Orcadian Column, 22/1/2026

In a desperate bid to dissuade Donald Trump from invading Greenland, Holm FC have generously offered to present him with last year’s Parish Cup. As an added sweetener, Jason Scott has agreed to chuck in his man of the match medal too.

The multitude of memes showing the US President being presented with awards ranging from Miss Young Venezuela sashes to children’s cycling or swimming proficiency certificates has been one of the few light-hearted distractions from the increasingly unhinged behaviour of Donald Trump. Not satisfied with his hand-me-down Nobel Peace Prize, Mr Trump has now written to the Norwegian Prime Minister declaring that the failure to award him the real deal means he is no longer committed to peace. In what world is this normal?

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s threats to take Greenland by force grow ever more belligerent, putting the future of the NATO alliance at risk. As the UK and fellow NATO members rally to the defence of Greenland and Denmark, the US President has now threatened further punitive tariffs. Not tariffs, you understand, on Russia or China who he insists pose a threat to the US in the Arctic region, but on the US’ closest allies. Vladimir Putin can scarcely contain his delight at unfolding events.

These actions demand a strong and unified response not just from Europe, but from within the US itself, where the President appears hell-bent on fomenting civil war on the streets of cities such as Minneapolis, with the very real prospect this will give him an excuse to cancel mid-term elections in November. Donald Trump and those around him no longer make any attempt to conceal or disguise their intentions.

All of which has put Mr Trump’s UK cheerleader-in-chief, Nigel Farage in a bind. The Reform leader’s declared admiration for Vladimir Putin and close links to Putin’s regime have already caused embarrassment and led to former colleagues being imprisoned. This week, Mr Farage took the unprecedented step of refusing media interviews.

Meanwhile, Reform continues to accumulate former Tory Ministers and MPs at an unseemly rate. For a party that claims the country is ‘broken’, Reform seems awfully keen to welcome many of those responsible for much of the damage. This is personified by Lord Offord, who was unveiled last week as the party’s leader in Scotland. A Minister in both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss’ governments, Lord Offord has hit the ground stumbling, looking distinctly uncomfortable defending large swathes of Reform policy.

Last week also saw the Finance Secretary unveil the government’s draft budget. Scottish Liberal Democrats have engaged constructively in negotiations, pressing Shona Robison to address pressures in housing, health and social care and the college sector. I’ve been clear too that continued funding to allow the procurement of new ferries in Orkney is essential and was pleased to see this confirmed last Tuesday. While the Council will still need to borrow to meet the costs, that’s not unusual for such an infrastructure project. Moreover, failure to urgently replace the ferries poses an existential risk to some of our smaller island communities. After years of stalemate, therefore, I welcome and have actively supported the progress now being made.

Sticking with transport, I’m less impressed with changes to Loganair’s timetable which has seen Kirkwall-Edinburgh services being routed via Sumburgh for the next couple of months. I know from personal experience this is forcing islanders to spend additional days away from home, in many cases incurring accommodation costs. I’m meeting Loganair’s management again later this week, where this will be on the agenda along with concerns about the way the airline communicates with passengers and the public, particularly during periods of disruption.

Before then, I will lead a parliamentary debate on Thursday focused on the Scottish Government’s poorly targeted Future Farming Investment Scheme. Despite Ministers insisting that islanders would be prioritised, many Orkney farmers were left mystified as to why they had missed out. Concerns are also mounting about how practical future ‘greening’ proposals might be in an Orkney context, putting at risk another key source of funding.

To end on a more positive note, though, there’s always the Orkney Sports Awards to look forward to next Friday. That’s always assuming Donald Trump doesn’t just walk off with the lot!