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[]

References[]

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