Editing Orkney (section)

==Politics==
Orkney is represented in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] as part of the [[Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)|Orkney and Shetland]] [[United Kingdom constituencies|constituency]], which elects one [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP), the current incumbent being [[Alistair Carmichael]]. This seat has been held by the [[Scottish Liberal Democrats|Liberal Democrats]] or the former [[Scottish Liberal Party|Liberal Party]] since 1950, longer than any other they represent in Great Britain.<ref>[http://www.alistaircarmichael.org.uk/ "Alistair Carmichael: MP for Orkney and Shetland"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613181311/http://www.alistaircarmichael.org.uk/ |date=13 June 2011 }} alistaircarmichael.org.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2009.</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100904235135/http://www.alba.org.uk/ "Candidates and Constituency Assessments"]}}. alba.org.uk – "The almanac of Scottish elections and politics". Retrieved 9 February 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.snptacticalvoting.com/2009/10/untouchable-orkney-shetland-isles.html "The Untouchable Orkney & Shetland Isles "] (1 October 2009) www.snptacticalvoting.com Retrieved 9 February 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729230722/http://www.snptacticalvoting.com/2009/10/untouchable-orkney-shetland-isles.html |date=29 July 2013 }}</ref>

In the [[Scottish Parliament]] the [[Orkney (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Orkney]] constituency elects one [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) by the [[Plurality voting system|first past the post]] system. The current MSP is [[Liam McArthur]] of the Liberal Democrats.<ref>[http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/liam_mcarthur/ "Liam McArthur MSP"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605193733/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/liam_mcarthur/ |date=5 June 2011 }} Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 8 September 2009.</ref> Before McArthur the MSP was [[Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness|Jim Wallace]], who was previously [[Deputy First Minister of Scotland|Deputy First Minister]].<ref>[http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/historic/s1/jim_wallace/ "Jim Wallace"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811013718/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/historic/s1/jim_wallace/ |date=11 August 2011 }} Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 8 September 2009.</ref> Orkney is within the [[Highlands and Islands (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Highlands and Islands]] [[Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions|electoral region]].

The Orkney Movement, a political party that supported devolution for Orkney from the rest of Scotland, contested the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general election]] as the [[Orkney and Shetland Movement]] (a coalition of the Orkney movement and its equivalent for Shetland). The [[Scottish National Party]] chose not to contest the seat to give the movement a "free run". Their candidate, John Goodlad, came 4th with 3,095 votes, 14.5% of those cast, but the experiment has not been repeated.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010306162510/http://www.alba.org.uk/scot99constit/h05.html "Candidates and Constituency Assessments: Orkney (Highland Region)"]}} alba.org.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2008 </ref>

In the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum]] 67.2% of voters in Orkney voted no to the question "Should Scotland be an independent country?" This was the highest no vote by percentage in any council area in Scotland.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29255449|title=BBC News – In maps: How close was the Scottish referendum vote?|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=8 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227040538/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29255449|archive-date=27 February 2015|url-status=live|date=2014-09-19|last1=Jeavans|first1=Christine}}</ref> Turnout for the referendum was at 83.7% in Orkney with 10,004 votes cast in the area against independence by comparison to 4,883 votes for independence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/19/scottish-independence-referendum-no-campaigners-buoyed-first-results-clackmannanshire-orkney|title=Scottish independence: no campaigners buoyed by first referendum results|author=Severin Carrell|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=8 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208124504/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/19/scottish-independence-referendum-no-campaigners-buoyed-first-results-clackmannanshire-orkney|archive-date=8 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum]] 63.2% of voters in Orkney voted Remain.

In 2022, as part of the [[Levelling up policy of the Boris Johnson government#White paper|Levelling Up White Paper]], an "Island Forum" was proposed, which would allow local policymakers and residents in Orkney to work alongside their counterparts in [[Shetland]], the [[Outer Hebrides|Western Isles]], [[Anglesey]] and the [[Isle of Wight]] on common issues, such as broadband connectivity, and provide a platform for them to communicate directly with the government on the challenges island communities face in terms of levelling up.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2022/02/03/new-islands-forum-should-not-just-be-box-ticking-exercise/|title=New islands forum should not be 'box ticking exercise'|last=Cope|first=Chris|date=3 February 2021|work=[[The Shetland News]]|accessdate=17 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2022/11-february/news/uk/gove-announces-levelling-up-forum-for-islands|title=Gove announces Levelling-up forum for islands|last=Paveley|first=Rebecca|date=11 February 2021|work=[[Church Times]]|accessdate=17 February 2022}}</ref>

In July 2023, Orkney Council were investigating proposals to change its status, looking at options that included becoming a [[Crown Dependencies|British Crown Dependency]], a [[self-governance|self-governing territory]] within the Kingdom of Norway or just staying in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-66066448|title=Orkney council to look at proposals to become territory of Norway|work=[[BBC News]]|date=2 July 2023|access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref>