McArthur responds to Orkney Islands Council motion

Responding to the news that a motion will go before Orkney Islands Council next week to investigate “alternative forms of governance”, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Orkney Liam McArthur said:

“As a Liberal Democrat, I’ve always believed in empowering individuals and communities to take decisions that best reflect their needs and circumstances.  This is particularly important in our islands, where the effects of centralisation or a one size fits all approach by government can be most damaging, as we have seen over recent years.

“Nevertheless, recent history also highlights the dangers from putting up barriers between or creating divisions within communities.

"I am due to meet local councillors on Monday and will be interested to learn more about what is envisaged. There were similar proposals considered by OIC around the time of the last independence referendum and I am keen to understand how these would differ.

"Locally, I think islanders will also want to be reassured that this exercise won’t result in Council resources being taken away from the day to day running of services at a time when these are under real pressure."