MORE than 150 leading political, academic and economic figures are heading to Orkney today as islands councils' campaign to win greater powers gains momentum.
The two-day conference in Kirkwall is billed as a demonstration of "the unified commitment and vision" of the three island authorities.
Since the leaders of Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles councils launched their "Our Islands Our Future" campaign in June, they have held a position of neutrality on independence.
They studied the Isle of Man, the Faroes and the Falklands, and calculated that whether Scotland voted yes or no, new powers - potentially involving renewable energies and fisheries -would be coming to Holyrood. So they wanted some for themselves.
The council leaders stress that the debate over powers is not new. In 1984 the Montgomery Committee recommended "opportunities should be taken whenever possible to consolidate, develop and extend the powers of Island Councils."
Orkney's leader Steven Heddle says little has changed since.
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