Orkney considering becoming part of Norway

Orkney is to consider leaving the UK and becoming a territory of Norway after islanders claimed they were sick of being mistreated by both Edinburgh and London.

A motion is to go before the Orkney Council on July 4, calling for an investigation of “alternative forms of government” which will include re-establishing historic “Nordic connections”, according to The Telegraph.

The islands, which geographically are closer to Oslo than to London, were under Norwegian and Danish control for hundreds of years until 1472, when they became part of Scotland in a royal marriage pact.

James Stockan, the council leader, said the islands did not get their fair share of funding under current governance arrangements and was therefore entitled to consider alternative models.

He claimed Orkney was being “failed dreadfully” by both the Scottish and UK governments and had been part of the “Norse kingdom” for far longer than it had been in the UK.

“We are really struggling at the moment, we have to replace the whole ferry fleet which is older than the CalMac fleet,” Mr Stockan said.

“We are denied the things that other areas get like RET (Road Equivalent Tariff) for ferry fares.

“And the funding we get 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.”

Mr Stockan also wants to explore in more depth how Crown Dependencies such as the Channel Islands and overseas territories such as the Falkland Islands are run, to see whether it could replicate their approach.

Another alternative would be to adopt a similar model to the Faroe Islands, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark, the council said.

The proposal, if approved, would see an in-depth investigation launched by council officials into alternatives.

Officials have warned that this would involve a “significant volume of work” as the broadly worded motion would see it also consider systems in places such as Guernsey and Jersey, as well as establishing formal links with Scandinavia.

Should Orkney want to push ahead with changing its status or even leaving the UK, there may have to be a referendum and agreement with the UK and Scottish governments, the council said.

However, Mr Stockan said a full study had never been carried out and would be worthwhile.

The islands, home to around 22,500 people, voted by a margin of 67 per cent to 33 to remain part of the UK at the 2014 independence referendum.

Orkney and Shetland became part of Scotland when they were used as security for the wedding dowry of Margaret of Denmark, the future wife of King James III of Scotland.

Margaret’s father, Christian I, claimed he would one day pay redemption money to Scotland to reacquire the islands, but never did.

Mr Stockan said: “We were part of the Norse kingdom for much longer than we were part of the United Kingdom.

“On the street in Orkney people come up and say to me when are we going to pay back the dowry, when are we going back to Norway?

“There is a huge affinity and a deep cultural relationship there. This is exactly the moment to explore what is possible.”

Orkney Council is made up of 19 independents and two Greens.

The UK Government said it was providing £2.2 billion to level up communities including £50 million to grow the economies of Scotland’s Islands, including Orkney.

A spokesman said: “We will always be stronger together as one United Kingdom and we have no plans to change the devolution settlement.”