Shetland Movement

The Shetland Movement was a pressure group and political party created in 1978 to advocate for greater autonomy in Shetland.[1] The group called for the creation of a Shetland Assembly or 'Althing' with limited legislative powers and control over direct taxation.[2] The Movement's membership included several key public figures in Shetland, including local author, politician and compiler of the Shetland Dictionary, John Graham.

History

The Shetland Movement did not begin as a political party. In the 1982 Shetland Islands Council election the movement promoted candidates supportive of autonomy for Shetland, who won a majority of council seats.[3] In the 1986 council election the Shetland Movement nominated candidates for the first time, winning 13.7% of the vote and five seats. The Shetland Movement decided to contest the 1987 general election for the Orkney and Shetland constituency, running John Goodlad as a joint candidate with Orcadian autonomists under the party label 'Orkney and Shetland Movement.' The Scottish National Party agreed to stand aside in favour of Goodlad, who won 14.5% of the vote.

In the 1990 council election the Shetland Movement increased its representation to six seats, a level it maintained in 1994. However this marked the high point of the movement's electoral success. After 1994 the group dissolved, never contesting another local or general election.

In 2015 a cross party movement, Wir Shetland was created to campaign for greater self-government for the islands, comparing itself to the Shetland Movement.[4]

Electoral performance

Shetland Islands Council elections
YearVote shareSeats
198613.6%
5 / 25
199034.5%
6 / 25
19948.1%
6 / 25

References
  1. Dowle, Martin (1981). "The Birth and Development of the Shetland Movement, 1977-1980" (PDF). Scottish Government Yearbooks: 203–221. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  2. Shetland Movement (1981). Leaflet Explaining the Shetland Movement. Lerwick: The Shetland Times.
  3. "Shetland home rulers returned". The Glasgow Herald. 8 May 1982. p. 12.
  4. http://www.shetnews.co.uk/viewpoint/11575-new-wir-shetland-political-movement-launches


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