‘Revolutionary’: Orkney independence vote ‘made UK and Scotland sit up and take notice’

Orkney’s decision to explore “alternative governance” has been branded a “revolution” in its relationship with the UK and Scottish governments.

The Scottish islands’ council voted by 15 to six today for a proposal which includes examining the archipelago’s “Nordic connections” and looking into adopting models similar to crown dependencies such as Jersey and Guernsey.

Norway and Demark controlled Orkney before it was passed to Scotland in 1472 as part of a dowry to mark Margaret of Denmark’s wedding to King James III of Scotland.

Council leader James Stockan proposed the motion after claiming the islands had faced “discrimination” from both governments.

This largely relates to funding models which Orkney council feel leaves it unfairly penalised compared with neighbouring islands like Shetland and the Western Isles.

Fellow Orkney councillor Lesley Manson, who voted for the motion, revealed the wall-to-wall coverage of the vote had proved a “revolution” in its calls for more autonomy and funding.

Mr Manson said that after being “largely ignored and disrespected” by Westminster and Holyrood for years, they are now in conversation with both.

“At least now they are talking to us and considering us in a way they weren’t before which is a good thing,” he told The Independent.

“It’s baby steps but we are unashamedly taking advantage of that.”

Mr Manson, a former deputy leader of the council, was keen to play down the likelihood of Orkney leaving the UK and warned against anyone expecting “drastic action”.

“I don’t think the permissions [to leave the UK] would be there,” he explained.

“I think it would be like SNP and its frustrations with Westminster for it not allowing it to have another independence referendum”.

Instead, he said the motion’s “selling point” was that the “actual words of the motion don’t commit the council to action”.

“It was a direction of travel rather than a roadmap”, which didn’t specify how much money or time the council would have to commit, he added.

“People felt, I certainly did, that starting the conversation has already led to the Scottish and UK governments being very prompt in getting in touch with our chief executive.

“We felt that before they were completely unresponsive to the point of discourtesy.

“It seems to have shamed the governments into some sort of response.”

He also believes the initial rebuttals from the administrations of Rishi Sunak and Humza Yousaf after the story broke were “holding statements” and both are now “sat up and paying attention”.

“It’s forcing the governments to respond in a way that they didn’t before,” he added.

Despite the vote, a councillor from the neighbouring Shetland Islands warned that Orkney would face a “very difficult” battle leaving the UK should it try.

Robbie McGregor, the Scottish island’s sole SNP councillor, revealed that “not an awful lot” had been done about Shetland leaving the union since the council passed a similar motion in 2020.

“I certainly haven’t heard of anything [recently about the motion],” he told The Independent.

“There are probably council officers looking into it in the background but no concrete proposals have come to council meetings.”

He also warned that pursuing a model similar to the Isle of Man – a self-governing Crown dependency – could leave the council with less autonomy.

“I hope they realise what they are doing,” he said.

“Under the Isle of Man model, a civil servant has the right to veto anything that the Manx parliament decides so there would be less autonomy in my opinion.”

A spokesperson for the Isle of Man government disputed Mr McGregor’s characterisation of the Manx parliamentary model. They said that while the governor did have the power to deny royal assent, convention meant it would only be used in exceptional circumstances.

Speaking to councillors before the vote, Mr Stockan said: “I say ‘enough’.

“I say it is time for government to take us seriously, and I say it’s time for us to look at all the options we’ve got.

“There is a far bigger suite of options here – this could even be that we could get our money direct from the Treasury in London and look after our own future.”

Despite passing with a healthy majority, the motion was not without its detractors.

Councillor Steven Heddle said the disadvantages of leaving the UK included having to buy back the sea bed, and tuition fees for students wishing to study in Scotland.

On Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said there was “no mechanism for the conferral of crown dependency or overseas territory status on any part of the UK”.

The Scottish government said it was "committed to supporting island communities".

The Norwegian government declined to comment on the proposals.