Shetland chief calls for independence

The Shetland Chief Sandy Cluness has called for autonomy from Scotland for the North Atlantic archipelago and its 22,000 population, at a time when Scottish independence from Westminster is being debated.

Mr Cluness, the figurehead of the Shetland Islands council, who has no political party affiliation, advocates an independent Shetland assembly with tax-raising powers. The idea has been backed by Tavish Scott, who is the Scottish liberal democrat leader and member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland.

Since it formed its minority administration last year, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has encouraged the “national conversation” on the nation’s future.

Alex Salmond, First Minister for Scotland, welcomed the approach. He said: “The views of the Shetland Islands Council are an excellent example of the national conversation in action – all such ideas can be proposed, and we can reach a view on the best way forward.

“Of course, Shetland is in the enviable position of being able to teach the rest of Scotland a lesson about the benefits of having an oil fund.”

The East Shetland Basin is one of the largest sedimentary basins in Europe. The extracted oil is sent to Sullom Voe, the leading oil export harbour in the UK, producing approximately 25 million tons of processed crude per year.

Furthermore, scientists have recently claimed that up to five billion barrels of oil could be found in unexplored volcanic rocks to the west of Shetland. The Faroese Islands, Shetland’s closest neighbour, have prospered since receiving independence from Denmark in 1948. The Faroese authorities have already entered into talks with the Shetland council about exploiting the potential oilfields.

In the past, oil revenue has been an important element in the independence movement in the Shetland Islands.

By intervening earlier this month, Mr Cluness has added weight to previous proposals for autonomy, stating that a discussion of Shetland’s future was sensible at a time when Scottish independence is being deliberated.

Mr Cluness said: “We are on the periphery and have all the higher costs that come with that and not many of the advantages.

“What these islands need are viable, profitable economies and one way you can create that is through the ability to vary rates of taxes.

“In the 21st century there must be some way that the government could look at a different status for Shetland.”

Mr Cluness believes that the Shetland council has been hindered by government centralisation and has called for a wide range of services including transport, policing, coastal protection, in-shore fisheries, further education and the arts to be administered from the capital Lerwick, rather than from Edinburgh.

Mr Cluness continued: “There are plenty of examples of semi-autonomous islands across Europe and most of them actually do much better than we do.

“In future we will be looking to discuss Shetland's constitutional future with the Scottish government with a view to securing the best possible deal.”

Although he is a local MSP, Mr Scott supports Mr Cluness but has rejected the idea of burning bridges with Scotland and withdrawing from the European Union.

He said: “I am in favour of greater powers for Shetland, but they need to sit within a coherent structure for the whole of Scotland. I'm more than happy to work with the council on their ideas, but obviously they are for the longer term.”