The National:

SHETLAND-born, University of Edinburgh academic Mathew Nicolson writes for The National about the Shetland Isles' much-publicised look at self-determination.

YESTERDAY'S decision by the Shetland Islands Council to begin exploring options for "financial and political self-determination" has generated much interest in the national media.

Most discussion outside of Shetland has viewed this development through the prism of Scottish independence; one might be forgiven for thinking Shetland is on the brink of declaring its own independence from Scotland, or that this is simply a unionist plot to undermine the SNP.

Both interpretations fail to understand what Shetland’s Council or people actually want.

Shetland has always felt different. Only becoming part of Scotland in 1471, Shetland maintains a rich and distinct culture, expressed through music, literature and, most famously, the Norse-inspired Up Helly Aa fire festivals.

Shetland also possesses a strong local identity, which often takes precedence over British and Scottish identities.

READ MORE: FACT CHECK: Do Shetland Islands really want to break away from Scotland?

It is not uncommon to hear some Shetlanders reject any association with Scotland, although a Scottish identity has grown over recent decades. In the most recent census, 78% of Shetlanders claimed some form of Scottish identity, compared to 27% British.

This is not the first time the notion of autonomy has raised its head in Shetland. The Shetland Islands Council pursued the idea between the 1970s and 1990s, as did the pro-autonomy Shetland Movement.

These autonomy campaigns ran out of steam in the 1990s and remained largely dormant until the 2014 Scottish independence referendum helped resurrect the idea.

It is true that much of this discontent is directed towards the SNP Government in Edinburgh, but opposition to Scottish independence is not the driving issue

The prospect of Shetland breaking away from an independent Scotland was often weaponised by the anti-independence camp, including by Shetland’s MP, Alistair Carmichael.

This rhetoric was not endorsed by the Council, which instead used the opportunity to promote, alongside Orkney and the Western Isles, a renewed focus on the islands and their form of government. This resulted in the Islands Act 2018 which devolved some control over coastlines to the Councils and aimed to "island-proof" new legislation.

The Council’s renewed interest in autonomy has more to do with discontent towards years of centralisation and funding cuts, and disappointment regarding the implementation of the Islands Act, than the issue of Scottish independence.

It is true that much of this discontent is directed towards the SNP Government in Edinburgh, but opposition to Scottish independence is not the driving issue – indeed, Shetland’s sole SNP councillor supported the motion.

READ MORE: Shetland Islands 'exploring options' for self-determination

Much will depend on how the Scottish Government responds. If Shetlanders feel the tide of centralisation and budget cuts continue unabated, support for autonomy will surely grow. But if the Government makes real efforts to meet the Council’s concerns, including the long-running matter of internal ferry funding, some councillors may conclude this goes far enough towards resolving Shetland’s grievances.

That one of Scotland’s peripheral Councils has emphatically rejected centralising policies by the Scottish Government certainly puts the SNP in an awkward position. It may even undermine the SNP’s moral case for independence.

But the decision to explore self-determination is not fundamentally linked to the question of Scottish independence and should instead be understood as a manifestation of Shetland’s desire for greater local control on its own terms, in whichever form this ultimately takes.