After resigning as a councillor at the end of October, Tom Morton reflects on his two and a half years representing the Shetland North ward as well as Scottish Labour.
‘It is not for everyone – and it certainly wasn’t for me’
As the Viking Energy wind farm and interconnector are officially activated, retired teacher Frank Hay, the chair of Sustainable Shetland – the campaign group that has been opposing the wind farm project for more than 15 years – reflects on how this was achieved and at what cost.
Retired Yell Sound ferry skipper Steven Spence speaks out on the current state of the inter-island ferry service and calls for urgent action to prevent it from getting worse
This Saturday, the third annual Shetland Pride will take place and our author Hannah Nicholson is excited to be attending for the first time. Here she explains why.
Yell will see some big changes over coming years with two large onshore wind farms plus associated infrastructure set to be constructed on the island which is also part of the Scottish Government’s carbon neutral islands project.
In this long and thorough ViewPoint contribution, local resident Adrian Brockless explores some of the contradictions of the processes involved and wonders if, perhaps, we are all on the brink of making some catastrophic mistakes in the name of climate progress.
Local climate campaigner Andrea Sanchez finds ‘no adults in the room’ at Equinor when she attended the Norwegian oil company’s AGM earlier in May. Here she argues that developing the Rosebank oil field has little to do with ‘transitioning to clean energy’.
On the day Alex Armitage announces his intention to stand in the upcoming general election, the Green councillor reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Zetland County Council Act and what the future may hold
In this opinion piece Green councillor Alex Armitage challenges the council’s leadership in their approach to negotiations with the renewable energy industries and argues that a tougher stance is needed for Shetland to maximise the benefits
Managing director of local energy consultancy Voar, Daniel Gear, shares his thoughts on navigating Shetland’s resource ownership in the wind and hydrogen age
Shetland News republishes this article from The Conversation website in which academics Gisa Weszkalnys and Gavin Bridge argue that calls to end new oil and gas licensing is in line with climate science yet the existing regulatory approval process locks the UK into hydrocarbon production for years to come
Shetland’s Labour councillor Tom Morton offers his views on the replacement Fair Isle ferry project, which has been awarded around £27 million from the UK Government but faces a 2026 deadline.
Local Green councillor Alex Armitage offers his views on why he is taking a stand against the proposed Rosebank oil field to the west of Shetland
Following a visit to the isles earlier this year climate activist Tessa Khan offers her views on the need for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels, and the role Shetland can play.
A week after the Supreme Court found the Scottish Government has no powers to legislate for a second independence referendum, isles MP Alistair Carmichael argues that the case for constitutional reform to turn the UK into a modern democracy has never been more pressing.
Equalities campaigner Peter Hamilton argues Shetland Charitable Trust’s do-little approach to support in the cost of living crisis is inexcusable, and sets out the rationale for community engagement.
In April 2020, we asked Tresta resident Carol Jamieson to share her thoughts on the early days of the pandemic, at a time we were all experiencing the first weeks of the lockdown. Now, exactly two years after Shetland’s first Covid cases were confirmed, she says she is a different person.
As world leaders gather in Glasgow for the COP26 UN climate summit, Celestine Verdcourt-Lawrence of Shetland Eco Youth calls on governments to stop pretending and start working seriously towards a net zero future
In his first contribution to what is set to become a regular column, chief inspector Paul Daley warns of the dangers of ‘sextortion’ and reassures the community that help is at hand
The last serious study of how much energy is wasted here in the UK was done by the Association for Decentralised Energy in 2015, writes environmental campaigner Vic Thomas
This week the Scottish Government confirmed that under 22s will receive free bus travel from January next year – but at this stage transport on ferries for islanders is not part of the plans. One of Shetland’s two members of the Scottish Youth Parliament, Jonathan Dorrat, gives us his view
The devolution paradox is that it has taken so much decision-making away from Scottish communities rather than closer to them, writes former Labour MP Brian Wilson, one of the founders of the Skye-based West Highland Free Press.
Following news that Shetland’s oil funds have grown by a whopping £250 million on the global money markets, local food entrepreneur David Polson is floating the idea of creating a Shetland Children’s Trust
With the first launches from Shetland Space Centre planned for May 2022, chief executive Frank Strang has reflected on the progress so far
Following news reports of racist graffiti appearing on some crumbling Cold War buildings in the southend of Shetland, Peter Hamilton puts pen to paper to reflect on the many forms racism, sexism, transphobia and discrimination can take.
Chief executive of Hjaltland Housing Association and vice chair of the Shetland Fuel Poverty Action Group, Bryan Leask, is urging the incoming government to make tackling Scotland’s ‘shamefully’ high levels of fuel poverty, particularly in rural and island areas, a top priority
ITV Studios’ producer of the crime drama Shetland, Louise Say, responds to concern voiced here by Tom Morton who earlier this week asked whether it is a good idea to resume filming the popular series as early as April
Please come to Shetland, Shetland. But not yet, says Tom Morton.
Frustrated with the limitations of local government in Scotland since devolution, Shetland Islands Council decided earlier this year to look closely at the options of clawing some back political powers from Edinburgh and thus reviving local democracy. Here, council convener Malcolm Bell sets out the case for self-determination.
A ‘perceived’ recruitment crisis for air traffic controllers at island airports is being used by airport operator HIAL to further its ATC centralisation plans, writes Peter Henderson who has been working at Kirkwall airport’s control tower for 18 years
Ahead of Wednesday’s council meeting, modern political history PhD student Mathew Nicolson argues that the latest bid for self-determination reflects grievances with centralisation and the continued erosion of local government powers rather than the desire for full autonomy.
Here in Shetland we have a climate crisis and we need our council to declare a climate emergency, write Anderson High School students Isla Johnson, Laura Bisset and Celestine Verdcourt-Laurenson of Eco Youth Shetland.
The focus on building a 600Megawatt subsea cable is preventing investment in local renewable energy projects, writes James Mackenzie, the outgoing vice-chairman of Sustainable Shetland, the grassroots group that opposes the Viking Energy wind farm.
Pete Bevington is one of the organisers of Lament for the Lang Kames, a ‘funeral procession’ being held on Saturday for “all that will be lost if Viking Energy goes ahead as planned”. He explains why the procession – coffin and all – is taking place.
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