The Orkney Islands in Scotland are considering becoming a self-governing territory – and exploring its ‘Nordic connections’ beyond the UK.
Councillors are due to discuss ‘alternative forms of governance’ tomorrow after claims the islands do not get fair funding from UK and Scottish governments.
One possibility would be to change to a similar situation to the Faroe Islands, which are a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Councillors will also consider arrangements such as Crown Dependencies, which are in place for Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
Orkney Council leader James Stockan said islanders had been ‘failed dreadfully’ by the two governments.
He told the BBC: ‘We are really struggling. We have to replace the whole ferry fleet, which is older than the CalMac fleet.
‘We are denied things that other areas get and funding from the Scottish Government is significantly less per head than Shetland and the Western Isles to run the same services — we can’t go on as we are.’
He said the Orkneys had contributed significantly to the country through its oil over the past 40 years but the dividends coming back weren’t sufficient to keep the it going.
Orkney, which is located less than ten miles off the far north coast of Scotland, was under Norwegian and Danish control until it became part of Scotland in 1472.
The islands were used as security for the wedding dowry of Margaret of Denmark, the future wife of King James III of Scotland.
Mr Stockan said: ‘We were part of the Norse kingdom for longer than we were part of the United Kingdom. People say to me, ‘When are we going back to Norway?’
He explained there was a ‘huge affinity and a huge deep cultural relationship’ with Norway.
Orkney Islands Council voted on whether to consider seeking greater autonomy in 2017.
While the results showed they wanted a ‘stronger voice’, they did not back full independence.
The UK Government told the BBC it was providing £2.2bn to level up UK communities, including £50m to grow the economies of Scotland’s Islands – among them Orkney.
A spokesperson said the nation would always be stronger as one United Kingdom and that there were no plans to change the devolution settlement.
The Scottish Government, meanwhile, said Orkney Islands Council would receive £89.7m in 2023-24 to fund services, with an extra £4.6m from a rise in council tax by 10%.
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