‘Governments have failed us’ — council set to explore ‘greater autonomy’ options

Orkney Islands Council is to explore options for “greater autonomy”.

This comes after an amended version of council leader, Councillor James Stockan’s motion to look into “alternative models of governance” was passed by elected members this morning.

Councillor’s Stockan’s motion has hit national and international headlines this week.

“Governments have failed us,” the council leader said during a meeting of the full council this morning.

“I am not proposing this motion with the expressed desire to break up anything,” he added. “The motion has got every option in it so it can be explored. Nothing is off the table. If the motion had come forward without every option on the table, what kind of motion would that have been?”

Opposing the motion, Councillor David Dawson dismissed talk of Orkney turning into a self-governing territory as “fantasy.”

He asked: “If the UK struggles with the dismantling with our union with the EU, what hope has a county like ours got if we seek a divorce with the rest of Scotland and the UK?”

The initial motion was approved by a vote of 15 to six. However, an additional amendment proposed by Councillor Steven Heddle was then adopted which will involve further exploratory work surrounding constitutional reform and a single island authority.

Councillor Stockan’s motion proposed that alternative models of government be explored to bring about “greater fiscal security, and economic opportunities” for Orkney.

As an example of the options which could be explored, the motion pointed to Nordic connections, such as the Faroe Islands, which are a self-governing territory of Denmark; and British Crown dependencies, like the Isle of Man or the Bailiwick of Guernsey.