McArthur to meet with councillors over ‘greater autonomy’ motion

July 3, 2023 at 11:08 am

Liam McArthur, MSP. (ORKNEY PHOTOGRAPHIC)

The “dangers” of “putting up barriers” have been highlighted by Orkney’s MSP ahead of a motion to explore greater autonomy for the county.

Liam McArthur is due to meet with islands councillors this Monday, ahead of the debate on the motion on Tuesday.

The proposal by Orkney Islands Council (OIC) leader, Councillor James Stockan, has gained significant attention from press and broadcasters nationwide over recent days. It calls for “alternative models of governance” to be explored by the council.

While in favour of empowering communities to make their own decisions, Mr McArthur has suggested that residents will “want to be reassured” that a bid for greater independence by the local authority won’t see resources taken from the day-to-day services it already runs.

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

Mr McArthur said: “As a Liberal Democrat, I’ve always believed in empowering individuals and communities to take decisions that best reflect their needs and circumstances. This is particularly important in our islands, where the effects of centralisation or a one size fits all approach by government can be most damaging, as we have seen over recent years.

“Nevertheless, recent history also highlights the dangers from putting up barriers between or creating divisions within communities.

“I am due to meet local councillors on Monday and will be interested to learn more about what is envisaged. There were similar proposals considered by OIC around the time of the last 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.”