Orkney could leave the UK to become a self-governing territory of Norway after its council opted to explore “alternative forms of governance.”
The archipelago off the north coast of Scotland is also to consider changing its legal status within the UK as it seeks to provide more economic opportunities.
A motion has been put forward by Orkney Islands Council Leader James Stockan to explore its “Nordic connections,” as well as looking at the governance structures of crown dependencies such as Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
File photo: AP
Orkney was under Norwegian and Danish control until 1472, when the islands were given to Scotland as security for Margaret of Denmark’s dowry on her marriage to King James III of Scotland.
“We were part of the Norse kingdom for much longer than we were part of the United Kingdom,” Stockan told BBC News. “On the street in Orkney, people come up and say to me: ‘When are we going to pay back the dowry? When are we going back to Norway?’ There is a huge affinity and a huge, deep cultural relationship there. This is exactly the moment to explore what is possible.”
He said Orkney had been “failed dreadfully” by governments in Edinburgh and London, with funding less per capita than is received by Shetland and the Western Isles.
The report due to go before the council also references the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory of Denmark in the North Sea.
Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney Liam McArthur said there were dangers in “putting up barriers,” but said he supported empowering island communities.
“I am due to meet local councilors on Monday and will be interested to learn more about what is envisaged,” he said. “There were similar proposals considered by Orkney Islands council around the time of the last [Scottish] independence referendum and I am keen to understand how these would differ.”
“Locally, I think islanders will also want to be reassured that this exercise won’t result in council resources being taken away from the day-to-day running of services at a time when these are under real pressure,” he added.
Although the motion does not commit the council to any of the options, the officials’ report said any constitutional change would probably require a combination of petitions, referendums and legislation at Holyrood and in Westminster.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
RSS