Tavish Scott: Disgruntled islanders want to regain control

AS THE Western Isles MP, Angus MacNeil has been notably critical of his own Nationalist government over its ferries policy

On that he is representing his constituents. Putting the needs of the local fishing, crofting and construction industries ahead of slavish loyalty to bad policies is the right thing to do.

This week I was particularly pleased to see the Western Isles MP accept that the Northern Isles had every right to determine what they want out of the current constitutional row between Edinburgh and London. As an islander, Mr MacNeil could hardly do otherwise.

Liam McArthur and I suggest that Orkney and Shetland, which we represent as MSPs, should use the next two years to determine, argue and then negotiate with both Westminster and Holyrood the powers the islands should have. For such impertinence our First Minister branded us troublemakers. I must confess that will be on my next election address. The good people of the islands do not send me to Holyrood to make up the numbers. They expect a representative to create merry hell from time to time on their behalf.

The reality for the Islands is that five years of Nationalist rule has meant more and more decision-making sucked out of local hands and into the grubby paws of Edinburgh ministers. Why, given this track record, Orkney and Shetland would endorse such an approach to public policy is quite beyond me. Centralised control is the defining theme of Scottish nationalism in government. They control the executive, the legislature and, through judicial appointments, some argue have undue influence over the law too. A national police force puts another organ of the state in one man’s hands. Devolution was not meant to end in Edinburgh. But it has. That is why islanders want something better. But they are not alone.

Since the Northern Isles asserted their right to think through what they want rather than being treated as an afterthought by central government, I have received messages from across the country – some less than complimentary. But other areas of Scotland are also thinking through what they want. That creates a grass-roots challenge to a Nationalist government which wants a pan-Scotland approach to independence with no quarter given to regional or island cultures, economies or identities.

Many Scots who have no political axe to grind will just refuse to be taken for granted by “Team Salmond”. People want to think about their areas and whether independence is right. But as the Nationalists are so coy about answering any questions about what independence actually means, a level of distrust of central government propaganda is beginning to surface.

That is especially so on oil. Yesterday’s Budget helped both decommissioning of oil rigs in the North Sea and new exploration west of Shetland. Orcadians and Shetlanders will continue to observe that they have a big oil and gas interest too.

• Tavish Scott is Liberal Democrat MSP for Shetland