THERE are those who claim that Shetland is a different country, and they certainly do politics differently there.
The town hall in Lerwick is practically a political party-free zone, as independent councillors have long ruled the roost in Shetland.
It’s the same again this time with just the Scottish Conservative and Unionists putting up two candidates – maybe only one – and the SNP a single contender. Neither Labour, the LibDems or the Greens, never mind any other parties, are anywhere to be seen, at least on the ballot papers.
Just by standing, the SNP have gained a seat on Shetland Islands Council for the first time. Robbie McGregor eschewed the normal practice of standing as an independent because, as he says, he has been a local activist for many years and was twice election agent for the late Danus Skene whose death last year robbed the SNP of a formidable presence in Orkney and Shetland – he came very close to beating Alistair Carmichael in the General Election of 2015.
“In view of my SNP profile I would have found it difficult to stand as an independent and I saw it as a matter of integrity that I stood under my party banner,” said McGregor.
He has also been out campaigning with his wife Mary who hails from Cunningsburgh.
“It was a good way of finding out what people were thinking in the ward,” he said, “and now I am looking forward to representing the people of Shetland South after tomorrow.”
He will be joined in his uncontested ward – one of only three out of 354 wards in Scotland where the candidates are being elected automatically – by two incumbent independent councillors, Allison Duncan and George Smith.
With nine of the current 22 councillors standing down, there will be changes aplenty across the council, but especially in the North Isles, where none of the existing councillors – Gary Cleaver, Robert Henderson and Steven Coutts (who has switched to contest Shetland West) – are trying again in the ward.
The question of who and what is an “independent” becomes an issue when you learn that at least four of the candidates consider themselves to be part of the Wir Shetland group that campaigns for more autonomy for Shetland, but they have not declared themselves as such on the ballot paper.
To be fair, neither have other councillors with known connections to the LibDems, SNP and socialist organisations, while one candidate, Thomas Williamson, is listed as a Conservative but has asked people not to vote for him because of a “cock-up” in his candidacy. Trouble is, once your name and description appears on the official list of nominations it cannot be altered and therefore the reluctant Tory candidate will be in the ballot tomorrow.
This being Shetland, if candidates have “previous” with a party or have any family affiliations, it soon becomes known, and it is a brave man or woman who tells anything other than the truth in an area not known to suffer fools gladly, especially if they have “councillor” in front of their name.
It will require 12 of the soon-to-be-elected 22 councillors to form enough of an alliance to apportion jobs such as convener and council leader. Those positions are currently held by Malcolm Bell of Lerwick North and Gary Robinson of Shetland West, both of whom are standing again.
Retiring councillors include that kenspeckle local figure Jonathan Wills, who has joined the SNP following his last council meeting, and who says he will be assisting Miriam Brett, the 25-year-old SNP candidate hoping to unseat Alistair Carmichael on June 8. Wills helped to make the governance and performance of Shetland Charitable Trust one of the main issues in this election. He was vice-convener of the organisation but was critical of the way that the trust, which superintends the Shetland equivalent of Norway’s Oil Fund, has a value of more than £200 million and disburses about £8m-9m annually, was being changed.
More new trustees were appointed last month, but the charge of loss of democratic control over the trust has been raised loud and long during this campaign and was certainly an issue at the hustings.
There have also been calls for more openness in the council itself, and it will certainly be interesting to see which independents form the administration and what they do with it after tomorrow.
As with every area in Scotland, the polls open from 7am to 10pm across Shetland.
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