Reasonable points cockney steve- b.ut the islands have been able to spend teens of millions in recent times on a new school and according to scilly today six million pounds is available for "improvements to waste management" and a further six million plus could be for new energy from waste plant.
Big bucks for a population of 2200 me thinks but good luck to them. They seem to be comparing transport costs for similar sized Scottish islands and feel strongly they need some help. I suppose if you have had a good S-61 service for so many years albeit at a relatively high cost some might think, then its loss is going to hit islanders hard.