Shetland and Orkney should aim for island home rule, LibDems agree

Saturday 16 March 2013

Shetland and Orkney should loosen ties with Scotland and the UK to run their own affairs, according to Liberal Democrats.

Activists at the party's spring conference in Dundee agreed unanimously that the islands should develop their own relationship with central government - regardless of the outcome of the independence referendum next year.

They also agreed that Shetland and Orkney have a separate right to self-determination.

Tavish Scott, Shetland MSP and former leader of the Scottish party, said current "constitutional navel gazing" offers a fresh opportunity for the Northern Isles.Islanders should also use oil and gas off their coasts for any future negotiations - an argument already deployed by the Scottish Government."Shetland and Orkney may never have a stronger opportunity to negotiate a future for the islands," he said."A future that benefits the economy, culture and our identity in the wider world for the advantage of future generations of islanders."If we do nothing then the future is clear. Schools and local ferries dictated by the central belt and the emasculation of local accountability."This time can be our time, an island time. I'm a Shetland islander first, a Scot second and a Brit third."That should be our goal - nothing less than island home rule." mflAt the last Holyrood election, the Scottish Lib Dems only managed to win first-past-the-post constituencies in Shetland and Orkney.Mr Scott said his argument against centralisation extends across Scottish islands and rural areas."We don't want more centralising, know-it-all, top-down nationalism," he said in a speech clearly designed to irritate First Minister Alex Salmond."This SNP Government doesn't care about the outer extremities of the country."The Lib Dem "home rule" proposals, set out by Sir Menzies Campbell MP, opened up a route to further autonomy, he said.Mr Scott put forward the Isle of Man as an example that the Northern Isles could follow."The Manx parliament is a good model for Shetland," he said."Speaker Roden is a Scot, he's a former young Liberal. He lit the liberal flame in Moray in the 1979 general election."But his powers, those of the Tynwald and the powers that the isle has could be copied in Shetland. So would the SNP oppose Shetland becoming a Crown dependency?"Other suggestions include the Faroe Islands' relationship with Denmark.He pointed out the different Norse history in the islands, which were not part of Scotland during the time of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace.Orkney and Shetland came to Scotland in 1468 as security for the dowry of a Danish princess who married King James III, he told delegates.His Orkney colleague Liam McArthur backed the autonomy plan, conceding it felt good simply to annoy SNP leader Mr Salmond."Annoying Alex Salmond is enough to commend any motion," he said."I sympathise with that sentiment. There are of course many more principled and substantive reasons for backing the motion."Only one delegate suggested it felt "mercenary" to include the provision about oil being a potential bargaining chip.

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Shetland and Orkney should aim for island home rule, LibDems agree

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