Will the Orkney Islands leave the UK?

#shorts

[TLDRnews]

(Note: When we say “similar to how the Faroe Islands operates”, the phrasing might make it sound like the Faroe Islands are a self-governing part of Norway when in fact they are part of Denmark)

[Jay_in_Japan]

Oh, they've only been part of Scotland for a mere ~600 years

[PiousMoltar]

"Been failed by the Scottish and British governments"

Yeah we all have let's be honest.

[thepepper]

The UK should be renamed Greater Orkney and the capital should be moved from London to Kirkwall

[graemedoctor]

Joining Norway isn't a realistic proposition but it IS a political master stroke and has gained Orkney a huge amount of attention. They do deserve additional investment and attention from London and Edinburgh and I hope this will help them get it. Even assuming Norway would want the Orkneys back, I don't understand how any Orcadian would think they'd be better served by Oslo.

[MrDiggy]

As an orcadian id like to say that almost no one actually cares about the council looking into this. No we ain’t joining Norway, but could see us looking further into being a crown dependency. One last thing it’s pronounced Orkney not the Orkneys the amount of people who say it that way when they’re up here is infuriating.

[reverendroar]

I don’t think they’ll get their wish. It’s a political statement for greater investment in the area and let’s face it- they need it. Councils should have greater funding and more flexibility to implement their policies dependant on their local needs. Westminster’s governmental system and the voting system is outdated and major reforms need to take place… it’s just who has the guts to do it?

[asmrimperium]

this is a cool idea. likely Westminster would block them joining Norway, but perhaps they'd let Orkney become a crown dependency as you mentioned

[erics]

Just want to throw out, no one from Orkney calls them the Orkneys or Orkney Islands, just Orkney. I don't think joining Norway is a realisti prospect but it does get the headlines for better deals from Holyrood and Westminster

[catrinmelldansen]

For reference, Orkney and Shetland speak a different dialect of Scots (I understand Scots and I find it really tough to understand at first) and they are closer to Scandinavian capitals than Westminster. Scotland as a whole is very unhappy with Westminster's decisions, but Shetland and Orkneh most of all.

[SuperSmashDolls]

Broke: British Independence
Woke: Scottish Independence
Based: Orkney Independence

[Greenpoloboy]

Be Orkward for the UK Governments if it did

[astralax]

I'm a Scot who's been to Orkney many times. I love the islands and I love the people - Orcadian hospitality is uniquely warm in my experience. It would sadden me to lose such compatriots, and I hope Holyrood and Westminster act so that the Orcadians want to stay.

But if they choose to leave, that's their right as a people. They are equal partners with whom to find consensus, not a colonial possession to be strong-armed into compliance. If a country can only hold together through compulsion, then it's nothing but a petty empire.

[zoe_blackmore]

Love Orkney, a beautiful place, filled to the brim with history and archeology.

[Thatguy-ycvs]

As a Norwegian it has always fascinated me that the English call these islands for the “Orkney Islands”, as the name was given by the norse as “Orknøy/Orknøyene”, meaning “Orkn Island/Orkn Islands”, so by calling them Orkney Islands, you are essentially calling them “Orkn Island Islands”

[vampyrehotdog]

as a Scott I'm okay with this but I'm going to get pretty salty if they get independence and we don't even get a choice

[pandamilkshake]

"Is the UK falling apart?"
Ah...the age old question that troubled Romans and Vikings alike.

[ricequackers]

This is what's known as trolling to get attention. And to their credit it's worked really well!

Hopefully they should get their ferries replaced and the same per-capita funding as the other Scottish islands.

[napoleonibonaparte]

Ah yes, the SNP ferry fiasco... Cry foul over Westminster building 2 non-warships in South Korea (when 15 are in the works in Scotland), but SNP awarding the ferry contract to a Turkish company in Turkey...

[JoeWilliams-bpnm]

Sounds like a great way to get what they want from the Scottish and UK governments rather than a genuine wish. They deserve to get the same funding as everywhere else so hopefully this will work for them!