test

Changeover of flags

The previous though unofficial flag of Orkney was that created in the mid-1990s and attributed to St Magnus, a yellow field with a red Nordic cross. St Magnus (Magnus Erlendsson) was Earl of Orkney from 1108 to 1117. However, there is nothing to connect him to the red cross on yellow, this being an attribution of our day. This flag has no official status, having been declined recognition by the Lord Lyon, the heraldic authority of Scotland, due to similarity with the Arms of Ulster (themselves adopted from the Arms of John de Courcy). A similar flag is also sometimes said to be flown by Finland-Swedes, but this flag has the opposite colours: Yellow cross on red. Historically, the red cross on yellow is likely the flag of the Kalmar Union (a Medieval Scandinavian state that Orkney was a part of).

Orkney: Politics

Orkney is represented in the House of Commons as part of the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The current MP is Alistair Carmichael of the Liberal Democrats.

In the Scottish Parliament the Orkney constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system. The current MSP is Liam McArthur of the Liberal Democrats. Before McArthur the MSP was Jim Wallace, who was previously Deputy First Minister. Orkney is within the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

Orkney Islands Council consists of 21 members, all of whom are independent, that is they are not members of a political party.

The Orkney Movement, a political party that supported devolution for Orkney from the rest of Scotland contested the 1987 UK 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, a creditable 14.5% of the those cast but the experiment has not been repeated