinion: false, free_subscriber: false, free_subscriber: false, has_video: false, is_article: true, article_content_level : '3', article_content_level_open_access: false, picture_gallery_id: false, user_is_newsquest: false, user_logged_in: false, is_live_article: false, why_free_subscriber: '', extra_tags: extraTags, is_covid_headline: false, is_covid_body: false, is_alist: false, audio_provider_bytecast: false } ), custom_variables: { article_length: 'l', application_group: 'Bespoke', content_is_editorial_opinion: 'no', base_url: 'https://www.heraldscotland.com', mds_font: 'serif', mds_colour_palette: 'palette-1', site_name: 'The Herald', site_name_possessive: 'The Herald\'s', site_name_with_prefix_capitalised: 'The Herald', site_name_with_prefix_lower: 'The Herald', site_name_with_prefix_capitalised_possessive: 'The Herald\'s', site_name_with_prefix_lower_possessive: 'The Herald\'s', location_primary: 'Scotland', location_primary_possessive: 'Scotland\'s', location_county: 'Scotland', location_county_possessive: 'Scotland\'s', site_has_primary_sports_team: 'no', primary_sports_team: '', primary_sports_team_nickname: '', primary_sports_team_sport: '', primary_sports_team_possessive: '', primary_sports_team_nickname_possessive: '', site_id: '308', content_level: '3', content_level_openaccess_override: 'no', content_author: 'Mark Smith', content_id: '24745365', content_is_article: 'yes', content_primary_topic: 'Economy', user_seen_consent_modal: ($.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'true' || $.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'false') ? 'yes' : 'no', user_has_app_access: 'no', site_section: data_layer_helper.getPathFragment(0, true), article_published_yyyy: '2024', user_played_free_puzzles_last_7days: '', user_played_paid_puzzles_last_7days: '', anon_user_played_free_puzzles_last_7days: data_layer_helper.untrackedPuzzleCheck(), home_delivery_phone_number: '0141 302 6096', content_taxonomy_topics_contains_sport: 'economy,politics,transport'.indexOf('sport') >= 0 ? 'yes' : 'no', content_is_restricted: data_layer_helper.getRestrictedContent('3', '308', '308', ''), day_of_week: data_layer_helper.getDayOfWeek(), user_card_expired: '', user_card_will_expire: '', user_expires_urgency: '', user_payment_attempt_one: 'no', user_payment_attempt_two: 'no', user_payment_attempt_final: 'no', user_subscription_tier: 'null', user_is_newsquest: 'no', primary_news_newsletter_id: '1897', primary_news_newsletter_name: 'the Unspun: Scottish Politics', primary_news_newsletter_description: 'Our nightly politics briefing, with exclusive analysis from our top team of writers.', primary_sport_newsletter_id: '1221', primary_sport_newsletter_name: 'the Sports Headlines', primary_sport_newsletter_description: 'The best Scottish sports coverage, delivered to your inbox every morning.', user_signed_up_primary_news_newsletter: 'no', user_signed_up_primary_sport_newsletter: 'no', newsletter_auto_promote: 'auto_success', newsletter_auto_promote_name: 'the Unspun: Scottish Politics', newsletter_auto_promote_description: 'Our nightly politics briefing, with exclusive analysis from our top team of writers.', newsletter_auto_promote_ID: '1897', site_has_app: 'yes', site_app_store_url_ios: 'https://apps.apple.com/app/the-herald/id980623432', site_app_store_url_google_play: 'https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pagesuite.theheraldsundayherald', site_section1: data_layer_helper.getPathFragment(1, true) // GBL required }, native_variables: { setContentCreated: 'Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:57:58 +0000', setContentIsNative: 'no', setContentAuthor: 'Mark Smith', setContentSection: data_layer_helper.getPathFragment(0, true) } }, article: { showing_preview: '', is_article: data_layer_helper.isArticle() ? 'yes' : 'no', id : '24745365', length_type: 'l', character_count: '5902', author: 'Mark Smith'.toLowerCase(), context: 'Travel', content_level: '3', content_level_open_access: 'no', content_level_combined: '3,best,no', content_is_restricted: data_layer_helper.getRestrictedContent('3', '308', '308', ''), increment: (data_layer_helper.isArticle()) ? '+1' : '', sponsor: '', contributions: '0', is_sponsored: 'no', headline: 'Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted', age: data_layer_helper.getArticleAge(), upload_date: '', publish_date: '22/11/2024', update_date: '', rating: '5', source: data_layer_helper.getSource('6'), subjects: (typeof articleSubjects === 'object') ? articleSubjects.join(',') : '', context: 'Travel', grapeshot_context: (typeof gs_channels !== 'undefined') ? gs_channels : '', allow_comments: 'yes', total_comments: '33', originating_site_id: '308', parent_article_site_id: '', parent_article_id: '', originating_article_id: '24745365', parent_originating_site_id: '308', is_original_to_site: 'yes', is_cloned: 'no', parent_article_url: 'https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/', use_skimlinks: 'no', content_primary_topic: 'Economy', taxonomy: { article_types: 'opinion', topics: 'economy,politics,transport', sports: '', sports_teams: '', locations: '', shared_content: '', free_tags: '', farming: '' }, audio: { has_audio: 'no', provider: '' } }, homes: { search_bedrooms_minimum: '', search_location: 'politics', search_price_minimum: '', search_price_maximum: '', list: '', id: '' }, video: { exists: 'no', auto_play_enabled: data_layer_helper.getAutoPlay('no') }, contributions: { allow_text: '', allow_image: '', user_contributions_number: '0', has_user_contributions: 'no' }, search: { keywords: qs.get('search'), results: '' }, announcements: { category: '' }, config: { google_analytics_id: 'G-MPKEG017RX', site_template_set: 'standard', path: '/politics/viewpoint/', top_level_section: 'politics', polar_property_id: 'NA-HERA-11238047', gallery_show_advert_after: '5', disable_outbrain: 'no' }, dfp: { is_landing: 'no', module_path: 'politics', weather_band: '11-15', weather_summary: 'cloudy'.toLowerCase(), id: data_layer_helper.getGoogleId(), display_screen: data_layer_helper.isMobileScreen() ? 'mobile' : 'desktop', can_show_billboard: (window.screen.width > 960) ? 'y' : 'n' }, dates: { date: (new Date()).toLocaleDateString('en-GB'), hour: (new Date()).getHours(), day: data_layer_helper.getDayOfWeek(), weekend: ((new Date()).getDay() === 6 || (new Date()).getDay() === 0) ? 'Weekend' : 'Weekday' }, memorials: { contact_phone_number: '', contact_email_address: '', publications: JSON.parse('' || '[]') } } data_layer_helper.storeCurrentPageName(data_layer.page.name); window.dispatchEvent(new Event('data-layer-loaded')) if (data_layer.article.is_article !== 'yes') { data_layer.piano.custom_variables.site_module = 'BlockArticleModule'; data_layer.piano.custom_variables.puzzles_landing_page = 'no'; data_layer.piano.custom_variables.desktop_hero_id = '0'; data_layer.piano.custom_variables.puzzles_display_page = 'no'; data_layer.piano.custom_variables.mobile_hero_id = '0'; } </script> <script src="//assets.adobedtm.com/499440d21de9/54b957ecfb7e/launch-98090dfa3d73.min.js" async ></script>  <script> window.usePiano = true; window.selectedOfferId = null; window.selectedTermId = null; </script> <script> document.cookie = "__adblocker=; expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT; path=/"; var setNptTechAdblockerCookie = function(adblocker) { var d = new Date(); d.setTime(d.getTime() + 60 * 60 * 24 * 2 * 1000); document.cookie = "__adblocker=" + (adblocker ? "true" : "false") + "; expires=" + d.toUTCString() + "; path=/"; } var script = document.createElement("script"); script.setAttribute("async", true); script.setAttribute("src", "//www.npttech.com/advertising.js"); script.setAttribute("onerror", "setNptTechAdblockerCookie(true);"); document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(script); </script> <script> tp = window.tp || []; function runPiano() { Object.keys(data_layer.piano.custom_variables).forEach(function (k) { var v = data_layer.piano.custom_variables[k]; if (v != '') { tp.push(["setCustomVariable", k, v]); } }); Object.keys(data_layer.piano.native_variables).forEach(function (k) { var v = data_layer.piano.native_variables[k]; if (v != '') { tp.push([k, v]); } }); tp.push(['setTags', data_layer.piano.tags]); (function(src){ var a=document.createElement("script"); a.type = "text/javascript"; a.async=true; a.src=src; var b=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; b.parentNode.insertBefore(a, b) })("//experience.tinypass.com/xbuilder/experience/load?aid=rBSKi8pTte"); } // Init Piano tp.push(["setDebug", ($.cookie('debug') === '1')]); tp.push(["setApplePayMerchantId", 'merchant.nq.subssites.piano']); // init Piano ID tp.push(['init', function() { tp.pianoId.init(); }]); tp.push(["setUsePianoIdUserProvider", true ]); tp.push(["addHandler", "loginRequired", function(params) { // If they're already signed in, we don't need to do anything special. if (tp.user.isUserValid()) { return; } if (typeof window._overridePianoDefault !== 'undefined' && window._overridePianoDefault !== true) { console.log("TPL Called") tp.pianoId.show({ screen: 'login', displayMode: 'modal', loggedIn: (data) => { pianoId.loggedIn(); }, loggedOut: () => { console.log('TP-TJ: user logged out'); }, registrationSuccess: () => { pianoId.registered(); }, width: '500px', height: '460px', }); } }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "showTemplate", function (templateParams) { handleOfferShow(templateParams); trackLocation(); if ($(templateParams.containerSelector).length > 0) { $(templateParams.containerSelector).addClass('shown'); if (templateParams.containerSelector === '#po-inline-article-inside') { $('#piano-container-inside-article').addClass('shown').removeAttr('style'); } if (!$(templateParams.containerSelector).hasClass('mar-block-ad')) { $(templateParams.containerSelector).show(); } if (templateParams.containerSelector === '#po-overlay-articlegate-full-width-scroll-below') { handleFullWidthBanner(); } if ( $(templateParams.containerSelector) === '#subscription-content' || $(templateParams.containerSelector) === '#po-inline-subscribe-page' ) { $(templateParams.containerSelector).show(); } if (['#piano_blockmodule_target_d', '#po-inline-blocksystem-target-e'].includes(templateParams.containerSelector)) { $('#divpo-inline-blocksystem-target-e').show(); } if (templateParams.containerSelector === '#po-overlay-toast-left') { removePianoToast() } if (templateParams.containerSelector === '#po-inline-articlewall-partialarticle-closable') { $('#po-inline-articlegate-partialarticle').css('display', 'none'); } if (templateParams.containerSelector === '#po-inline-articlewall-fullarticle-closable') { $('#po-inline-articlegate-fullarticle').css('display', 'none'); } } }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "checkoutSelectTerm", function (termDetails) { if (typeof termDetails.termId !== 'undefined') { window.selectedTermId = termDetails.termId; } }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "showOffer", function (offerParams) { handleOfferShow(offerParams); window.shownOffer = true; trackLocation(); // Store some data we might need later. if (typeof offerParams.offerId !== 'undefined') { window.selectedOfferId = offerParams.offerId; } if ($(offerParams.containerSelector).length > 0) { if ($(offerParams.containerSelector).length > 0) { $(offerParams.containerSelector).addClass('shown'); if (offerParams.containerSelector === '#po-inline-article-inside') { $('#piano-container-inside-article').addClass('shown').removeAttr('style'); } if (!$(offerParams.containerSelector).hasClass('mar-block-ad')) { $(offerParams.containerSelector).show(); } if (offerParams.containerSelector === '#po-overlay-articlegate-full-width-scroll-below') { handleFullWidthBanner(); } if ( $(offerParams.containerSelector) === '#subscription-content' || $(offerParams.containerSelector) === '#po-inline-subscribe-page' ) { $(offerParams.containerSelector).show(); } if (offerParams.containerSelector === '#po-overlay-toast-left') { removePianoToast() } if (templateParams.containerSelector === '#po-inline-articlewall-partialarticle-closable') { $('#po-inline-articlegate-partialarticle').css('display', 'none'); } if (templateParams.containerSelector === '#po-inline-articlewall-fullarticle-closable') { $('#po-inline-articlegate-fullarticle').css('display', 'none'); } } } }]); function handleFullWidthBanner() { $('#po-overlay-articlegate-full-width-scroll-below').css({ border: '1px solid #767676' }); $('#po-overlay-articlegate-full-width-scroll-below').show(); $('#subscription-content').hide(); $('.send-us-your-news-cta').hide(); $('.mega-news-block').hide(); const block = document.getElementById('po-overlay-articlegate-full-width-scroll-below'); let blockRect = block.getBoundingClientRect(); let startRect = new DOMRect(blockRect.x, blockRect.y + window.scrollY, blockRect.width, blockRect.height); let hasBecomeVisible = true; // change to false to alter the gate positioning behaviour const updateArticleGatePositionBasedOnScroll = function() { if (window.scrollY + window.innerHeight > startRect.bottom) { hasBecomeVisible = true; } if (hasBecomeVisible) { if (window.scrollY > startRect.top) { block.style.position = 'fixed'; block.style.setProperty('top', '0px'); block.style.setProperty('bottom', 'initial'); } else if (window.scrollY < startRect.bottom - window.innerHeight) { block.style.position = 'fixed'; block.style.setProperty('bottom', '0px'); block.style.setProperty('top', 'initial'); } else { block.style.removeProperty('position'); block.style.removeProperty('bottom'); block.style.removeProperty('top'); } } } // position the article gate immediately updateArticleGatePositionBasedOnScroll(); // update article gate position on scroll events document.addEventListener('scroll', updateArticleGatePositionBasedOnScroll); } function trackLocation(forceValidLocation = false) { var currentLocation = window.location.pathname; let valid = false; if (currentLocation.indexOf('puzzles') > -1) { valid = true; } if (currentLocation.indexOf('pagesuite') > -1) { valid = true; } var articleMatch = currentLocation.match(/(\d+)\.[^\/]+\/(r\/)?$/); if (articleMatch != null) { valid = true; } if (forceValidLocation) { valid = true; } if (currentLocation.indexOf('subscribe') > -1) { valid = false; } if (!valid) { return; } $.cookie('last-piano-page-interacted-with', currentLocation, {path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain}); } function trackPianoWithNewRelic(templateName) { if (this.newrelic && typeof this.newrelic === 'object') { newrelic.setCustomAttribute('user_was_shown_piano_experience', templateName); } } function handleOfferShow(params) { console.log('Piano params', params); // If on the subscription page and the URL has a term ID and offer ID, show the relevant offer. if (typeof location.pathname !== 'undefined' && location.pathname === '/subscribe/') { var offerId = location.search.match(/offer_id=([A-Z0-9]+)/); if (offerId !== null && offerId.length > 1) { offerId = offerId[1]; } var termId = location.search.match(/term_id=([A-Z0-9]+)/); if (termId !== null && termId.length > 1) { termId = termId[1]; } if (offerId !== null && termId !== null) { tp.offer.show({'termId': termId, 'offerId': offerId}); } } // we are only tracking var templateId = params.templateId; var variantId = params.templateVariantId; if (params.containerSelector !== '#subscription-content' && params.containerSelector !== '#subscription-replace-entire-article' && params.containerSelector !== '#po-inline-articlegate-fullarticle' && params.containerSelector !== '#po-inline-articlegate-partialarticle' ) { $.get('/ws/piano/templatename/', {template_id: templateId, variant_id: variantId}, function (response) { trackPianoSimplified(params, response.name); }); return; } $.get('/ws/piano/templatename/', {template_id: templateId, variant_id: variantId}, function (response) { trackPiano(params, response.name); }); } function trackPiano(params, templateName) { trackPianoWithNewRelic(templateName); if (typeof params.activeMeters === 'string') { activeMeters = JSON.parse(params.activeMeters); } else { activeMeters = params.activeMeters; } var s = window.s; if (!s || !s.pageName) { // console.log("ADB: Setting s from backup"); s = window.backupAdobe; window.s = s; } // this would call when CL3 is a hard gate if (!activeMeters && data_layer.article.content_level === '3') { s.eVar59 = templateName; s.eVar58 = data_layer.article.content_level; s.events = "event91"; s.linkTrackVars="eVar58,eVar2,eVar3,eVar4,eVar5,eVar6,eVar16,eVar19,eVar25,eVar26,eVar28,eVar43,eVar59,eVar61,eVar62,prop63,eVar79,list3,events"; s.linkTrackEvents="event91"; s.tl(document, 'o', 'Metered Access Notice'); s.events = ''; return; } if (!activeMeters) { return; } var meterData = activeMeters[0]; var meterName = meterData.meterName.toLowerCase(); // track event 5 if (meterName.indexOf('cl1') !== -1 || meterName.indexOf('cl2') !== -1 || meterName.indexOf('cl3') !== -1 || params.containerSelector === '#piano-article-gate') { s.eVar58 = data_layer.article.content_level; s.eVar80 = meterData.meterName + ',' + meterData.views + ',' + meterData.totalViews + ',' + meterData.viewsLeft + ',' + meterData.maxViews; s.eVar59 = templateName; s.events = "event5"; s.linkTrackVars="eVar58,eVar2,eVar3,eVar4,eVar5,eVar6,eVar16,eVar19,eVar25,eVar26,eVar28,eVar43,eVar59,eVar61,eVar62,prop63,eVar80,eVar79,list3, events"; s.linkTrackEvents="event5"; } else { s.eVar80 = meterData.meterName + ',' + meterData.views + ',' + meterData.totalViews + ',' + meterData.viewsLeft + ',' + meterData.maxViews; s.eVar59 = templateName; s.linkTrackVars="eVar2,eVar3,eVar4,eVar5,eVar6,eVar16,eVar19,eVar25,eVar26,eVar28,eVar43,eVar59,eVar61,eVar62,prop63,eVar80,eVar79,list3, events"; } s.tl(document, 'o', 'Metered Access Notice'); s.events = ''; } /** * Just track the template name in 78 for non-article-interrupts/gates */ function trackPianoSimplified(params, templateName) { trackPianoWithNewRelic(templateName); var s = window.s; if (!s || !s.pageName) { // console.log("ADB: Setting s from backup"); s = window.backupAdobe; window.s = s; } s.eVar78 = templateName; s.events = 'event90'; s.linkTrackEvents="event90"; s.linkTrackVars="eVar2,eVar3,eVar4,eVar5,eVar6,eVar16,eVar19,eVar25,eVar26,eVar28,eVar43,eVar59,eVar61,eVar62,prop63,eVar80,eVar79,list3,eVar78, events"; s.tl(document, 'o', 'Piano Template'); } function raiseLaunchEvent(name) { var e = new Event('launch:piano:' + name); window.dispatchEvent(e); } function removePianoToast() { setTimeout(() => { document.getElementById('po-overlay-toast-left').remove() }, 30000) } /** * Posts the Piano conversion data to the student beans API if the site is either * Herald ScotlanD or The National. * * @param {Object} conversion */ async function subscriptionComplete(conversion) { if (data_layer.site.id !== '308' && data_layer.site.id !== '1106') { return; } await fetch('/ws/public/student-beans/', { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Accept': 'application/json', 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, body: JSON.stringify(conversion) }); } tp.push(["addHandler", "checkoutComplete", function(conversion) { subscriptionComplete(conversion); var s = window.s; s.events = s.apl(s.events, "event4", ",", 1); // Set the subscription counter event. s.events = s.apl(s.events, "purchase", ",", 1); // Set the purchase event. s.products = "Subscription : Metered Access;" + conversion.termId + ";1;"+conversion.chargeAmount; s.purchaseID = conversion.termConversionId; s.pageName = '(www) /subscribe/complete/'; // wipe out errors s.eVar31 = ''; s.tl(); $.cookie('resourceConverted', conversion.rid, {path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain}); $.cookie('pianoConverted', '1', {path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain}); raiseLaunchEvent('checkoutComplete'); }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "checkoutPaymentError", function(errorData) { var s = window.s; s.pageName = '(www) /subscribe/error/'; s.eVar31 = errorData.message; s.tl(); raiseLaunchEvent('checkoutPaymentError'); }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "checkoutError", function(errorData) { var s = window.s; s.pageName = '(www) /subscribe/error/'; s.eVar31 = errorData.message; s.tl(); raiseLaunchEvent('checkoutError'); }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "startCheckout", function () { var s = window.s; s.pageName = '(www) /subscribe/payment/'; // wipe out errors s.eVar31 = ''; s.tl(); raiseLaunchEvent('startCheckout'); }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "checkoutClose", function(conversion) { raiseLaunchEvent('checkoutClose'); // Did they abandon the cart? If so: was anything in their cart? if (typeof conversion.state === 'undefined' || conversion.state !== 'close') { return; } if (window.selectedOfferId === null || window.selectedTermId === null) { return; } $.post('/ws/piano/abandoned-cart/', {offer_id: window.selectedOfferId, term_id: window.selectedTermId}); }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "meterExpired", function(meterData){ var msg = "<div><b>meterName:</b> " + meterData.meterName + "  |  <b>views:</b> " + meterData.views + "  |  <b>totalViews:</b> " + meterData.totalViews + "  |  <b>viewsLeft:</b> " + meterData.viewsLeft + "  |  <b>maxViews:</b> " + meterData.maxViews + "  |  <b>callback:</b> " + meterData.callback + '</div>'; if ($.cookie('nq-show-piano-viewer') === 'yes') { $('#piano-meter-value').html(msg); $('#piano-meter-display').show(); $('#piano-meter-display-content').append(msg); } var cVal = window.location.href; trackLocation(true); console.log("Piano Meter Expired:", meterData.meterName); if (meterData.meterName === 'CL1 Meter') { console.log("Piano: Setting meter expired cookie"); $.cookie('isMeterExpired', 'yes', {path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain, expires: 1}); } raiseLaunchEvent('meterExpired'); }]); tp.push(["addHandler", "meterActive", function(meterData){ var msg = "<div><b>meterName:</b> " + meterData.meterName + "  |  <b>views:</b> " + meterData.views + "  |  <b>totalViews:</b> " + meterData.totalViews + "  |  <b>viewsLeft:</b> " + meterData.viewsLeft + "  |  <b>maxViews:</b> " + meterData.maxViews + "  |  <b>callback:</b> " + meterData.callback + '</div>'; if ($.cookie('nq-show-piano-viewer') === 'yes') { $('#piano-meter-value').html(msg); $('#piano-meter-display').show(); $('#piano-meter-display-content').append(msg); } console.log("Piano Meter running total:", meterData.meterName, meterData.totalViews, meterData.maxViews, meterData); if (meterData.meterName === 'CL1 Meter' && meterData.totalViews >= meterData.maxViews) { $.cookie('isMeterExpired', 'yes', {path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain, expires: 1}); } else { $.cookie('isMeterExpired', 'no', {path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain, expires: 1}); } }]); tp.push(["setCxenseSiteId", "1140851321802151844"]); if (extendedMetering.checkShowcaseReferrer()) { data_layer.user.requires_extended_metering = 'yes'; data_layer.piano.custom_variables.requires_extended_metering = 'yes'; (self.SWG = self.SWG || []).push(function(subscriptions) { extendedMetering.load(subscriptions, 'heraldscotland.com', 'OTNSMHA3PCB9', 'OTV9N723MUH1W', '', ''); runPiano(); }); } else { data_layer.user.requires_extended_metering = 'no'; data_layer.piano.custom_variables.requires_extended_metering = 'no'; runPiano(); } </script> <script type='text/javascript'> var googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; var iasDataHandler, __iasPET = __iasPET || {}; __iasPET.queue = __iasPET.queue || []; __iasPET.pubId = '931298'; var pbjs = pbjs || {}; pbjs.que = pbjs.que || []; var carbonRealtime = JSON.parse(window.localStorage.getItem('ccRealtimeData')); var ozoneSettings = {}; var ozoneTargeting = { carbon_segment: carbonRealtime ? carbonRealtime.audiences.map(x => (x.id)) : [] }; function isMobile() { if (window.screen.width < 728) { return true; } return false; } var usePrebid = true; var whiteList = false; var adLight = false; var blackListAds = ['DFP_standard_mpu_2', 'DFP_on_scroll']; if (usePrebid) { // disable initial load so prebid can do its stuff // console.log('DFP: Disabling initial load'); googletag.cmd.push(function() { // console.log('DFP: Disabling initial load - read by DFP'); googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad(); }); } </script> <script src="//d2zv5rkii46miq.cloudfront.net/0/latest/cmp_shim.js"></script> <script> /** * Adds key-values to page level of Google Publisher Tag * @example * addKeyValuesToGPT({"ap_a": ["1100"], "ap_x": ["134123"]}) * @param {Object} keyValues */ function addAsKeyValuesToGPT(keyValues) { if (!googletag.pubads) { googletag.cmd.push(function () { addAsKeyValuesToGPT(keyValues); }); return; } for (const key in keyValues) { if (Object.hasOwnProperty.call(keyValues, key)) { const value = keyValues[key]; googletag.pubads().setTargeting(key, value); } } } function onAudienceProjectDataAvailable(dataResponse) { console.log("AudienceProject data returned", dataResponse); // in keyValues there are full-reach key-values created, they needs to be sent to GAM and added to Prebid adform ad-units if (dataResponse.keyValues) { addAsKeyValuesToGPT(dataResponse.keyValues); } } function fetchAp() { AudienceProjectData.fetch('saknewsquest', { integrateWithCmp: true, waitForCmpConsent: true }, onAudienceProjectDataAvailable); } //Load the APS JavaScript Library !function(a9,a,p,s,t,A,g){if(a[a9])return;function q(c,r){a[a9]._Q.push([c,r])}a[a9]={init:function(){q("i",arguments)},fetchBids:function(){q("f",arguments)},setDisplayBids:function(){},targetingKeys:function(){return[]},_Q:[]};A=p.createElement(s);A.async=!0;A.src=t;g=p.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];g.parentNode.insertBefore(A,g)}("apstag",window,document,"script","//c.amazon-adsystem.com/aax2/apstag.js"); //Initialize the Library apstag.init({ pubID: '3147', adServer: 'googletag', }); </script> <script> if (typeof gs_channels === 'undefined') { gs_channels = ""; } rpx_init = ({ qry : 'http://www.heraldscotland.com', section : 'politics', site : 'www.heraldscotland.com', context : 'Travel', weather : 'cloudy'.toLowerCase(), temp : '11-15', gs_channels : gs_channels, age : '0' , gender : 'u' , nqd : '' // intentionall blank }); </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/imgad?id=CICAgKDLqv_TbRABGAEoATIIgOw1LHg7xnFAt-_HogU'></script> <script> var bidTimeout = 1200; window.unfilteredAdUnits = [{"sizes":[1,1],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"outofpage","domName":"DFP_out_of_page","positionName":"out_of_page","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":["takeover"],"useRubicon":false,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":[""],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""},{"sizes":["fluid",[1,1]],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_article_fluid_1","positionName":"article_fluid_1","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":false,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":[""],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""},{"sizes":[1,1],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_in_article_pixel","positionName":"in_article_pixel","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":false,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":[""],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""},{"sizes":[1,1],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_teads","positionName":"teads","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":false,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":[""],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"11775143","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"11775143","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""},{"sizes":["fluid",[570,250],[468,250],[300,250],[1,1]],"alternate_mobile_size":["fluid",[300,250],[1,1]],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_in_article_mpu","positionName":"in_article_mpu","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":["takeover"],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"297386","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"297372","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["15"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["15"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550690","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550767","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"744410","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"760447","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17307157","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17479445"},{"sizes":[[570,250],[468,250],[300,250],[1,1]],"alternate_mobile_size":[[300,250],[1,1]],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_in_article_2","positionName":"in_article_2","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"437846","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"459754","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["15"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["15"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550691","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550769","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17279602","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17479441"},{"sizes":[[570,250],[468,250],[300,250]],"alternate_mobile_size":[300,250],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_in_article_3","positionName":"in_article_3","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"425700","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"449752","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["15"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["15"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550692","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550770","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17307086","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17479442"},{"sizes":[[570,250],[468,250],[300,250]],"alternate_mobile_size":[300,250],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_in_article_4","positionName":"in_article_4","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"425702","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"449754","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["15"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["15"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550693","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550771","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17307083","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17479443"},{"sizes":[[570,250],[468,250],[300,250]],"alternate_mobile_size":[300,250],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_in_article_5","positionName":"in_article_5","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"425704","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"449756","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["15"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["15"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550695","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550773","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17307155","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17479444"},{"sizes":[[300,250],[300,600]],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_premium_mpu","positionName":"premium_mpu","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":["takeover"],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"297382","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"331020","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["10","15"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["10","15"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550686","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550760","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"744494","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"760443","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"14304603","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"16550455"},{"sizes":[[300,250],[300,600]],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_premium_mpu_2","positionName":"premium_mpu_2","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":["takeover"],"useRubicon":false,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":[""],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""},{"sizes":[300,250],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_standard_mpu_1","positionName":"standard_mpu_1","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":["takeover"],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"297390","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"331024","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["15"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["15"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550683","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550759","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"744435","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"760547","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17946307","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"13260893"},{"sizes":[300,250],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_on_scroll","positionName":"on_scroll","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":false,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":[""],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""},{"sizes":[300,250],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_standard_mpu_2","positionName":"standard_mpu_2","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":["takeover"],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"331028","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"534778","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["15"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["15"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550687","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550761","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17375910","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17375922"},{"sizes":[[970,250],[728,90]],"alternate_mobile_size":[320,50],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_top_leaderboard","positionName":"top_leaderboard","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":["takeover"],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"297380","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"297370","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["2","57"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["43"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550668","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550747","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"985648","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"14304608","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17479428"},{"sizes":[728,90],"alternate_mobile_size":[320,50],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_leaderboard_1","positionName":"leaderboard_1","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"425706","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"449748","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["2"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["43"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550688","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550762","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"16550485","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17479427"},{"sizes":[728,90],"alternate_mobile_size":[320,50],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_leaderboard_2","positionName":"leaderboard_2","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"425708","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"449750","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["2"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["43"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550689","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550766","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17375905","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"16550500"},{"sizes":[728,90],"alternate_mobile_size":[[300,100],[320,50]],"slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_bottom_leaderboard","positionName":"bottom_leaderboard","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"297378","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"425710","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["2"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":["43"],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550678","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"10550748","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":true,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"17377997","groupm_mobile_placement_id":"17479454"},{"sizes":[[300,250],[300,600]],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_interstitial_mpu","positionName":"interstitial_mpu","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":false,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":[""],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""},{"sizes":[468,60],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_banner","positionName":"banner","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":false,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":true,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"297374","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":["1"],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"10550697","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""},{"sizes":["fluid",[280,130],[1,1]],"alternate_mobile_size":"","slotType":"standard","domName":"DFP_high_vis","positionName":"high_vis","isVast":false,"collapseContainer":true,"targets":[""],"useRubicon":false,"rubicon_desktop_zone_id":"","rubicon_mobile_zone_id":"","rubicon_desktop_size_ids":[""],"rubicon_mobile_size_ids":[""],"appnexus_desktop_placement_id":"","appnexus_mobile_placement_id":"","criteo_desktop_placement_id":"985647","criteo_mobile_placement_id":"","use_amazon":false,"groupm_desktop_placement_id":"","groupm_mobile_placement_id":""}]; var adUnits = []; $.each(unfilteredAdUnits, function (i, ad) { if (isMobile()) { f = {standard_mpu_1: 1, standard_mpu_2: 1, leaderboard_1: 1, leaderboard_2: 1} } else { f = {leaderboard_1: 1, leaderboard_2: 1} } if (f[ad.positionName] !== 1) { adUnits.push(ad); } }); window.unfilteredAdUnits = adUnits; //whenever you want header bids call this function function fetchHeaderBids() { // console.log("DFP: Fetching headerbids"); // new prebid implementation var apstagSlots = []; getPETRequest(); $.each(unfilteredAdUnits, function(i, unit) { if (unit.isVast) { return; } if(unit.use_amazon) { var awsSizes = []; var sizes = null; // work around poor data format if (unit.alternate_mobile_size && isMobile()) { sizes = unit.alternate_mobile_size; } else { sizes = unit.sizes; } if (typeof sizes[0] === 'object') { $.each(sizes, function (k, v) { awsSizes.push(v); }); } else { awsSizes = [sizes]; } var amazonSlot = { slotID: unit.domName, sizes: awsSizes, }; apstagSlots.push(amazonSlot); } }); // TODO 1 var bidders = ['a9', 'prebid', 'ias']; // create a requestManager to keep track of bidder state to determine when to send ad server // request and what apstagSlots to request from the ad server var requestManager = { adserverRequestSent: false, adSlots: [], }; //loop through bidder array and add the bidders to the request manager: bidders.forEach(function(bidder) { requestManager[bidder] = false; }) // a helper function that returns googletag objects corresponding to the slotIDs in the slot objects function _getGPTSlots(apstagSlots) { // get all of the slot IDs that were requested var slotIDs = apstagSlots.map(function(slot) { return slot.slotID; }); // return the slot objects corresponding to the slotIDs return googletag.pubads().getSlots().filter(function(slot) { // return true if the ID of the slot object is in the slotIDs array return slotIDs.indexOf(slot.getSlotElementId()) > -1; }); } function getPETRequest() { googletag.cmd.push(function() { // read the currently defined GPT ad slots for sending to the PET endpoint // defined all GPT ad slots before calling PET var gptSlots = googletag.pubads().getSlots(); var iasPETSlots = []; for (var i = 0; i < gptSlots.length; i++) { var sizes = gptSlots[i].getSizes().map(function(size) { if (size.getWidth && size.getHeight) return [size.getWidth(), size.getHeight()]; else return [1, 1]; }); iasPETSlots.push({ adSlotId: gptSlots[i].getSlotElementId(), //size: can either be a single size (for example, [728, 90]) // or an array of sizes (for example, [[728, 90], [970, 90]]) size: sizes, adUnitPath: gptSlots[i].getAdUnitPath() }); } // wait for IAS to return data var iasDataHandler = function(adSlotData) { headerBidderBack('ias'); }; // make the request to PET. if your page makes multiple ad requests to DFP // (for example, lazily loaded ads, infinite scrolling pages, etc.), make // a request to PET before every request to DFP __iasPET.queue.push({ adSlots: iasPETSlots, dataHandler: iasDataHandler }); }); } // return true if all bidders have returned function allBiddersBack() { var allBiddersBack = bidders // get the booleans from the object .map(function(bidder) { return requestManager[bidder]; }) // get rid of false values - indicates that the bidder has responded .filter(Boolean) // if length is equal to bidders, all bidders are back .length === bidders.length; return allBiddersBack; } // handler for header bidder responses function headerBidderBack(bidder) { // console.log("DFP: headerBidderBack called with", bidder); if (typeof bidder === 'object') { requestManager.adSlots = bidder; bidder = 'prebid'; } // return early if request to adserver is already sent if (requestManager.adserverRequestSent === true) { return; } // flip bidder back flag if (bidder === 'a9') { requestManager.a9 = true; } else if (bidder === 'prebid') { requestManager.prebid = true; } else if (bidder === 'ias') { requestManager.ias = true; } // if all bidders are back, send the request to the ad server if (allBiddersBack()) { sendAdserverRequest(); } } // actually get ads from DFP function sendAdserverRequest() { // console.log("DFP: All bidders back"); // return early if request already sent if (requestManager.adserverRequestSent === true) { return; } if (typeof window.prebidReady === 'undefined') { window.prebidReady = performance.now(); } if (window.googleReady) { // flip the boolean that keeps track of whether the adserver request was sent requestManager.adserverRequestSent = true; // flip pbjs boolean to signal to pbjs the ad server has already been called pbjs.adserverCalled = true; //flip boolean for adserver request to avoid duplicate requests requestManager.sendAdserverRequest = true; // make ad request to DFP googletag.cmd.push(function() { window.executionSet = performance.now(); apstag.setDisplayBids(); __iasPET.setTargetingForGPT(); // console.log("DFP: Refresh called, setting adslots to ", requestManager.adSlots); if (requestManager.adSlots.length > 0){ googletag.pubads().refresh(requestManager.adSlots); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh(); } setPerformanceCookie(); }); } else { window.setTimeout(function() { sendAdserverRequest(true); }, 200); } } function requestBids(apstagSlots, bidTimeout) { // fetch apstag bids, set bid targting, then call headerBidderBack // to get the ads for the first time apstag.fetchBids({ slots: apstagSlots, timeout: (bidTimeout - 200) }, function(bids) { headerBidderBack('a9'); }); var edktAudiences; // Here we fetch audiences which the user has been placed in. try { edktAudiences = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('edkt_matched_audience_ids') || '[]') .slice(0, 100) .map(String); } catch (e) { edktAudiences = []; } // request bids from prebid pbjs.que.push(function() { // console.log("DFP: PBJS request bids called"); pbjs.rp.requestBids({ callback: headerBidderBack, data: { airgrid: { perid: edktAudiences }, ozoneSettings, ozoneTargeting }, }); }); } //requestBids requestBids(apstagSlots, bidTimeout) // set timeout to send request to call sendAdserverRequest() after timeout // if all bidders haven't returned before then window.setTimeout(function() { sendAdserverRequest(); }, bidTimeout); }; function setPerformanceCookie() { var start = window.startExec; var prebidReady = window.prebidReady - start; var domComplete = window.domComplete - start; var googleComplete = window.googleComplete - start; var finished = window.executionSet - start; /* var cVal = Math.round(prebidReady) + ':' + Math.round(domComplete) + ':' + Math.round(googleComplete) + ':' + Math.round(finished); */ var cVal = Math.round(finished); var t = new Date(); t.setMilliseconds(t.getMilliseconds() + 600000); $.cookie('adtiming', cVal, {path: '/', domain: '.heraldscotland.com', expires: t}); } </script> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/resources/images/5752178/"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="72x72" href="/resources/images/5752177/"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="114x114" href="/resources/images/5752179/">  <script src="https://code.iconify.design/1/1.0.7/iconify.min.js"></script> </head> <body class="sticky-footer " data-cache-buster="D5b3rJbf" data-template="" data-template-colour="Blue" data-namespace="standard">   <div style="height: 0px"><div id="DFP_out_of_page"></div></div> <div id="paywallWindowOverlay"></div> <div id="takeover"> <div id="martini-config" class="layout"> <div id="header-content">  <header id="site-header" class="site-header site-header--1" class="use-social-nav">  <div class="header-topnav"> <div class="container-inner-width"> <div class="header-topnav-links"> <ul class="list-style-none"> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/newsletters/">Newsletters</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="https://www.newsquestrewards.co.uk/" target="blank">Reader Rewards</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/jobs/">Jobs</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/homes/">Homes</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/cars/">Motoring</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/advertising/">Book an ad</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/graduations/">Graduations</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/contact/">Contact us</a></li> </ul> </div> <ul id="links-nav" class="header-topnav--links-nav list-style-none"> <li class="links-nav-label"><span class="links-nav-label-text">More</span> <ul class="list-style-none"> <li class="dropdown-icon-closed"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="akar-icons:chevron-down"></span> </li> <li class="dropdown-icon-open" style="display: none;"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="akar-icons:chevron-up"></span> </li> <li class="links-nav-container"> <ul class="list-style-none"> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/newsletters/">Newsletters</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="https://www.newsquestrewards.co.uk/" target="blank">Reader Rewards</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/jobs/">Jobs</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/homes/">Homes</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/cars/">Motoring</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/advertising/">Book an ad</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/graduations/">Graduations</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/contact/">Contact us</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="site-brand container-inner-width"> <div class="site-brand__container"> <a href="/"> <img src="/resources/images/small_site_logo/" alt="The Herald" class="site-brand__brand-image"/> </a> </div>  <div class="simple-header-top-navigation"> <div class="simple-header-top-navigation__links"> <div class="simple-header-top-navigation__links--primary-links header-primary-links"> <a href="/subscribe/"> <button class="mar-btn--promo-primary"> Subscribe </button> </a> <ul class="list-style-none top-nav-overflow"> <li><a href="/pagesuite/"><button class="mar-btn--promo-secondary">Digital Edition</button></a></li> <li><a href="/puzzles/"><button class="mar-btn--promo-primary">Puzzles</button></a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="simple-header-top-navigation__links--classifieds"> </div> </div> <div class="simple-header-top-navigation__links--account"> <a href="/my/account/log-in/" class="simple-header-top-navigation__user-login piano-id__login"> <button id="headerUserAccountButton">  <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg " width="14" height="16" viewBox="0 0 10 14" fill="none"> <circle cx="5" cy="3.85718" r="3" fill="black"/> <ellipse cx="5" cy="10.2857" rx="5" ry="2.85714" fill="black"/> </svg> </button> </a> </div> <button aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Open the menu" class="simple-header-top-navigation__mega-menu-btn primary-nav__menu--more-btn"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1em" height="1em" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2.5" d="M3 6h18M3 12h18M3 18h18"/></svg> </button> </div> </div>  <div id="mega-menu" class="mega-menu" style="display: none;"> <div class="mega-menu__container mega-menu__wrapper"> <div class="mega-menu__cancel-button"> <i aria-expanded="true" aria-hidden="true" aria-label="Close the menu" class="mega-menu__cancel-button--icon"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="eva:close-fill" data-inline="false"></span> <div>Close</div> </i> </div> <div class="mega-menu-subscribe-banner"> <span>Stay ahead with a digital subscription</span> <a href="/subscribe/">Subscribe</a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__features expanded-sub-nav"> <div class="mega-menu__features--links"> <h4 class="prefix mega-menu__features--prefix link-item">Featured newsletters</h4> <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/newsletters/politics/1897/" target="_blank" class="col link-item">Unspun: Scottish Politics</a> <a href="/newsletters/news/1698/" class="col link-item">Inside the NHS</a> <a href="/newsletters/2651/" class="col link-item">Lessons to Learn</a> <a href="/newsletters/2684/" class="col link-item">Herald Arts</a> </div> <hr class="divider none"> </div> <div class="mega-menu__search"> <form method="get" action="/search/"> <h4 class="mega-menu__search--title">Search</h4> <div class="mega-menu__search--bar"> <input class="searchbar-input" type="text" name="search" placeholder="Search The Herald"> <button class="searchbar-btn mira-search-button" type="submit"><span class="iconify" data-icon="fe:search" data-inline="false"></span></button> </div> </form> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list link-list"> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/news/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">News</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/news/homenews/">Scottish News</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/news/health/">Health</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/news/education/">Education HQ</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/news/transport/">Transport</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/news/investigations/">Investigations</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/news/national-news/">UK News</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/news/world_news/">World News</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/news/subscriber/">Subscriber</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/politics/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Politics</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/politics/holyrood/">Holyrood</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/politics/westminster/">Westminster</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/politics/viewpoint/">Political Opinion</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/politics/analysis/">Analysis</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/politics/explainer/">Explainer</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/sport/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Sport</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/sport/football/">Football</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/sport/opinion/">Comment</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/sport/rugby/">Rugby</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/sport/tennis/">Tennis</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/sport/golf/">Golf</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/sport/other_sports/">Other Sports</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/sport/best-of/">Best Of</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/sport/uk-sport/">UK Sport</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/opinion/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Voices</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/opinion/columnists/">Columnists</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/opinion/the-diary/">The Diary</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/opinion/herald_view/">Herald View</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/opinion/letters/">Letters</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/opinion/podcasts/">Podcasts</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/opinion/obituaries/">Obituaries</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/opinion/camleys_cartoon/">Camley's Cartoons</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/business_hq/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Business HQ</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/business_hq/company_news/">Companies</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/business_hq/business/">Business</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/business_hq/markets_economy/">Markets</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/business_hq/people/">People</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/business_hq/stem/">STEM</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/business_hq/entrepreneur/">Entrepreneur</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/business_hq/supplements/">Supplements</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/life_style/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Features</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/life_style/arts_ents/">Arts & Ents</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/life_style/food_and_drink/">Food & Drink</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/life_style/travel/">Travel</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/life_style/bestofscotland/">Best of Scotland</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/life_style/property-market/">Property</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/life_style/gardening/">Gardening</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/life_style/big-reads/">Big Reads</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/campaigns/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Campaigns</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/campaigns/i-remember/">I Remember</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/campaigns/think-dementia/">Think Dementia</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/campaigns/memorial-garden/">Memorial Garden</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/campaigns/fair-deal-for-glasgow/">Fair Deal for Glasgow</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/journalists/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Our Writers</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/journalists/journalists/">All Journalists</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/memorials/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Announcements</span></h3> </a> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--child-links"> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/memorials/acknowledgements/">Acknowledgements</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/memorials/death-notices/">Death Notices</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/memorials/in-memoriam/">In Memoriam</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/announcements/public_notices/">Public notices</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/announcements/">Other announcements</a> </div> <div class="child-item"> <a href="/memorials/bereavement-guide/">Bereavement Guide</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/events/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Events</span></h3> </a> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__main-list--list-item"> <div> <div> <a href="/shop/"> <h3><span class="mega-menu__main-list--parent-link">Shop</span></h3> </a> </div> </div> <div class="divider"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mega-menu__sticky"> <ul class="list-style-none mega-menu__sticky--list"> <div class="mega-menu__sticky--primary-links"> <li> <a href="/subscribe/"> <button class="mar-btn--promo-primary"> Subscribe </button> </a></li> <li><a href="/pagesuite/"><button class="mar-btn--promo-secondary">Digital Edition</button></a></li> <li><a href="/puzzles/"><button class="mar-btn--promo-primary">Puzzles</button></a></li> </div> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/newsletters/">Newsletters</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="https://www.newsquestrewards.co.uk/" target="blank">Reader Rewards</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/jobs/">Jobs</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/homes/">Homes</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/cars/">Motoring</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/advertising/">Book an ad</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/graduations/">Graduations</a></li> <li><a class="mar-nav--promo-link" href="/contact/">Contact us</a></li> </ul> </div> </div>  <nav id="primary-nav" class="primary-nav"> <div class="primary-nav__container container-inner-width"> <span class="primary-nav__left"> <nav class="primary-nav__menu" role="list"> <div class="primary-nav__menu-container"> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/news/">News</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item primary-nav__menu--item--active"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/politics/">Politics</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/sport/">Sport</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/opinion/">Voices</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/business_hq/">Business HQ</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/life_style/">Features</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/campaigns/">Campaigns</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/journalists/">Our Writers</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/memorials/">Announcements</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/events/">Events</a> </div> <div class="primary-nav__menu--item"> <a class="primary-nav__menu--link" href="/shop/">Shop</a> </div> </div> </nav> </span> <span class="primary-nav__right"> <div class="primary-nav__menu--more-btn"> <button aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Open the menu" class="more-link more-burger-icon"> <svg aria-hidden=”true” xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1em" height="1em" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2.5" d="M3 6h18M3 12h18M3 18h18"/></svg> </button> </div> <div class="primary-nav__right--search"> <a class="primary-nav__container--search-icon search-icon" href="#"><span class="iconify" data-icon="ion:search-circle-sharp" data-inline="false"></span></a> </div> </span> </div> </nav>  <div class="sub-nav"> <span class="sub-nav__breadcrumb sub-nav__parent-link"> <a href="/politics/">Politics<span class="iconify" data-icon="akar-icons:chevron-right" data-inline="false"></span></a> </span> <a href="/politics/viewpoint/" class="sub-nav__breadcrumb">Political Opinion</a> <a href="/politics/holyrood/">Holyrood</a> <a href="/politics/westminster/">Westminster</a> <a href="/politics/analysis/">Analysis</a> <a href="/politics/explainer/">Explainer</a> </div>  <div id="header-sticky-nav" class="header-sticky-nav" data-uses-js="sticky-nav"> <div class="header-sticky-nav__wrapper"> <div class="header-sticky-nav__left"> <a class="header-sticky-nav__monogram" href="/"> <img src="/resources/images/small_site_logo/" alt="The Herald" class="site-brand__brand-image"/> </a> </div> <h2 class="header-sticky-nav__article-headline" data-truncate="2">Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted</h2> <div class="header-sticky-nav__right"> <div class="article-sticky-social">  <div class="social-bar social-bar__share-tray"> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-fb" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=fbshr"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="brandico:facebook"></span> </button> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link button-with-icon social-bar__button--with-icon bg-twitter" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://twitter.com/share?url=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=twtrec" data-share-headline="Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="fa6-brands:x-twitter"></span> </button> <a class="social-bar__whatsapp-link" href="whatsapp://send?text=Mark%20Smith%3A%20It%E2%80%99s%20here%3A%20the%20ferry%20no%20one%20wanted%0A%0Ahttps://www.heraldscotland.com%2Fpolitics%2Fviewpoint%2F24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted%2F%3fref%3Dwa"> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-whatsapp"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="akar-icons:whatsapp-fill"></span> </button> </a> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-linkedin" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=li"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="entypo-social:linkedin"></span> </button> <button class="button social-bar__button social-bar__tray-link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-tray"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="mdi:tray-arrow-up"></span> </button> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="nextup-config" data-position="" data-mobile-position="" data-module-name="" data-module-path="/politics/viewpoint/" data-track-events="false"></div> </header> </div> <div id="redesign-content"> <div id="module-content" class="content"> <div class="container mar-block-ad mar-block-ad--piano-promo" id="piano-container-top"></div> <div class="container mar-block-ad mar-block-ad--piano-promo" id="po-inline-banner-top-hero-content"></div> <div id="BlockArticleContainer" class="block-article-display__wrapper block-article-display--standard ">  <div class="block block-article-display"> <div class="block-article-display__article-container "> <article id="article" data-id="24745365">  <div class="mar-article">  <h1 class="mar-article__headline mar-mb-0">Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted</h1> <div class="mar-article__info-wrapper mar-mt-1"> <div class="mar-article__timestamp"> <time datetime="2024-11-23 06:57:00" data-format="article-display" data-show-date="always" data-show-time="today-only" data-timestamp="1732345020" itemprop="datePublished" class="author-details__timestamp formatTimeStampEs6" full-date="22.11.2024">  </time> </div> <div class="mar-article__article-tags mar-mb-2 ">  <div class="article-tags"><a href="/topics/economy/">Economy</a></div>  <div class="article-tags"><a href="/topics/politics/">Politics</a></div>  <div class="article-tags"><a href="/topics/transport/">Transport</a></div> </div>  </div> </div> <div class="article-row-container"> <div class="article-row-container--left"> <div class="article-row-container__spacing">  <div id="BlockArticleContent" class="block-article-content"> <div class="block-article-content__info-container"> <div class="block-article-content__author ">  <div class="author-details"> <a href="/author/profile/73196.Mark_Smith/" class="author-details__img"> <img src="/resources/images/16094553?type=thumb"> </a> <div class="author-details__name-container "> <a href="/author/profile/73196.Mark_Smith/" class="author-name mar-mr-1 no-underline"> By Mark Smith </a> <span class="job-title">Feature writer</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article-sponsor-information__container hidden ">  </div> <div class="block-article-content__socialbar flex-end ">  <div class="social-bar "> <div class="social-bar__text">Share</div> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-fb" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=fbshr"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="brandico:facebook"></span> </button> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link button-with-icon social-bar__button--with-icon bg-twitter" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://twitter.com/share?url=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=twtrec" data-share-headline="Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="fa6-brands:x-twitter"></span> </button> <a class="social-bar__whatsapp-link" href="whatsapp://send?text=Mark%20Smith%3A%20It%E2%80%99s%20here%3A%20the%20ferry%20no%20one%20wanted%0A%0Ahttps://www.heraldscotland.com%2Fpolitics%2Fviewpoint%2F24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted%2F%3fref%3Dwa"> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-whatsapp"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="akar-icons:whatsapp-fill"></span> </button> </a> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-linkedin" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=li"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="entypo-social:linkedin"></span> </button> <a class="article-comments__text--inline" href="#comments-anchor" data-uses-js="comments-open" data-comments-count="33"></a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article-hero light-background">  <div id="43fde2db-c8a1-4b49-b65d-5d98efac3e5c" > </div> <div class="mar-article-image"> <img alt="Glen Sannox <i>(Image: Glen Sannox)</i>" srcset="/resources/images/18800238.jpg?type=mds-article-575 575w, /resources/images/18800238.jpg?type=mds-article-962 962w, /resources/images/18800238.jpg?type=mds-article-642 642w, /resources/images/18800238.jpg?type=mds-article-620 620w" sizes="(min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 30px), (min-width: 992px) 642px, (min-width: 1401px) 620px, 100vw" style="aspect-ratio: 2400 / 1600" /> <div class="mar-article-image__caption"> <span>Glen Sannox <i>(Image: Glen Sannox)</i></span> </div> </div> </div> <div></div>  <div class="block-article-content__spacing"> <div class="article-body"> <div> <div id="po-inline-article-above"></div> <div id="po-inline-articlewall-fullarticle-closable"></div> <div id="po-inline-articlegate-fullarticle"><div id="subscription-above-article"></div><div id="subscription-replace-entire-article"><p class="article-first-paragraph"> The first thing I did was check whether the windows were real because you’ll remember that when Glen Sannox was “launched” in 2017, the windows were painted on; they were fake. But this time the <a href="/news/homenews/" class="section-link">news</a> is good: the windows are real, the ferry is finished, and we’re ready to go. It’s finally here: the ferry nobody wanted. </p> <p> Let me remind you what’s been happening. Seven years to the day since that notorious launch (just remembered: the funnels were fake too), Glen Sannox has been handed over by the Ferguson shipyard to CMAL, the government’s ferry procurement agency, who will lease it to CalMac, who’ll run the thing on the route to Arran. John Petticrew, the chief executive of Ferguson’s – there’s been a few – said the ship was a fine vessel capable of providing decades of service to the islanders and visitors. </p> <div id="po-inline-articlewall-partialarticle-closable"></div> <div id="po-inline-articlegate-partialarticle"> <div id="po-overlay-articlegate-full-width-scroll-below"></div> <div id="subscription-content"> <p> I would hope so too: the ferry is six years overdue and cost £300m more than they said it would. What happens next is it’ll go through some final trials so the crew can get used to it before it starts on the Arran route in January and it’s hard to say what we’re expected to feel after all this time, and all that money. Satisfaction? Relief? Frustration? No: anger. </p> <p> Let me tell what the islanders think, and some of the other people who depend on the Arran ferry. I’ve been over to the island a few times speaking to folk there about the crisis and I remember one islander in particular telling me what the problem with the government approach has been from the start. “For God's sake,” he said, “come and talk to the islanders and listen to them and act on what we’re saying.” </p> <div id="piano-container-inside-article" style="display: none; margin-bottom: 20px; clear: both;"> <div id="po-inline-article-inside" style="display: none; margin-bottom: 20px; clear: both;"></div> </div> <p> They never did, which is why Glen Sannox is the ferry nobody wanted. I recall another frustrated islander telling me about one of the very early meetings CalMac had on Arran during the initial planning stages for the ferries. A company representative grandiloquently laid out their plans for what became Glen Sannox but almost to a man and a woman, the islanders looked and said: this isn’t what we need. </p> <p> What they needed was pretty simple: two, ideally three, small ferries or catamarans that could zip across to Ardrossan back to back. It would mean there’d always be a spare one in the case of breakdown or emergency but more importantly, catamarans are more resilient and reliable in bad weather and, more importantly still, they’re cheaper. This is what the islanders said they wanted. </p> <p> Had the government listened and chosen this option, they would have avoided one of the other big problems their decision to go for a big ferry caused, which is the crisis in Ardrossan. The original plan was for the Glen Sannox to do the normal Ardrossan-to-Arran route but when it does start work in January, it won’t be from Ardrossan, it’ll be from Troon because the Glen Sannox is too big for the Ardrossan pier. People in the town are really worried about this: they’re concerned their ferry may never come back. </p> <hr> <p> Read more </p> <p> <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24729836.mark-smith-govan-revolution-good-us/">Mark Smith: The Govan revolution that could be good for all of us</a> </p> <p> <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24728359.one-haters-one-hated-time-rethink/">Mark Smith: Which one are you: the hater or the hated? It’s time for a rethink</a> </p> <hr> <p> Again, this is something that could have been avoided, most obviously by commissioning ferries that were the right size for the pier that was already there. But when that didn’t happen, they could have, and should have, cracked on with an upgrade to the pier in time for the arrival of the Glen Sannox. The problem is the Scottish Government has been arguing with the other two partners, Peel Ports and North Ayrshire Council, over who’s going to pay for it all, and it’s still not resolved and no one knows when it will be. </p> <p> You can see that some of this is down to the messy way our ferries and ports are run in the part-private, part-public system. Peel Ports has been accused of under-investing in the harbour but Peel Ports had nothing to do with commissioning ferries that were too big for the pier. Much more worrying is the tripartite system that runs the ferries that’s been shown to be unfit for purpose. CMAL and CalMac should be merged. </p> <p> If you’re an islander, you will certainly know that CalMac is also struggling to maintain a winter timetable because of a fundamental failure of the system: the ferries that are currently in service have been allowed to get old. In the first 15 years of the SNP Government, they put into service half the number of vessels that were put into service in the 15 years before they came to power. It’s one of the reasons the current network is creaking so loudly at the seams. </p> <p> <img srcset="https://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/18800231/?type=mds-article-575 575w, https://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/18800231/?type=mds-article-962 962w, https://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/18800231/?type=mds-article-642 1400w, https://www.heraldscotland.com/resources/images/18800231/?type=mds-article-620 1401w" sizes="(max-width: 575px) 575px, (max-width: 992px) 962px, (max-width: 1400px) 1400px, (min-width: 1401px) 1401px" style="width: 100%;"><span class="inline-image-caption"><em>(Image: The official handover of Glen Sannox)</em></span> </p> <p> In the meantime, I suppose we must try to be optimistic and believe the Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes when she says the Glen Sannox will provide greater resilience to the fleet and that its delivery this week is a major step forward in the government’s programme to procure six new ferries by 2026. But should we believe her more than we believed Alex Salmond when he awarded the contracts to Ferguson’s, or Nicola Sturgeon when she stood and cheered in front of the fake windows and plywood funnels? </p> <p> I’m not sure. A friend of mine has just moved to Cumbrae and I went over to see him the other day and we went for a walk along the front at Millport and had a couple of pints and he told me about the benefits of his new life on the island compared to his old life in Glasgow and I could see it. You know how it is: you start to wonder what it would be like. </p> <p> But my friend also told me there was a chance I wouldn’t get home that night because the ferry might be cancelled and that’s fine it happens: weather, storms, acts of God. The ongoing crisis of Scotland’s ferries is different though: it isn’t about acts of God, it’s about acts of Government: neglect, inefficiency, incompetence and the failure to listen to the people affected by your decisions. Remember, please, the islander’s plea: talk to us, listen to us, and act on what we’re saying. It’s still possible. </p> </div> </div></div><div id="subscription-below-article" style="clear:both"></div></div> <div id="po-inline-article-below" style="clear:both"></div> </div> <div class="clearfix"></div> </div> <div class="block-article-content__bottom-tags mar-mb-4">  <div class="article-tags"><a href="/topics/economy/">Economy</a></div>  <div class="article-tags"><a href="/topics/politics/">Politics</a></div>  <div class="article-tags"><a href="/topics/transport/">Transport</a></div> </div>  <section class="article-comments"> <div class="article-comments__wrapper article-comments--inline ">  <div class="social-bar social-bar--bottom "> <div class="social-bar__text">Share</div> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-fb" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=fbshr"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="brandico:facebook"></span> </button> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link button-with-icon social-bar__button--with-icon bg-twitter" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://twitter.com/share?url=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=twtrec" data-share-headline="Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="fa6-brands:x-twitter"></span> </button> <a class="social-bar__whatsapp-link" href="whatsapp://send?text=Mark%20Smith%3A%20It%E2%80%99s%20here%3A%20the%20ferry%20no%20one%20wanted%0A%0Ahttps://www.heraldscotland.com%2Fpolitics%2Fviewpoint%2F24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted%2F%3fref%3Dwa"> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-whatsapp"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="akar-icons:whatsapp-fill"></span> </button> </a> <button class="social-bar__button social-bar__link social-bar__button--with-icon bg-linkedin" data-uses-js="custom-sharing" data-share-url="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=" data-share-path="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/?ref=li"> <span class="iconify" data-icon="entypo-social:linkedin"></span> </button> </div> <div class="article-comments__text--inline mar-mt-0" data-uses-js="comments-button" data-comments-count="33"> </div> </div> <div id="comments-feedback-anchor"></div> <div id="article-comments__interrupt-modal-content" hidden> <h3> Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers? </h3> <p> It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse. </p> <p> heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment. </p> <p> We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself. </p> <p> We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories. </p> <p> That is invaluable. </p> <p> We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse. </p> <p> In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com </p> </div> <div class="article-comments__container" hidden data-current-user="">  <div class="article-comments__moderation-rules " id="comment-moderation-rules"> <h3 class="article-comments__moderation-rules-title"> Comments & Moderation </h3> <div class="article-comments__moderation-rules-body"> <p class="article-comments__moderation-rules-text"> Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments. </p> <p class="article-comments__moderation-rules-text"> Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. </p>  <a href="/misc/comments" data-uses-js="" class=" mar-btn mar-btn--light mar-btn--sm " > Read the rules here </a> </div> </div> <div id="comments-anchor"></div> <div id="piano-above-comments"></div> <div id="po-inline-subscribercommentmessage"></div> <div class="post-comment-container post-comment-form"> <div class="mar-alert mar-alert--error" hidden id="commentErrorDisplay"> </div> <div class="comment-status"> Please <a href="/my/account/log-in/" rel="nofollow" class="piano-id__login login-callback piano-id-login">sign in</a> or <a href="/my/account/register/?ref=newsart_comment" rel="nofollow" class="piano-id__register piano-id-register">register</a> to comment. </div> </div> <div class="article-comments__order-sort-header"> <div class="article-comments__order-sort-header -sortby"> <div class="mar-form-elements__form-group---inline"> <label>Sort by</label> <select data-uses-js="comments-sort" name="commentSort" id="comments-sort" class="mar-form-elements__form-control"> <option value="oldest">Oldest first</option> <option value="newest">Newest first</option> <option value="score">Highest scored</option> <option value="score-l">Lowest scored</option> </select> </div> </div> </div> <div id="comments-list" data-article-id="24745365" class="wider" data-verified-user > <div class="loader">loading</div> <div id="comments-list__container"></div>  <div id="commentTemplate" class="comment-container"> <div class="comment" style="display: none;"> <div class="comment__header comment-item-header"> <span class="comment__username comment-username" data-user-id="" data-user-name=""></span> <button class="comment__suspend-btn suspend" id="s_" title="Suspend this comment" data-uses-js="suspend-comment" > Suspend </button> <span class="comment__posted formatTimeStampEs6 timestamp posted-date" data-show-time="true" data-timestamp="" data-format="comments"></span> </div> <div class="clearfix"></div> <span class="mobile-admin-user"></span> <span class="comment__user-id comment-alias-user-id"></span> <div class="comment__body comment-body clearfix"> <span class="comment__text comment-text"></span> <p class="comment__last-updated timestamp last-edited"> Last Updated: <span class="formatTimeStampEs6" data-timestamp="" data-format="comments" data-show-time="true"></span> </p> </div> <div class="comment__actions"> <div class="comment__actions--left"> <button class="mar-btn mar-btn--light mar-btn--sm reply" data-uses-js="comment-reply">Reply</button> <button data-uses-js="comment-quote" class="mar-btn mar-btn--light mar-btn--sm quote">Quote</button> </div> <div class="comment__actions--right"> <button data-uses-js="edit-comment" class="mar-btn mar-btn--sm edit-comment" data-id="">Edit</button> <button data-uses-js="delete-comment" class="mar-btn mar-btn--sm delete-comment" data-id="">Delete</button> <button class="mar-btn mar-btn--sm comment-report" data-uses-js="comment-report">Report</button>  <button class="mar-upvote" data-uses-js="comment-upvote" > <div class="mar-upvote__icon">  <svg width="12" height="13" viewBox="0 0 12 13" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <path d="M1.11073 7.90577H3.55536V12.1839C3.55536 12.346 3.61975 12.5014 3.73437 12.616C3.84898 12.7307 4.00443 12.795 4.16652 12.795H7.83348C7.99557 12.795 8.15102 12.7307 8.26563 12.616C8.38025 12.5014 8.44464 12.346 8.44464 12.1839V7.90577H10.8893C11.0043 7.90558 11.117 7.87294 11.2144 7.8116C11.3117 7.75026 11.3898 7.66272 11.4396 7.55901C11.4895 7.45531 11.5091 7.33965 11.4961 7.22532C11.4832 7.11098 11.4383 7.00261 11.3666 6.91264L6.47732 0.801054C6.24446 0.510753 5.75554 0.510753 5.52269 0.801054L0.633415 6.91264C0.561688 7.00261 0.516788 7.11098 0.503869 7.22532C0.49095 7.33965 0.510536 7.45531 0.560378 7.55901C0.61022 7.66272 0.688298 7.75026 0.785647 7.8116C0.882996 7.87294 0.995669 7.90558 1.11073 7.90577Z" fill="white"/> </svg> </div> <div class="mar-upvote__count">0</div> </button> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div id="reportTemplate" class="report-container report-form" hidden> <div id="commentsform" class="commentPost"> <h3 class="report-form__header"> Report this comment <a data-uses-js="report-cancel" href="#" class="report-form__cancel">Cancel</a> </h3> <div class="mar-alert hidden"></div> <form method="post" class="mar-form-elements clearfix"> <div class="mar-form-elements__form-group"> <input class="mar-form-elements__form-control" type="hidden" name="id" id="comment-id" value="" /> </div> <div id="report-form-name" class="mar-form-elements__form-group"> <input required data-required-message="Please enter your name." class="mar-form-elements__form-control" type="text" name="name" id="report-name" value="" placeholder="Please enter your name."/> </div> <div id="report-form-email" class="mar-form-elements__form-group"> <input data-pattern="^([a-zA-Z0-9_.+-])+@(([a-zA-Z0-9-])+\.)+([a-zA-Z0-9]{2,4})+$" data-pattern-message="Please enter correct email" class="mar-form-elements__form-control" type="email" name="email" id="report-email" placeholder="Please enter your email."/> </div> <div id="report-form-reason" class="mar-form-elements__form-group"> <textarea required data-required-message="Please enter the reason you wish to complain about this post." class="mar-form-elements__form-control" name="comment" id="report-reason" placeholder="Please enter the reason for your report. Please note we will not accept reports with HTML tags or URLs in them."></textarea> </div> <div class="form-group mar-mb-3"><label for="captcha">I am not a robot <span class="mandatory">*</span></label><input type="hidden" name="captchaKey" value="ec19feaa9cd95cb9a7709dba893d4da1" /><br/><img src="/resources/images/captcha2/?k=ec19feaa9cd95cb9a7709dba893d4da1"/></div><div class="form-group">Enter the above word in the box below<br/><input id="captcha" type="text" class="form-control" name="captcha" required data-label="I am not a robot check"><br/></div> <button data-uses-js="report-submit" type="submit" name="submit" class="report-form__submit mar-btn mar-btn--dark mar-btn--sm report-submit" value="Report comment"> Report </button> </form> </div> </div>  <div id="replyTemplate" class="reply-container reply-form" hidden> <div class="reply-form__header"> <span class="reply-form__username comment-username"></span> <a data-uses-js="reply-cancel" href="#" class="reply-form__cancel">Cancel</a> </div> <form class="reply-form__form mar-form-elements" method="post" action="?action=add_comment"> <div class="mar-mb-2 mar-alert mar-alert--success mar-alert--success" hidden></div> <div class="mar-mb-2 mar-alert mar-alert--error mar-form-elements__form-group--error-top" hidden></div> <div class="mar-form-elements__form-group"> <input class="mar-form-elements__form-control" type="hidden" name="username" id="username" value="" /> </div> <div class="mar-form-elements__form-group"> <input class="mar-form-elements__form-control" type="hidden" name="inReplyTo" value=""> </div> <div class="mar-form-elements__form-group"> <input class="mar-form-elements__form-control" type="hidden" name="article_id" value="24745365"> </div> <div class="mar-form-elements__form-group"> <input class="mar-form-elements__form-control" type="hidden" name="is_quote" value="false"> </div> <div class="reply-form__quote quote-preview" hidden> <blockquote class="mar-blockquote"> <strong class="reply-form__quote-user quote-preview__user"></strong> <br> <span class="reply-form__quote-content quote-preview__content"></span> </blockquote> </div> <div class="mar-form-elements__form-group post-comment-form-textarea"> <label class="reply-form__reply-to comment-replyto"></label> <textarea required data-required-message="Please enter a comment" name="comment" class="mar-form-elements__form-control comment-entry-box" placeholder="Add your reply"></textarea> </div> <button data-uses-js="post-comment" class="reply-form__submit mar-btn mar-btn--dark mar-btn--sm button-post-comment"> Post reply </button> </form> </div>  <div id="editTemplate" class="edit-container edit-form" hidden> <form class="mar-form-elements edit-comment-form"> <h3 class="edit-form__header"> <span class="edit-form__title">Edit comment</span> <a data-uses-js="edit-cancel" href="#" class="edit-form__cancel">Cancel</a> </h3> <div class="mar-mb-2 mar-alert mar-alert--error mar-form-elements__form-group--error-top" hidden></div> <div class="mar-mb-2 mar-alert mar-alert--success mar-alert--success" hidden></div> <div class="mar-form-elements__form-group post-comment-form-textarea"> <label class="edit-form__textarea-label"></label> <textarea required data-required-message="Please enter a comment" class="edit-comment-box mar-form-elements__form-control post-comment-form-textarea"></textarea> </div> <button data-uses-js="edit-submit" class="mar-btn mar-btn--dark mar-btn--sm edit-save edit-form__submit">Save edit</button> </form> </div>  <div id="deleteTemplate" class="delete-container delete-form" hidden> <div class="mar-mt-2 mar-mb-2 mar-alert mar-alert--error mar-form-elements__form-group--error-top" hidden></div> <div class="mar-mt-2 mar-mb-2 mar-alert mar-alert--success mar-alert--success" hidden></div> <div class="delete-alert mar-alert mar-alert--error"> <p class="delete-alert__message mar-alert__message">Are you sure you want to delete this comment?</p> <div class="delete-alert__actions mar-alert__actions"> <button class="delete-alert__confirm mar-btn mar-btn--light mar-btn--sm delete-confirm" data-uses-js="delete-submit">Yes delete</button> <a data-uses-js="delete-cancel" href="#" class="delete-alert__cancel">Cancel</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <div data-block-pull="block-outbrain-inline-pull"></div> </div> </div>  <div id="DFP_teads"></div> </div> </div> <div class="article-row-container--right__article-display-page-only"> <div class="article-row-container__column mar-mb-4"> <div id="premium_mpu_container" class="premium-mpu-container mar-block-ad mar-block-ad--dfp-premium-mpu mar-block-ad--article-card-interrupt premium-mpu" style="width: 100%;"> <div id="DFP_premium_mpu"></div> </div> </div> <div class="article-row-container__column">  <div class="send-us-your-news-cta"> <h2> Get <em>involved</em><br/> <span>with</span> <b>the news</b> </h2>  <a href="/send-us-your-news" data-uses-js="" class=" mar-btn mar-btn--light mar-btn--md " > Send your news & photos </a> </div> </div> <div class="article-row-container__column"> <section class="block mega-news-block"> <aside>  <div class="block block-most-popular-right-column" data-uses-js="most-read-side-bar">  <div class="most-read mar-tab" data-limit="10"> <ul class="most-read__tab most-read__headings mar-tab__headings"> </ul> <div class="most-read__body mar-tab__body-container most-read__body--one-column"> <div class="loader">Loading...</div> </div>   <div class="read-more-cta read-more-cta__container mar-btn-full mar-btn-full__container hidden "> <div class="mar-btn-full__line-container"> <span class="mar-btn-full__line mar-btn--light"></span> <button type="button" data-uses-js="most-read" class="mar-btn mar-btn-full mar-btn--light mar-btn--sm mar-btn--rounded " > Show more articles </button> </div> </div> </div> </div> </aside> </section> <div id="standard_mpu_2_container" class="standard-mpu-container mar-block-ad mar-block-ad--standard-mpu mar-block-ad--article-card-interrupt dfp-standard-mpu-2" style="height: 250px; width: 100%;"> <div id="DFP_standard_mpu_2"></div> </div> <div class="side-ad" style="flex-grow: 1"> <div id="DFP_on_scroll" style="margin-top: 25px"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> <input type="hidden" id="site-name" value="The Herald"> <input id="has-contribution-cta" type="hidden" value=""> </div> <div id="block-outbrain-inline-pull"> <section class="promoted-block">  <aside><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-ob-contentUrl="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24745365.mark-smith-ferry-no-one-wanted/" data-ob-installation-key="NEWSQ15BEE3GLF6A6AL9EECN9" data-widget-id="AR_1"></div></aside> </section> </div> </div> <div> <section class="mar-leaderboard mar-leaderboard--bottom mar-leaderboard--margin-top mar-leaderboard--margin-top"> <div id="DFP_bottom_leaderboard"></div> </section> </div> </div> </div>  <footer class="footer-outer"> <div class="footer container-inner-width"> <ul class="list-style-none footer__menu"> <li><a href="/contact/">Contact us</a></li> <li><a href="/gdpr/" class="gdpr-option-v2" data-v2-id="191113" data-is-gate="no">Manage Consent</a></li> <li><a href="/announcements/">Announcements</a></li> <li><a href="http://leap.heraldscotland.com">Leap</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.newsquest.co.uk/cookie-policy/" target="_blank">Cookie Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.newsquest.co.uk/terms-conditions/" target="_blank">Terms & Conditions</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.newsquest.co.uk/contributor-terms/" target="_blank">Contributor Terms</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.newsquestprinting.co.uk/" target="_blank">Newsquest printing</a></li> <li><a href="/advertising/">Advertise</a></li> <li><a href="/emailbulletins/">Newsletters</a></li> <li><a href="/reader-rewards/">Reader Rewards</a></li> <li><a href="/misc/sitemap/">Site Map</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.exchangeandmart.co.uk/" target="_blank">Exchange and Mart</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.newsquest.co.uk/terms-of-advertising/" target="_blank">Terms of Advertising</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.newsquest.co.uk/privacy-policy/" target="_blank">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.newsquest.co.uk/diversity-statement/" target="_blank">Diversity Statement</a></li> <li><a href="https://newsquest.newsprints.co.uk/">Photo sales</a></li> <li><a href="/publications/">Our Publications</a></li> <li><a href="/archive/">Archive</a></li> <li><a href="/submit-an-event/">Add Your Event For Free</a></li> </ul> <div class="footer__social-media"> <h3 class="footer__heading footer__social-media--heading">follow us</h3> <a class="footer__social-media--link" href="https://www.facebook.com/heraldscotland/" title="Like us on Facebook" role="link" data-media-type="facebook" > <i class="footer__social-media--icon iconify"></i> Like us on Facebook </a> <a class="footer__social-media--link" href="https://twitter.com/heraldscotland" title="Follow us on X.com" role="link" data-media-type="twitter" > <i class="footer__social-media--icon iconify"></i> Follow us on X.com </a> <a class="footer__social-media--link" href="https://www.instagram.com/theheraldscotland/" title="Follow us on Instagram" role="link" data-media-type="instagram" > <i class="footer__social-media--icon iconify"></i> Follow us on Instagram </a> </div> <div class="footer__ipso-terms "> <img class="footer__ipso-terms--logo" src="/resources/responsive-static/mds/images/ipso-regulated.svg" /> <p class="footer__ipso-terms--copy"> This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please <a class="footer__ipso-terms--link" href="/contact"> contact the editor here</a>. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can <a class="footer__ipso-terms--link" href="https://www.ipso.co.uk/contact-us/">contact IPSO here</a> </p> <p class="footer__ipso-terms--copy"> <a class="footer__ipso-terms--link" href="/my/account/copyrights/">© 2001-2024</a>. <a class="footer__ipso-terms--link" href="https://www.newsquest.co.uk">Newsquest Media Group Ltd</a>, 1st Floor, Chartist Tower, Upper Dock Street, Newport, Wales, NP20 1DW | 01676637 | </p> </div> </div> </footer> <div id="fb-root"></div> </div> </div>  <div class="mar-modal-container mar-modal-container--animate mar-modal-container--animate-out visually-hidden"> <div class="mar-modal-overlay" data-uses-js="close-modal"></div> <div class="mar-modal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog"> <div class="mar-modal__header"> <h4 class="mar-modal__title">Modal headline</h4> <div class="mar-modal__close" data-uses-js="close-modal">  <svg width="14" height="14" viewBox="0 0 14 14" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M7.60714 6L11.6518 10.0446C11.7589 10.1518 11.8438 10.2768 11.9062 10.4196C11.9688 10.5625 12 10.7143 12 10.875C12 11.1786 11.8884 11.442 11.6652 11.6652C11.442 11.8884 11.1696 12 10.8482 12C10.6875 12 10.5357 11.9688 10.3929 11.9062C10.25 11.8438 10.1339 11.7589 10.0446 11.6518L6 7.60714L1.95536 11.6518C1.84821 11.7589 1.72321 11.8438 1.58036 11.9062C1.4375 11.9688 1.28572 12 1.125 12C0.821427 12 0.558037 11.8884 0.334821 11.6652C0.111606 11.442 0 11.1786 0 10.875C0 10.7143 0.0312497 10.5625 0.09375 10.4196C0.15625 10.2768 0.241071 10.1518 0.348214 10.0446L4.36607 6L0.348214 1.95536C0.241071 1.84821 0.15625 1.72768 0.09375 1.59375C0.0312497 1.45982 0 1.3125 0 1.15179C0 0.830355 0.111606 0.558037 0.334821 0.334821C0.558037 0.111606 0.821427 0 1.125 0C1.28572 0 1.4375 0.0312497 1.58036 0.09375C1.72321 0.15625 1.84821 0.241071 1.95536 0.348214L6 4.39286L10.0446 0.348214C10.1339 0.241071 10.25 0.15625 10.3929 0.09375C10.5357 0.0312497 10.6875 0 10.8482 0C11.1696 0 11.442 0.111606 11.6652 0.334821C11.8884 0.558037 12 0.830355 12 1.15179C12 1.3125 11.9688 1.45982 11.9062 1.59375C11.8438 1.72768 11.7589 1.84821 11.6518 1.95536L7.60714 6Z" fill="#9DA0A4"/> </svg> <span>Close</span> </div> </div> <div class="mar-modal__body">Automatically injected HTML goes here</div> <div class="mar-modal__actions">  <button type="button" data-uses-js="modal-submit" class=" mar-btn mar-btn--light mar-btn--md " > Submit </button>  <button type="button" data-uses-js="modal-cancel" class=" mar-btn mar-btn--outline mar-btn--md " > Cancel </button> </div> </div> </div>  <div id="piano-meter-display" style="width: 100%; position: fixed; bottom: 0; margin: auto; z-index: 999999999999999; display: none; background-color: #fff; left: 0px"> <div style="width: 960px; margin: auto;"> <button class="mar-btn btn-martini float-right" style="margin-top: 20px" id="piano-show-newsquest" type="button">Deactivate</button> <div class="mt-2"><strong>Piano meter debugger</strong></div> <p class="mb-0" style="font-style: italic;">Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback <a href="https://docs.piano.io/callbacks/#activeevent">event</a>.</p> <div class="mb-2" id="piano-meter-display-content"></div> </div> </div> <div id="piano-top-message"></div> <div id="po-overlay-banner-top-fullwidth"></div> <div id="piano-message"></div> <div id="po-overlay-banner-bottom-fullwidth"></div> <div id="piano-floating-bottom-banner"></div> <div id="po-overlay-banner-bottom-content"></div>  <div class="modal" id="adlight-explanation-modal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="sp-modal" aria-hidden="true" style="display: none"> <div class="modal-dialog modal-lg" role="document"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-body"> <img src="/resources/responsive-static/images/love-local.png" loading="lazy" id="adlight-explanation-modal-main-logo"> <p>As a subscriber, you are shown <strong>80% less</strong> display advertising when reading our articles.</p> <p>Those ads you do see are predominantly from <strong>local businesses</strong> promoting <strong>local services</strong>. </p> <p>These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the <strong>local community</strong>.</p> <img src="/resources/images/pixel/" id="adlight-explanation-modal-image" style="display: none"> <p class="italic">It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.</p> </div> <div class="modal-footer"> <button type="button" class="mar-btn mar-btn--dark" data-dismiss="modal">Close</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="po-overlay-toast-left"></div> </body>   <div id="outbrain-holder"> <div id="DFP_standard_mpu_3"></div> <div id="DFP_standard_mpu_4"></div> <div id="DFP_standard_mpu_5"></div> <div id="DFP_standard_mpu_6"></div> <div id="DFP_standard_mpu_7"></div> </div> <script> const elementToObserve = document.querySelector("#outbrain-holder"); // create a new instance of `MutationObserver` named `observer`, // passing it a callback function const observer = new MutationObserver(function(e) { $.each(e, function(j, obs) { $.each(obs.removedNodes, function (i, node) { var id = $(node).attr('id'); addAdSlot(id, id.replace('DFP_', '')); }); }); }); // call `observe()` on that MutationObserver instance, // passing it the element to observe, and the options object observer.observe(elementToObserve, {subtree: true, childList: true}); </script> <script> window.domComplete = performance.now(); </script>  <script type="text/javascript"> var promoUnits = []; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> path = document.location.href.split("/"); var prop30 = qs.get('lp'); var prop43 = qs.get('ref'); var pType="BlockArticleModule" if (pType === 'BlockArticleModule' || pType === 'NationalNewsModule' || pType === 'BlockWhatsOnModule') { pType = 'ArticleModule'; } for(x=4; x<7; x++) { if (typeof path[x] == 'undefined') { path[x] = ''; } if(path[x] == "" || (pType == "ArticleModule" && path[x].match(/[0-9]+\./)) || (path[x].indexOf('?') > -1)) { path[x] = path[x-1]; } else { path[x] = path[x-1] + "/" + path[x]; } path[x] = path[x].replace(/\/undefined/g,""); } sitename = path[2].split("."); pathN= unescape(document.location.pathname.toString()); matches = pathN.match(/(\w+)\.(in|near|compare)\.([\,a-zA-Z0-9\ _-]+)[\/]?$/); detailMatches = pathN.match(/(\w+)\.detail\.(.*)$/); if (detailMatches !== null && detailMatches.length > 1) { matches = detailMatches; } if (matches !== null && matches.length > 1) { var subfolder = ''; path[3] = 'li'; path[4] = 'li/'+subfolder; path[5] = 'li/'+subfolder+'/'+matches[1]; path[6] = 'li/'+subfolder+'/'+matches[1]; } if (pathN === '/') { path[3] = 'homepage'; path[4] = 'homepage'; path[5] = 'homepage'; path[6] = 'homepage'; } function filterArray(arr) { var retArr = []; $.each(arr, function(i, part) { if (part !== '') { retArr.push(part); } }); return retArr; } </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var known = $.cookie('__siren') ? '1' : '0' ; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> if (window.screen.width < 728 && $('#BlockArticleContainer').length > 0) { if ('308' === '1147') { $('#DFP_out_of_page').remove(); } else { $('#DFP_premium_mpu').remove(); } $('#DFP_on_scroll').remove(); } else if (window.screen.width < 728 && ( $(".article-grid__uber[data-top-stories-articles='7'][data-news-list-articles='9']").length > 0 || $(".article-grid__uber[data-top-stories-articles='7'][data-news-list-articles='12']").length > 0 || $(".article-grid__uber[data-top-stories-articles='7'][data-news-list-articles='18']").length > 0 || $(".article-grid__uber[data-top-stories-articles='7'][data-news-list-articles='24']").length > 0 ) ) { const adElement = document.querySelector('#high_vis_container'); $('.omnicard[data-position="5"]').after(adElement); } if ('308' === '1147' && window.screen.width > 450) { $('#DFP_bottom_leaderboard').remove(); } if ('308' === '1147' && window.screen.width < 728) { $('#DFP_top_leaderboard').remove(); } if ('308' === '1147') { $('#DFP_teads').remove(); $('#DFP_out_of_page').remove(); } </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var known = $.cookie('__siren') ? '1' : '0' ; function addToTargeting(targeting, data) { if (!data) { return targeting; } $.each(data, function (key, value) { if (!value) { return; } targeting[key] = value; }); return targeting; } var ref = document.referrer; var parser = document.createElement('a'); parser.href = ref; // values in the below MUST be strings var targeting = { 'context': 'Travel', 'al': 'l', 'domain': 'www.heraldscotland.com', 'isLanding': 'no', 'top_path': 'politics', 'weather': 'cloudy'.toLowerCase(), 'jbsjs': ''.toLowerCase(), 'site_search': '', 'bmd_cat': '', 'wt': '11-15', 'cmpid': qs.get('cmpid'), 'refdm': parser.hostname, 'k': known, 'g': 'u' , 'a': '0' , 'topic': 'Economy', 'publication': '', 'primary_tag_future_use': 'Economy', 'site': (isMobile()) ? 'mobile': 'desktop', 'r': data_layer.user.subscription_plan !== '' ? '2' // 2 = subscribed : data_layer.user.is_logged_in == 'yes' ? '1' // 1 = registered : '0', // 0 = anonymous }; if (!usePrebid) { targeting.adrq = 'adl'; } if (data_layer.video.exists === 'yes') { targeting.ptype = 'video'; } if ($.cookie('isMeterExpired') === 'yes' && window.data_layer.article.is_article) { var articleContentLevel = parseInt(window.data_layer.article.content_level, 10) || 0; // account for NaN if (articleContentLevel !== 0 && window.data_layer.article.content_level_open_access === 'no') { targeting.ao = 'y'; } } if ($.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'true') { targeting.dfpcsnt = 'yes'; } else if ($.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'false') { targeting.dfpcsnt = 'no'; } else { targeting.dfpcsnt = 'none'; } if (typeof MobileDetect !== "undefined") { targeting.canbb = (window.screen.width > 960) ? 'y' : 'n'; } if (typeof module_targeting === "object") { targeting = addToTargeting(targeting, module_targeting); } // $.each(apData, function (k, v) { // targeting[k] = v; // }); // if (typeof gs_channels !== 'undefined') { // targeting.gs_channels = gs_channels; // } targeting = addToTargeting(targeting, data_layer_helper.homesData); targeting.article_id = '24745365'; var googleSiteName = 'www.heraldscotland.com'; var googlePath = '/politics/viewpoint/'; var googleNetworkCode = 154725070; var googleChildNetworkCode = 22694024870; var googleId = '/'+googleNetworkCode + ',' + googleChildNetworkCode + '/' + googleSiteName+googlePath; if (googleId.charAt(googleId.length - 1) === '/') { googleId = googleId.slice(0, -1); } var googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; googletag.cmd.push(function () { var _YB = _YB || { ab: function () { return _YB.dool ? "b" : "a" + Math.floor(Math.random() * 10); }, dool: Math.random() >= 0.1, }; var yb_ab; if (Math.random() <= 0.9) { yb_ab = _YB.ab(); } else { yb_ab = "c"; } googletag.pubads().setTargeting("yb_ab", yb_ab); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.pubads().set("adsense_background_color", "FFFFFF"); googletag.pubads().setTargeting('rfs', "0"); $.each(targeting, function (key, value) { // No real value so exclude if (value === 0 || value === '' || value === null) { return; } googletag.pubads().setTargeting(key, value); }); }); var adUnits = []; if (blackListAds.length > 0) { $.each(blackListAds, function(i, name) { $('#'+name).remove(); }); } $.each(unfilteredAdUnits, function (i, unit) { // VAST (video) ad units never get displayed in here. if (unit.isVast) { return; } // if we have an ad-light experience if (whiteList === true) { if (typeof whiteListAds[unit.positionName] === 'undefined') { $('#'+unit.domName).remove(); return; } } adUnits.push(unit); }); // set up a holder for all the adverts so we can do things with them later var dfpHolder = {}; // the set up code googletag.cmd.push(function() { $.each(adUnits, function(i, data) { // check if the dom exists if ($('#'+data.domName).length === 0) { return; } var dfp = null; if (data.slotType === 'standard') { // get the correct sizes, using the alternate_sizes if they exist and we are on a mobile site var sizes = data.sizes; if (data.alternate_mobile_size && isMobile()) { sizes = data.alternate_mobile_size; } // push this ad slot through dfp = googletag.defineSlot(googleId, sizes, data.domName) .addService(googletag.pubads()) .setTargeting("position", data.positionName) .setCollapseEmptyDiv(data.collapseContainer); // check if we have an array of targets, and assign them as a companion if we do if (data.targets instanceof Array && data.targets.length > 0 ) { dfp.setTargeting('companion', data.targets); } } else if (data.slotType === 'outofpage') { dfp = googletag.defineOutOfPageSlot(googleId, data.domName) .addService(googletag.pubads()) .setTargeting("position", data.positionName) .setCollapseEmptyDiv(data.collapseContainer); // check if we have an array of targets, and assign them as a companion if we do if (data.targets instanceof Array && data.targets.length > 0 ) { dfp.setTargeting('companion', data.targets); } } // store dfpHolder[data.domName] = dfp; }); if (adLight === true) { googletag.pubads().setCategoryExclusion('adlight'); // var adlightexplanation = '<div class="adlight-explanation">I\'m a subscriber <a href="#" class="adlight-explanation-link">Why am I seeing this advert?</a></div>'; // if ($('#DFP_premium_mpu').length > 0) { // $('#DFP_premium_mpu').before(adlightexplanation); // } // if ($('#DFP_standard_mpu_1').length > 0) { // $('#DFP_standard_mpu_1').before(adlightexplanation); // } // var imageIds = [11497497, 11497535, 11497536, 11497541, 11497542, 11497545, 11497546, 11497547]; // var imageId = imageIds[Math.floor(Math.random() * imageIds.length)]; // $('.adlight-explanation-link').click(function(e) { // e.preventDefault(); // $('#adlight-explanation-modal-image').attr('src', '/resources/images/' + imageId + '/').show(); // $('#adlight-explanation-modal').modal(); // }); } // send the request googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.enableServices(); googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotVisibilityChanged', function(event) { if (event.slot.getResponseInformation().creativeTemplateId === 828288 || event.slot.getResponseInformation().creativeTemplateId === 12383216 ) { console.log('DFP: Magic template id detected, not refreshing'); return; } var slotName = ''; $.each(dfpHolder, function (a, e) { if (e == event.slot) { slotName = a; } }); if (typeof window.advertisingTimer !== 'undefined') { var perc = event.inViewPercentage; window.advertisingTimer.timer(slotName, perc); } }); }); // the display code $.each(adUnits, function(i, data) { // check if the dom exists if ($('#'+data.domName).length === 0) { return; } if (data.domName === 'DFP_interstitial_mpu') { if (!inter.checkVisit()) { return; } } // are we manually loading it? if ($('#'+data.domName).attr('data-manual-loading') === "yes") { return; } // for mobile, we check if the dom element has the data-delay-loading attribute set to "1" else if ($('#'+data.domName).attr('data-delay-loading') === "yes") { // load it $('#'+data.domName).appear(); $(document.body).on('appear', '#'+data.domName, function(e, allElement) { // don't call it many times if ($(this).attr('data-processed') === 'yes') { return; } $(this).attr('data-processed', 'yes'); // display the google ad googletag.display(data.domName); googletag.pubads().refresh([dfpHolder[data.domName]]); }); return; } googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(data.domName); }); }); window.googleComplete = performance.now(); window.googleReady = true; function addAdSlot(slotName, slot, initHidden) { console.log("Add ad slot called for %s %s", slotName, slot); // check if item already exists if (typeof window.dfpHolder[slotName] !== 'undefined') { return; } if (window.adLight === true) { return; } window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { var dfp = googletag.defineSlot(window.googleId, [[300,250]], slotName) .setTargeting('position', [slot]) .addService(googletag.pubads()); window.dfpHolder[slotName] = dfp; if (!initHidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([dfp]); return; } }); } </script>  <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <script src="/resources/responsive-static/build/mds/js/global.js?cb=D5b3rJbf"></script> <script src="/resources/responsive-static/build/mds/js/article.js?cb=D5b3rJbf"></script> <script src="/__siren/"></script>  <script type="text/javascript"> var s_account="newsquestgroupprod"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/resources/responsive-static/vendor/adobe/VisitorAPI.js?cb=D5b3rJbf"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/resources/responsive-static/vendor/adobe/omniture.js?cb=D5b3rJbf"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> function getOmniturePath() { var path = ''; if ($('#gallery-base-url').length === 1) { path = $('#gallery-base-url').val(); } else { path = window.location.pathname; } return path; } function getPositionFromCookie() { var ref = $.cookie('tracking_block_index'); $.removeCookie('tracking_block_index', { path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain, }); return ref; } function getRefFromCookie() { var ref = $.cookie('tracking_block'); $.removeCookie('tracking_block', { path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain, }); return ref; } function getOmnitureTrackingFromCookie(key, preExistingValue) { var ref = $.cookie('o-' + key); if(typeof(ref) === 'undefined') { ref = preExistingValue } else { ref = decodeURIComponent(ref); $.removeCookie('o-' + key, { path: '/', domain: window.data_layer.site.cookie_domain, }); } return ref; } function getValidatedAPList() { var validList = [1100, 1101, 1002, 1006, 1010, 1014, 1018, 1022, 1200, 1202, 1205, 1300, 1602, 1605, 1608, 1612, 1616, 1500, 1503, 1507, 1509, 1512, 1402, 1406, 1409, 1412, 1416, 14331, 14333, 14335, 14336, 14339, 14342, 14344, 14345, 14346, 14350, 14351, 14353, 14359, 14366, 14370, 14371, 14377, 14388, 14394, 14396, 14399, 14407, 14221, 14423, 15679, 15681, 15682, 15683, 15684, 15686, 15687, 15688, 15975]; var data = getAudienceProjectTargetingData(); if (!data || !data.ap_x) { return ''; } validData = []; $.each(data.ap_x, function(i, td) { if ($.inArray(parseInt(td, 10), validList) !== -1) { validData.push(td); } }); return validData.join(','); } path = document.location.href.split("/"); var prop30 = qs.get('lp'); var prop43 = qs.get('ref'); var pType="BlockArticleModule" if (pType === 'BlockArticleModule' || pType === 'NationalNewsModule' || pType === 'BlockWhatsOnModule') { pType = 'ArticleModule'; } for(x=4; x<7; x++) { if (typeof path[x] == 'undefined') { path[x] = ''; } if(path[x] == "" || (pType == "ArticleModule" && path[x].match(/[0-9]+\./)) || (path[x].indexOf('?') > -1)) { path[x] = path[x-1]; } else { path[x] = path[x-1] + "/" + path[x]; } path[x] = path[x].replace(/\/undefined/g,""); } pathN= unescape(document.location.pathname.toString()); matches = pathN.match(/(\w+)\.(in|near|compare)\.([\,a-zA-Z0-9\ _-]+)[\/]?$/); detailMatches = pathN.match(/(\w+)\.detail\.(.*)$/); if (detailMatches !== null && detailMatches.length > 1) { matches = detailMatches; } if (matches !== null && matches.length > 1) { var subfolder = ''; path[3] = 'li'; path[4] = 'li/'+subfolder; path[5] = 'li/'+subfolder+'/'+matches[1]; path[6] = 'li/'+subfolder+'/'+matches[1]; } if (pathN === '/') { path[3] = 'homepage'; path[4] = 'homepage'; path[5] = 'homepage'; path[6] = 'homepage'; } /* You may give each page an identifying name, server, and channel on the next lines. */ s.pageName="(www) "+getOmniturePath(); s.pageName = s.pageName.toLowerCase(); s.server="dmh-martini-web17" s.channel="" s.pageType="" s.prop1= qs.get('search'); s.prop2="" s.prop3=document.title s.prop4="24745365" s.prop5="BlockArticleModule" /* get from Martini */ s.prop6=path[3].toLowerCase() s.prop7=path[4].toLowerCase() s.prop8=path[5].toLowerCase() s.prop9=path[6].toLowerCase() s.prop10="" s.prop15="Mark Smith".toLowerCase() s.prop16=path[2].toLowerCase() s.prop17="Herald and Times" s.prop18="Martini" s.prop19="1" s.prop20 = s.getPreviousValue(s.pageName, 'gpv_pn'); s.prop53 = 'standard'; s.prop54 = ''; s.prop55 = ''; s.prop56 = "BAM Standard Article"; s.prop57 = ($('[data-name="Feature Article Block A"]').length > 0) ? 'Enabled' : 'Disabled'; s.prop58 = $('[data-name="Feature Article Block B"]').data('variant'); s.prop59 = getRefFromCookie(); s.prop60 = getPositionFromCookie(); s.prop73 = $.cookie('adtiming'); var eVar67 = []; if ($.cookie('consentUUID')) { eVar67.push('yes'); } else { eVar67.push('no'); } if ($.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'true') { eVar67.push('yes'); } else if ($.cookie('_sp_enable_dfp_personalized_ads') === 'false') { eVar67.push('no'); } else { eVar67.push('none'); } if ($.cookie('_sp_legitimate_interests') === 'true') { eVar67.push('yes'); } else if ($.cookie('_sp_legitimate_interests') === 'false') { eVar67.push('no'); } else { eVar67.push('none'); } //if ($.cookie('euconsent')) { // eVar67.push($.cookie('euconsent')); //} else { // eVar67.push('none'); //} s.eVar67 = eVar67.join(','); // console.log('ADB: setting eVar67 to %s', eVar67.join(',')); if ($.cookie('prev-tcf-v2')) { // console.log('ADB: Setting eVar68 to ', $.cookie('prev-tcf-v2')); s.eVar68 = $.cookie('prev-tcf-v2'); } if (typeof iabNames !== 'undefined') { s.prop29 = iabNames.join(','); } else if (typeof iabIds !== 'undefined') { s.prop29 = iabIds.join(','); } if (s.prop20 && s.prop20 !== 'no value') { s.prop21 = s.getPercentPageViewed(); } else { s.prop21 = ''; } if (typeof __siren !== 'undefined') { s.eVar27 = __siren; } s.prop22 = s.getDaysSinceLastVisit('s_lv'); s.prop43=getOmnitureTrackingFromCookie('ref', prop43); s.prop25 = 'Travel' s.prop27 = ''; s.prop28='5902' s.prop30 = getOmnitureTrackingFromCookie('prop30', prop30); s.linkInternalFilters="javascript:,heraldscotland.com,fish4.co.uk,adsys.newsquest.co.uk,www.exchangeandmart.co.uk,www.communigate.co.uk," s.eVar61=(new Date()).toLocaleDateString("en-GB"); s.eVar62=(new Date()).toLocaleDateString("en-GB"); s.eVar63 = "+1"; s.eVar64 = "+1"; s.eVar60 = "3,best,no"; s.prop61 = 'opinion'; s.prop62 = ''; s.prop63 = '49;16374;18733'; s.prop64 = ''; s.prop66 = ''; s.prop66 += ($('#inArticleAd').length > 0) ? "y;" : "n;"; s.prop66 += ($('#inArticleAd-1').length > 0) ? "y;" : "n;"; s.prop66 += ($('#inArticleAd-2').length > 0) ? "y;" : "n;"; s.prop66 += ($('#inArticleAd-3').length > 0) ? "y;" : "n;"; s.prop66 += ($('#inArticleAd-4').length > 0) ? "y;" : "n;"; s.prop66 += ($('#inArticleAd-5').length > 0) ? "y" : "n"; s.eVar107 = '20'; s.eVar108 = '28861'; s.eVar104 = 'Economy'; s.prop56 = "BAM Standard Article"; /* Article-site-cloning data */ s.eVar90 = window.data_layer.article.parent_originating_site_id; s.eVar91 = window.data_layer.article.originating_article_id; s.eVar92 = window.data_layer.article.is_original_to_site; s.eVar95 = window.data_layer.site.using_piano_id; s.eVar106 = 'No AI or automation'; /* Uber block article counts */ s.eVar93 = window.data_layer.page.top_stories_article_count + ':' + window.data_layer.page.interstitial_article_count + ':' + window.data_layer.page.news_stories_article_count; /* Conversion Variables */ s.campaign="" s.state="" s.zip="" s.events="" s.products="" s.purchaseID="" s.eVar14="" try { s.list3=getValidatedAPList(); } catch (e) { // do nothing } // Initial fotorama tracking. var moduleType = null; if (s.prop5 === 'ArticleModule' || s.prop5 == 'PropertyModuleReplacement' || s.prop5 === 'BlockArticleModule') { moduleType = 'article'; } else if (s.prop5 === 'PictureGalleryModule') { moduleType = 'gallery'; } if (moduleType === 'article' || moduleType === 'gallery') { var imagePath = ''; if ($('.fotorama').length > 0) { // Get the first Fotorama image. try { var el = $('.fotorama').data('fotorama').data[0].html; var url = $(el).find('div').css('background-image'); imagePath = url.replace('url(','').replace(')','').replace(/\"/gi, ""); } catch (e) { } } else { // If there's just one image (i.e. it's not a gallery), find its path. var imagePathSingle = $('#mainImage').attr('src'); if (typeof imagePathSingle !== 'undefined') { imagePath = imagePathSingle.split('.')[0] + '/'; } } var imageParts = imagePath.split('/'); if (imageParts.length > 1) { s.eVar37 = imageParts[imageParts.length - 2]; s.prop37 = imageParts[imageParts.length - 2]; s.events = s.apl(s.events, 'event7', ',', 2); } s.eVar36 = moduleType; s.prop36 = moduleType; } // Education pages. if (s.prop5 === 'ResponsiveEducationModule') { // School profile page. if ($('#eduOverview').length > 0) { s.eVar40 = $('#eduOverview').data('school-status'); s.prop40 = s.eVar40; s.prop41 = 'edu-' + $('#eduOverview').data('school-urn'); s.prop46 = $('#town').text(); } // Comparison page. if ($('#eduComparisonTable').length > 0) { s.list1 = ''; } // Results page. if ($('.school-results').length > 0) { s.list1 = ''; // Track the search criteria. s.prop44 = ''; s.prop45 = "".toLowerCase(); s.prop46 = "".toLowerCase(); s.prop49 = ''; s.prop50 = ''; s.prop51 = ''; s.eVar2 = s.prop50; var newSearch = false; if (newSearch) { s.events = s.apl(s.events, 'event17', ',', 1); } } } //New Property module if (s.prop5 === 'ResponsivePropertyModule') { /* Use prop42 for single and list pages, for list pages use hyphen separate lists of id's */ //Property's all over the place (homepage, searches etc - HOM-133 //Property Detail - HOM-131, HOM-134, HOM-130 //Contact us submissions - HOM-137 if($('#propertyModule.agent-details').length > 0) { //Add a click handler for a.contact-detail } } // is their a video tag on the page? if ($('.exco-embed').length > 0) { console.log('VID: setting tracking for event50'); s.events = s.apl(s.events, 'event50', ',', 1); } var foundAutoPlayVid = false; $('.jw-outer').each(function (a, domEle) { if ($(this).data('multimedia-block') === 'no' && !foundAutoPlayVid) { console.log('VID: setting tracking for event51'); s.events = s.apl(s.events, 'event51', ',', 1); foundAutoPlayVid = true; } }); s.eVar66 = 'Ad-Full-Herald'; // var eVar65Copy = s.getValOnce(s.eVar65, "ev65", 0); // if (eVar65Copy !== '' && s.prop20.indexOf("/my/subscription/activate/") > -1) { // s.events = s.apl(s.events, "event4", ",", 1); // Set the subscription counter event. // s.events = s.apl(s.events, "purchase", ",", 1); // Set the purchase event. // s.products = "Subscription : Metered Access;" + eVar65Copy + ";1;"; // s.purchaseID = ""; // } if(qs.get('action') === 'success' && (s.prop5 === 'ArticleModule' || s.prop5 === 'BMDModule' || s.prop5 === 'BlockArticleModule')) { s.events=s.apl(s.events,'event9',',',2) } /* Hierarchy Variables */ s.hier1="newsquest," + "Herald and Times" + ",www.heraldscotland.com," + path[6].replace(/\//,","); if (typeof MartiniFotorama !== 'undefined') { MartiniFotorama.loadOmniture(s); } s.prop39 = "0"; // Tracking usage of Bytecast audio embeds in articles. s.eVar82 = 'no'; s.eVar83 = ''; console.log('ADB: starting'); /************* DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ! **************/ if (qs.get('callback') !== 'in' && navigator.userAgent.toString().toLowerCase().indexOf('googlebot') === -1) { var s_code=s.t(); var backupAdobe = s; if(s_code)document.write(s_code) } //--></script>  <script src="//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script> <script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script> <script src="//uatu.newsquestdigital.co.uk/collector.php?article_id=24745365&site_id=308"></script> <script src="//uatu.newsquestdigital.co.uk/recommender-json-2.php?article_id=24745365&site_id=308"></script> </html>

CINXE.COM

Mark Smith: It’s here: the ferry no one wanted | The Herald