Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the majority of their funding from the Scottish Government, but operate independently and are accountable to their local electorates. Councils raise additional income via the Council Tax, a locally variable domestic property tax, and Business rates, a non-domestic property tax.
Lerwick is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom.
Orkney and Shetland is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. In the Scottish Parliament, Orkney and Shetland are separate constituencies. The constituency was historically known as Orkney and Zetland.
Tavish Hamilton Scott is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019, and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Leader after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, in which the Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats, down from 16 in the previous parliament.
Shetland is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Shetland. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The Shetland Islands Council is the local authority for the Shetland Islands, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of 1996.
The Shetland Museum and Archives is a museum in Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland. The new Shetland Museum at Hay's Dock was officially opened on 31 May 2007 by Queen Sonja of Norway and the Duke & Duchess of Rothesay.
Elections to Shetland Islands Council were held on 3 May 2007 the same day as the other Scottish local government elections and the Scottish Parliament general election. The election was the first one using seven new wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Each ward elected three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system, a form of proportional representation. The new wards replaced 22 single-member wards which used the plurality system of election. The council was one of only three in Scotland with a majority of elected members who were independents.
Elections to Shetland Islands Council were held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election was the second using the seven new wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, each ward elected three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 22 Councillors elected.
The Shetland Movement was a pressure group and political party created in 1978 to advocate for greater autonomy in Shetland. The group called for the creation of a Shetland Assembly or 'Althing' with limited legislative powers and control over direct taxation. The group's membership included several key public figures in Shetland, including local author, politician and compiler of the Shetland Dictionary, John Graham and Shetland Islands Council Convener from 1986 to 1994, Edward Thomason.
The second elections to Zetland County Council were held in November 1892 as part of the wider 1892 local elections. According to The Shetland Times, the elections attracted little interest. The council had twenty five seats, and 21 of these were uncontested. Seven of the unopposed councillors were new, whilst the seats of Walls South and Fetlar saw no candidates coming forward. The four seats contested were North Unst, Tingwall, Delting North, and Dunrossness.
Elections to Shetland Islands Council were held on 4 May 2017 on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election was the third using seven wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, each ward electing three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 22 Councillors elected.
Elections to the Shetland Islands Council were held on 7 May 1974 as part of Scottish local elections. This was the first election for the all-purpose Shetland Islands Council, as established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, combining the Lerwick Town Council and the Zetland County Council. The Council operated as a shadow authority until May 1975, when it assumed full responsibilities for local government in Shetland. 11 seats were uncontested.
Beatrice Wishart is a Scottish Liberal Democrats politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland since 2019. Wishart currently serves as spokesperson for both Connectivity and Rural Affairs for her party, and is Deputy Convener for the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee. She was elected at the 2019 Shetland by-election, after the sitting Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott stepped down.
The Montfield Hospital is a health facility in the burgh of Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Shetland.
County Buildings is a municipal structure in King Erik Street, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a judicial complex, is a Category B listed building.
Elections to Shetland Islands Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Elections to the Zetland County Council were held on 8 May 1973 as part of Scottish local elections. This was the last election for the County Council before its incorporation along with the Lerwick Town Council into the Shetland Islands Council in 1975. Elections were held in every part of Shetland except Lerwick to elect 24 landward members to the County Council, who would be joined by six nominated members from the Lerwick Town Council.
Elections to the Zetland County Council were held on 9 May 1967 as part of the 1967 Scottish local elections. Elections were held in every ward except for those in Lerwick to elect 24 landward members to the county council, who would be joined by nine nominated members from the Lerwick Town Council. None of the landward seats were contested.
