Orkney: ‘We have been treated despicably’ by UK governments, say council chiefs amid self-governance proposals | UK News

Orkney council chiefs have denied they want to join Norway as a debate rages over the island’s future within Scotland and the UK.

Councillors, who voted on Tuesday to explore “alternative forms of governance”, said the northern isles had been “treated despicably” by governments in London and Edinburgh.

Local officials will now prepare a report on options for how its communities are operated in the future, including looking at the “Nordic connections” of the archipelago and crown dependencies such as Jersey and Guernsey.

Downing Street has already rejected the idea Orkney could loosen ties with the UK.

Councillor Owen Tierney told the meeting: “I really do think we have been treated despicably.

“I have been a councillor now for 11 years and I have seen it all. It has been disappointment after disappointment”.

Orkney was under Norwegian and Danish control until 1472 when the islands were given to Scotland as part of Margaret of Denmark’s wedding dowry to King James III of Scotland.

The report seen by councillors on Tuesday also mentions the Faroe Islands – a self-governing territory of Denmark in the North Sea.

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Leader James Stockan claims his area receives less funding per head from government than fellow island authorities in Shetland and the Western Isles.

He said: “We have been held down, and what I would say is we all know most of what I could say with regard to the discrimination that we’ve had against this community from governments in the funding settlement we have.”

“This is not about us joining Norway”, he continued.

It is not the first time Orkney has demanded more control over its own affairs, particularly in the wake of Brexit.

In 2017, councillors back calls to consider “whether the people of Orkney could exercise self-determination if faced with further national or international constitutional changes”.

On Monday, Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf told reporters: “We will continue to work closely with Orkney [Islands] Council.

“I want more autonomy for our island communities and that is why I am prepared to look at the idea of a single island’s authority model for the likes of Orkney.”

On Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told journalists there is “no mechanism for the conferral of crown dependency or overseas territory status on any part of the UK”, adding: “Fundamentally, we are stronger as one United Kingdom, we have no plans to change that.”

Sky News has approached the Scottish government for comment.