Is it really Scotlands oil? Shetlanders disagree as thoughts of their own independence grows.
44 replies, posted
[quote]
Twelve hours by ferry from the Scottish mainland, hundreds of miles from Edinburgh and closer to Oslo than London, the windswept Shetland islands have their own aspirations about Scottish independence.
Some of the 23,000 inhabitants even want their own.
Many Shetlanders see the September 18 vote on whether Scotland should end the 307-year-old union with England as an opportunity to gain control over local services and a share of revenues from the oil pumped from the North Sea. [I][B]"The oil belongs to us. We don't have to argue about that. It is ours,"[/B][/I] said Shetlander Hazel Mackenzie, 43, who works in the livestock auction house in Shetland's main town of Lerwick.
"If we could have all the revenue from all the oil then we could probably be very self-sufficient."
One example: Over the last four decades, Britain's oil fields have pumped out 42 billion barrels of oil equivalent; about 20 percent of it has flowed through Shetland, piped in to BP's Sullom Voe, one of Europe's biggest oil terminals. Another is that about a fifth of the oil and gas thought still to be found off Britain's coast is believed to lie to the west of Shetland. As the Scottish independence vote nears, Shetland's council has joined forces with two other island councils, Orkney and the Western Isles, to ask for greater control of local services and new fiscal arrangements to enable them to benefit from the oil, fisheries and renewable energy resources surrounding them. [B]At stake for the Scottish government could be its share of the 7 billion pounds or so of annual oil production taxes which Edinburgh wants in the event of a "Yes" vote for independence.[/B] For many on Shetland, where the blue and white Nordic-style flag flutters from masts amongst the peat hills and isolated coves, a sense of being a Shetlander comes ahead of any Scottish, British or, given history, even Norwegian identity. In Lerwick, where seals wait in the harbour to greet the arrival of the next fishing boat, some islanders see the result of the Scottish referendum as irrelevant.
[I][B]"Why would we believe in independence if all it means is that powers move from London to Edinburgh? No, we want to move an awful lot further than that,"[/B][/I] said Tavish Scott, a Liberal Democrat who is Shetland representative in the devolved Scottish parliament in Edinburgh, dominated by the Scottish National Party. Scott says around 67 percent of North Sea reserves lie within Shetland coastal waters. The Scottish government envisages using the money from the 94 percent of British oil and gas production tax revenues it estimates come from Scottish waters to support its state spending. Shetland's bid for power over local affairs and a slice of oil revenues could complicate negotiations between Edinburgh and London over currency, national debt and splitting oil reserves in the event of a Yes vote in September and ahead of what would be independence in March 2016.
"Scotland will need Shetland more than Shetland will need Scotland," said Caroline Miller, 56, an ex-Shetland councillor who now helps run a bed and breakfast hotel.
[I][B]"If you ask a Shetlander who are you? We say Shetlander, we're not Scottish,"[/B][/I] said abattoir manager Lauraine Manson, 47. Recognising the distinction, a grassroots group from across Shetland and its island neighbours, Orkney and the Western Isles, have started a petition asking for a second vote, a week after the Scottish referendum. It would give islanders the option of choosing their own independence, voting to be part of Scotland, or sticking with the United Kingdom.
[/quote]
[URL]http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/16/uk-scotland-independence-shetland-idUKBREA3F0SH20140416[/URL]
a pro union party msp trying to drag away attention from the indy ref by saying a couple of islands should be independent. fair play to them though, i'd like to see how they develop as an independent nation.
[QUOTE=codenamecueball;45097564]a pro union party msp trying to drag away attention from the indy ref by saying a couple of islands should be independent. fair play to them though, i'd like to see how they develop as an independent nation.[/QUOTE]
Better than Scotland would. Shetland has oil, so they'll be okay until we phase out oil, then they're fucked like Scotland would be.
Yes let Shetland have the oil
[sp] so can we have Shetland [/sp]
[QUOTE=Jodern;45097606]Yes let Shetland have the oil
[sp] so can we have Shetland [/sp][/QUOTE]
Its been over five hundred years just GIVE UP
[QUOTE=draugur;45097599]Better than Scotland would. Shetland has oil, so they'll be okay until we phase out oil, then they're fucked like Scotland would be.[/QUOTE]
if you think oil is the be all and end all of what scotland has you haven't done much research/actually visited scotland
[QUOTE=Jodern;45097606]Yes let Shetland have the oil
[sp] so can we have Shetland [/sp][/QUOTE]
You think you can have our oil, well to war I say!
[QUOTE=Jodern;45097606]Yes let Shetland have the oil
[sp] so can we have Shetland [/sp][/QUOTE]
You're going to have to beat America to the invasion.
[QUOTE=Zephyrs;45097662]You're going to have to beat America to the invasion.[/QUOTE]
Norwegians have been invading that island for centuries just for fun. We could learn a thing or two from them
Be quiet you unimportant little island
[QUOTE=Dr.Critic;45097722]Be quiet you unimportant little island[/QUOTE]We'll gladly take it off your hands.
[QUOTE=codenamecueball;45097642]if you think oil is the be all and end all of what scotland has you haven't done much research/actually visited scotland[/QUOTE]
I don't think sheep with benefits are a hot commodity in the world market right now.
[sp]jokes aside, oil is a major part of having a big economy right now, they'd be able to get by, but they'd be worse off than they are as part of the UK, leaving provides pretty much nothing productive other than a smaller government.[/sp]
[QUOTE=draugur;45097806]I don't think sheep with benefits are a hot commodity in the world market right now.[/QUOTE]
Don't worry, i bet they could scrape by with all the shortbread they sell the tourists.
all about the $$$'s nothing to do with the actual people
[QUOTE=Sableye;45097931]all about the $$$'s nothing to do with the actual people[/QUOTE]
Economic stability and success is required for quality of life to improve and to maintain it as time goes on.
Also please don't cite China or India as examples against me, because they're experiencing essentially what the UK and US did during the Industrial revolution (though with a much more easily corrupt and authoritarian government form, granted), this is their Industrial Revolution, the time frame isn't comparable.
[quote]Last year, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond set up a working group to consider devolving some powers to the islands, which is due to report back in June. The Scottish government supported "local decision making", he said then.[/quote]
Well, there you go
Isle of Mann and the Faroese islands and such operate as crown dependencies/antonymous regions currently so this isn't really a totally unusual idea. Could also just be unionists trying to stir the pot, and they might just shy away if actually given the opportunity to devolve
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;45098462]Well, there you go
Isle of Mann and the Faroese islands and such operate as crown dependencies/antonymous regions currently so this isn't really a totally unusual idea. Could also just be unionists trying to stir the pot, and they might just shy away if actually given the opportunity to devolve[/QUOTE]
Why be under Scotland when you can just do your own thing with the oil.
Soon the UK will Independance itself back to 6th Century and we'll all be fighting over shit because fuck those Wessex assholes, Merica all the way.
[QUOTE=Thomo_UK;45098681]Soon the UK will Independance itself back to 6th Century and we'll all be fighting over shit because fuck those Wessex assholes, Merica all the way.[/QUOTE]
Glorious kingdom of Merica'
[t]http://www.churches4america.com/assets/images/Eagle_Flag.JPG[/t]
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;45098708]Glorious kingdom of Merica'
[t]http://www.churches4america.com/assets/images/Eagle_Flag.JPG[/t][/QUOTE]
Fuck.
No matter how hard I try I can't spell [b]MERCIA[/b] correctly.
Maybe I'm just a secret American and I don't know.
[QUOTE=draugur;45098403]Economic stability and success is required for quality of life to improve and to maintain it as time goes on.
Also don't cite China or India as examples against me, because they're experiencing essentially what the UK and US did during the Industrial revolution (though with a much more easily corrupt and authoritarian government form, granted), this is their Industrial Revolution, the time frame isn't comparable.[/QUOTE]
I think his point is, Scotland's campaign for independence is much broader than having control over its economic stability. Scotland's campaign deals with social issues as well as foreign politics.
What this article is saying, or at least portraying, is that the people of Shetland don't really have a cultural identity that Scotland is showing off as a reason for independence and wants to break away simply to hoard the large cash that can come in from the oil nearby.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;45098868]I think his point is, Scotland's campaign for independence is much broader than having control over its economic stability. Scotland's campaign deals with social issues as well as foreign politics.
What this article is saying, or at least portraying, is that the people of Shetland don't really have a cultural identity that Scotland is showing off as a reason for independence and wants to break away simply to hoard the large cash that can come in from the oil nearby.[/QUOTE]
The social issues could be addressed by the current system if they actually bothered to try. Screaming for independence is pretty knee-jerk honestly.
I'm an outsider, so from an outsider's perspective this looks like the Shetland people are offended that Scotland and England are deciding what's what and both are assuming Shetland is just part of whatever deal happens. So the Shettish people(that's what you call them right?) are saying "Not so fast, Scottish independence? Whatever, but no one owns us".
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;45099332]I'm an outsider, so from an outsider's perspective this looks like the Shetland people are offended that Scotland and England are deciding what's what and both are assuming Shetland is just part of whatever deal happens. So the Shettish people(that's what you call them right?) are saying "Not so fast, Scottish independence? Whatever, but no one owns us".[/QUOTE]
Shetlanders.
They're in a sense doing exactly what Scotland is trying to propose, just with most of the oil fund on their side. Alex Salmond hopes for appeasement by giving them more devolved powers; sound similar?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;45098868]I think his point is, Scotland's campaign for independence is much broader than having control over its economic stability. Scotland's campaign deals with social issues as well as foreign politics.
What this article is saying, or at least portraying, is that the people of Shetland don't really have a cultural identity that Scotland is showing off as a reason for independence and wants to break away simply to hoard the large cash that can come in from the oil nearby.[/QUOTE]
The article is actually saying the very opposite - that shetlanders consider themselves shetlanders first and foremost. They're not british, not scotish or nor. They're shetlanders.
[QUOTE=Sableye;45097931]all about the $$$'s nothing to do with the actual people[/QUOTE]
Nothing personal.
all of the north sea scottish oil belongs to 22000 people
[QUOTE=Kondor;45102527]all of the north sea scottish oil belongs to 22000 people[/QUOTE]
Should it not?
Based purely on population alone
im guessing shetland didn't build the rigs though
[QUOTE=Kondor;45102541]im guessing shetland didn't build the rigs though[/QUOTE]
Are the rigs owned by a country or a company?
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