Letters / New party needed
John Mowat (SNP election thanks, SN 14/5/15) writes: “In the 1987 election, the SNP stood down to give the Orkney & Shetland Movement candidate John Goodlad a chance.
“Today, this has grown into ‘Our Islands, Our Future’, supported by other parties too.”
Not content with stealing Labour’s clothes in Scotland and Jo Grimond’s in Orkney and Shetland, now the SNP it trying to steal those of the old, right wing Shetland Movement.
The SNP and the Shetland Movement were both independence parties, one for Scotland, the other for Shetland, respectively.
The Shetland Movement had a strong presence in Shetland, notably in the SIC, whereas the SNP had zero chance of ousting Jo Grimond, especially, with having to split the vote.
It was a logical decision for the SNP to stand aside and allow tactical voting which would provide the best hope of beating Grimond, following which the two independence-focused parties would cooperate in Parliament.
So it is misleading to suggest the SNP “stood aside to give John Goodlad a chance”; it was in their own interest to do so.
Furthermore, the Shetland Movement went out of existence over 20 years ago and Our Islands, Our Future was set up two years ago.
The Shetland Movement was a well-developed political party with big ambitions for Shetland and it is a travesty to suggest that it has “grown into OIOF” which is, simply, an alliance of island councils.
What has transpired in Shetland since 2012, under the watch of the SNP Scottish government and the new council hasn’t been a pretty sight.
A new, effective, pro-Shetland political party is required, urgently, to hold the SNP Scottish government and the SIC to account for their actions and raise the profile of important local issues, ahead of next year’s Scottish parliamentary election.
John Tulloch
Lyndon
Arrochar
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