The Orkney Islands are considering their “Nordic connections” to break away from both governments in London and Edinburgh.
The Orkney Islands Council told the BBC that they are being “failed dreadfully” by both governments and they are receiving less finding per head that what Shetland and the Western Isles get.
The Council are looking into a motion that will consider other forms of governance to potentially provide an economic option for the Orkney Islands and are looking into their historical ties with “Norway.”
The Council has suggested that they could also look into crown dependencies like the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey and “Nordic connections” are also being put forward.
Until 1472 Orkney was under Norwegian and Danish control, however they were given to King James III of Scotland as part of Margaret of Denmark’s wedding dowry.
The leader of the Orkney Islands Council (OIC) James 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 huge deep cultural relationship there. This is exactly the moment to explore what is possible.”
Scottish Lib Dem MSP for Orkney, Liam McArthur said, “I am due to meet local councillors on Monday and will be interested to learn more about what is envisaged.
“There were similar proposals considered by OIC around the time of the last independence referendum and I am keen to understand how these would differ.
“Locally, I think islanders will also want to be reassured that this exercise won’t result in council resources being taken away from the day-to-day running of services at a time when these are under real pressure.”
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