Constitutional status of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles

Map of Scotland showing Orkney and Shetland (north-east of the mainland) and the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides (north-west of the mainland)

The constitutional status of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles has periodically been discussed, for example during the Scottish independence referendum campaign.

The island groups of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles are all politically integral parts of Scotland. They are council areas with the same constitutional status as the other 29 local government areas. The 3 island councils are the only local authorities among the 32 in the country where independent councillors form a majority.

In July 2013, the Scottish Government made the Lerwick Declaration, establishing a ministerial working group to examine decentralising powers to the 3 island council areas.[1]

History

Orkney and Shetland had been annexed by the Norwegian crown from the tenth century, which in time became subsumed by the Danish crown.

In 1468 Orkney was pledged by Christian I, in his capacity as king of Norway, as security against the payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret, betrothed to James III of Scotland. In the next year he pawned Shetland. As the money was never paid, the connection with the Scottish crown has become perpetual.[Notes 1]

After the Acts of Union of 1707 Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, along with the rest of Scotland, became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Current status

Under law the Orkney and Shetland and the Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) constituencies are "protected constituencies", which means that they have to be both unbroken and not sharing territory with any part of the mainland.[4] This status is only shared with the Isle of Wight in England. Before 2011 the Orkney and Shetland constituency had been unique in having its boundaries protected by legislation.[5]

1979 Referendum

In the Scottish devolution referendum, 1979, the Orkney and Shetland Islands council areas had the two highest proportions voting against devolution. The Western Isles voted in favour.

Council area Yes vote No vote Yes % No %
Orkney Islands 2,104 5,439 27.89 72.11
Shetland Islands 2,020 5,466 26.98 73.02
Western Isles 6,218 4,933 55.76 44.24
Whole of Scotland 1,230,937 1,153,500 51.62 48.38
Source: Glasgow Herald

Orkney and Shetland Movement

The Orkney and Shetland Movement, a coalition of independence movements in Orkney and Shetland, contested the Orkney and Shetland constituency in the 1987 general election. It saw as its models the Isle of Man, and Shetland's closest neighbour, the Faroe Islands, an autonomous dependency of Denmark.[6]

The Scottish National Party chose not to contest the seat to give the movement a "free run". Their candidate, John Goodlad, came 4th with 3,095 votes, 14.5% of those cast, and it did not stand in any subsequent election.[7] The Movement took part in the 1989 Scottish Constitutional Convention.[8]

1997 Referendum

In the Scottish devolution referendum, 1997 there were two questions, the first on whether there should be a Scottish Parliament, and the second whether the parliament should have tax raising powers.

On the first question, along with the rest of the country, the electorate in all three areas voted Yes. On the second question Orkney was one of only two areas in Scotland to vote No, Shetland narrowly voted in favour and the Western Isles voted more strongly in favour than the rest of Scotland.

Council area Q1 Yes vote Q1 No vote Q1 Yes % Q1 No % Q2 Yes vote Q2 No vote Q2 Yes % Q2 No %
Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 9,977 2,589 79.4 20.6 8,557 3,947 68.4 31.6
Orkney[9] 4,749 3,541 57.3 42.7 3,917 4,344 47.4 52.6
Shetland 5,430 3,275 62.4 37.6 4,478 4,198 51.6 48.4
Whole of Scotland 1,775,045 614,400 74.3 25.7 1,512,889 870,253 63.5 36.5

Referendum proposals

Some islanders called for separate referendums to be held in the islands on 25 September 2014, one week after the Scottish referendum.[10][11][12] In March 2014, the Scottish Parliament published the online petition it had received calling for such referendums, which was supported by Shetland MSP Tavish Scott.[13] The referendums would ask islanders to choose from three options: that the island group should become an independent country; it should remain in Scotland; or (in the event of Scottish independence) it should remain in the UK.[14]

The third option would implement the conditional promise made in 2012, when an SNP spokesperson said that, in the event of Scottish independence, Orkney and Shetland could remain in the United Kingdom if their "drive for self-determination" was strong enough.[15] Politicians in the three island groups have referred to the Scottish referendum as the most important event in their political history "since the inception of the island councils in 1975." Angus Campbell, leader of the Western Isles, said that the ongoing constitutional debate "offers the opportunity for the three island councils to secure increased powers for our communities to take decisions which will benefit the economies and the lives of those who live in the islands".[16]

A report by Tavish Scott and the Orkney MSP Liam McArthur, submitted in response to the UK government's consultation on the independence referendum, put forward the idea that the Shetland and Orkney islands should use the referendum to negotiate a better constitutional settlement with the rest of Scotland.[17]

Early in 2013, an opinion poll commissioned by the Press and Journal found only 8% of people in Shetland and Orkney supported the islands themselves becoming fully independent countries and completely separating from Scotland, with 82% against.[18]

The day before the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014, Alistair Carmichael, the MP for Orkney and Shetland, suggested that if Shetland were to vote strongly against independence but the Scottish national vote was narrowly in favour, then a discussion about Shetland becoming a self-governing crown dependency outside of independent Scotland, similar to the Isle of Man. He stated that he did not want such circumstances to arise, “and the best way to avoid this was to vote no in the referendum.” [19][20]

Island Council resolutions

In a meeting of the island councils in March 2013, leaders of the three local authorities discussed their future in the event of Scottish independence, including whether the islands could demand and achieve autonomous status within either Scotland or the rest of the UK. Among the scenarios proposed were achieving either Crown Dependency status or self-government modelled after the Faroe Islands, in association with either Scotland or the UK.[21] Steven Heddle, Orkney's council leader, described pursuing Crown Dependency status as the least likely option, as it would threaten funding from the EU, which is essential for local farmers.[21] Alasdair Allan, MSP for the Western Isles, said independence could have a positive impact on the isles, as "crofters and farmers could expect a substantial uplift in agricultural and rural development funding via the Common Agricultural Policy if Scotland were an independent member state of the EU".[22]

Lerwick Declaration

Main article: Lerwick Declaration

In July 2013, the Scottish Government made the Lerwick Declaration, indicating an intention to decentralise power to the 3 island council areas. In November 2013, the government made a commitment to decentralise further powers to Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles in the event of independence.[23] Steven Heddle called for legislation to that effect to be introduced regardless of the referendum result.[24]

2014 Referendum Results

Constituency [25] Ballots for Ballots against For (%) Against (%) Lead Valid ballots Turnout (%)
Eilean Siar 9,195 10,544 46.6% 53.4% 6.8% 19,739 86.2%
Orkney Islands 4,883 10,004 32.8% 67.2% 34.4% 14,887 83.7%
Shetland Islands 5,669 9,951 36.3% 63.7% 27.4% 15,620 84.4%
SCOTLAND (TOTAL) 1,617,989 2,001,926 44.7% 55.3% 10.6% 3,619,915 84.6%

Notes

  1. ↑ Apparently without the knowledge of the Norwegian Rigsraadet (Council of the Realm), Christian pawned Orkney for 50,000 Rhenish guilders. On 28 May the next year he also pawned Shetland for 8,000 Rhenish guilders.[2] He secured a clause in the contract that gave future kings of Norway the right to redeem the islands for a fixed sum of 210 kg of gold or 2,310 kg of silver. Several attempts were made during the 17th and 18th centuries to redeem the islands, without success.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Scottish ministers to look into extra powers for isles". BBC News. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Diplom fra Shetland datert 24.november 1509" University Library, University in Bergen. (Norwegian). Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  3. ↑ "Norsken som døde" Universitas, Norsken som døde (Norwegian) Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  4. ↑ Protected constituencies, s 11, schedule 2, Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011. The constituencies are protected by future boundary reviews from splitting or merging. The two Isle of Wight constituencies have not yet been formed.
  5. ↑ Rule 3A of the Boundary Commission rules stated "A constituency which includes the Orkney Islands or the Shetland Islands shall not include the whole or any part of a local government area other than the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands." Boundary Commission Rules. This rule was added in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 and retained in the Scotland Act 1998 (section 86 (3)), which established the Scottish Parliament.
  6. ↑ Tallack, Malachy (2 April 2007) Fair Isle: Independence thinking. London. New Statesman.
  7. ↑ "Candidates and Constituency Assessments: Orkney (Highland Region)" alba.org.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2008 Archived January 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Pilkington, Colin (2002). Devolution in Britain today. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-6076-1.
  9. ↑ Result – Orkney Islands, BBC, 1997
  10. ↑ Riley-Smith, Ben (18 March 2014). "Shetland and Orkney should get vote on whether to leave Scotland". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  11. ↑ Lawless, Jill (23 March 2014). "Scotland's Vikings go own way in independence vote". Associated Press. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Scottish islanders seek votes for own independence". Reuters. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Island referendum petition launched". Shetland Times. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "Petition for independence in the Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  15. ↑ Johnson, Simon (20 March 2012). "SNP admits Shetland and Orkney could opt out of independent Scotland". Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  16. ↑ "Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles councils lobby for more powers". BBC News. BBC. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  17. ↑ Scotland's oil-rich Northern Isles tell Alex Salmond: We might stay with UK
  18. ↑ "Northern Isles are Scottish, say islanders". www.newsnetscotland.com. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  19. ↑ "Shetland may reconsider its place in Scotland after yes vote, says Carmichael". The Guardian. 17 September 2014.
  20. ↑ "Carmichael sets record straight on independence comments". 17 September 2014.
  21. 1 2 "Scottish independence: islands consider their own 'home rule'". The Guardian. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  22. ↑ "What independence White Paper could mean for the Isles". Stornoway Gazette. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  23. ↑ Ross, David (23 November 2013). "Islands set to win key decision-making powers with unprecedented legislation". The Herald (Glasgow). Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  24. ↑ "Islands Act should not depend on independence". Shetland News. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  25. ↑ "Scottish independence referendum - Results". BBC. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
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