The Conservatives have announced their list candidates for the Highlands and Islands region in May's Scottish Parliament election:
1. Tim Eagle*
2. Jamie Halcro Johnston*†
3. Helen Crawford
4. Ruaridh Stewart
5. George Macpherson
6. Elaine Kirby
*Incumbent MSP
†Constituency candidate for Orkney
Orkney and Shetland (Westminster constituency), Shetland Elects indicative projection, 8 March:
Liberal Democrats: 49% (-6)
Reform UK: 20% (+12)
Scottish National Party: 16% (-1)
Green: 13% (+3)
Labour: <1% (-~6)
Conservative: <1% (-~3)
+/- vs. 2024 election
Looking back on the week:
Another busy week here at the newsdesk with council finances, energy and the upcoming Scottish Parliament election all high on the agenda
Over the last seven days we published 33 news stories, two news round ups, four letters and one ViewPoint contribution.
shet.news/mftca
Shetland Times poll:
Would a walk-in GP clinic be good use of £1m?
Yes: 20%
No: 80%
Period: 27 February - 7 March 2026
Sample size: 41
(Note: unweighted, unscientific poll)
Shetland Islands Council's decision to raise council tax by 7.3% will mark the second highest annual increase in recent decades. However, it brings the council back to the pre-2005 average increase.
Here is the latest roundup of projections for Shetland's Scottish Parliament, all showing the Liberal Democrats with a decisive lead.
Note that each model applies national polling onto Shetland and so provides a general baseline rather than picking up on local campaign dynamics.
The strategic objectives are:
1. Connectivity
2. Housing
3. Health and Social Care
4. Economy, Education and Skills
5. Climate, Nature and Energy
6. Poverty, Cost-of-Living and Social Justice
7. Empowered Communities and Culture
The plan can be read here: www.gov.scot/binaries/con...
The Scottish Government's second national islands plan was published this week. Its key objective is "population retention and attraction", and it contains seven strategic objectives, down from 13 in the first plan.
Shetland Times poll:
Should an additional bank holiday be granted for the World Cup?
Yes: 40%
No: 60%
Period: 20 - 28 February 2026
Sample size: 84
(Note: unweighted, unscientific poll)
Shetland Islands Council, council tax increase vote:
7.3%: 13 votes
5.3%: 4 votes
Interestingly, the vote once again saw the Council Leader and Depute Leader opposing sides, something that would be unimaginable in a party-based administration.
www.shetnews.co.uk/2026/02/25/c...
2026 Scottish Parliament budget vote:
For: 66
Against: 29
Abstentions/no votes: 34
The decade following the 2014 independence referendum saw tight votes to pass Scotland's annual budget. However, the past two budgets have been passed more comfortably, with a greater number of abstentions.
The Labour candidate list for the Highlands and Islands region has been announced:
1. Isla McCay
2. Donald MacKinnon
3. Eva Kestner
4. John Erskine
5. Mike Macleod
6. Callum George
7. Shaun Fraser
8. David Blair
John Erskine is the constituency candidate for Shetland.
The SNP candidate list for the Highlands and Islands region has been announced:
1. Maree Todd
2. Robert Leslie
3. Emma Roddick
4. Hannah Mary Goodlad
Hannah Mary Goodlad is the constituency candidate for Shetland, and Robert Leslie is the constituency candidate for Orkney.
Here is a chart showing how the probability model would have projected an election for Shetland's Scottish Parliament constituency at various points over the past parliamentary session.
With the major caveats that I am not a trained or professional statistician, this is what my model suggests the chances of winning the constituency would be for each party if an election were to be held today:
Liberal Democrat: 68%
Scottish National Party: 25%
Reform UK: 7%
All other parties: 0%
Using past elections as a guide for how often and how far Shetland tends to buck national polling trends, I've attempted to produce a forecasting model that can apply the uncertainty inherent in the projection.
So, I've resurrected my probability model to help try to understand the uncertainty involved in making these projections.
Applying national projections onto Shetland can provide an indication of how Shetlanders might vote if they were to follow national trends. That provides a baseline of data, but it by definition cannot account for local factors, such as campaign issues or candidate approval.
the best option available is to use national Scottish polling to make a constituency-level based projection - as many polling projections attempt to do.
However, in the absence of properly weighted, scientific voting intention polls of Shetlanders from a reputable polling company (which can cost upwards of £4,000, and has never, to my knowledge, been attempted)...
If we want to understand how the election contest is looking, data is important. Otherwise, we're running on vibes alone.
I've been thinking about how best to apply national Scottish polling data onto Shetland's political landscape and understand the uncertainty that involves. 🧵
Shetland (Scottish Parliament constituency), Shetland Elects projection, 21 February 2026:
Liberal Democrats: 45% (+1)
Scottish National Party: 26% (+1)
Reform UK: 18%
Green: 9% (-1)
Sovereignty: 1%
Conservative: <1%
Labour: <1%
+/- vs Jan 2026
Note: this is a projection based on national polling
Shetland Times poll:
Would you support a moratorium on new salmon farms around Shetland?
Yes: 71%
No: 29%
Period: 13-21 February 2026
Sample size: 138
(Note: unweighted, unscientific poll)
Liberal Democrat landslide in *checks notes* Zetland, Redcar & Cleveland
A hand drawn map of part of Kirkwall in Orkney, with street names and other areas labelled
Our Archivists just came across a 1798 map of the centre of Kirkwall #Orkney, created for a legal dispute over some ground. It's very exciting because it's one of the earliest detailed maps of Kirkwall we've seen.
Read all about it on our Archive Blog:
orkneyarchive.blogspot.com/2026/02/kirk...
Faroe, Spyr poll:
Do you think there should be fewer municipalities in the Faroes than today?
Yes: 68%
No: 20%
Fieldwork: February 2026
Faroe, Spyr poll:
Do you think the time is right to review the position of Faroe Islands in the Commonwealth?
Yes: 61%
No: 39%
Fieldwork: 3 February 2026
Faroe, Spyr poll:
Support for greater autonomy by party (vs independence and status quo):
Self-Government Party: 82%
Progress: 61%
Centre Party: 61%
Social Democratic Party: 56%
People's Party: 47%
Union Party: 33%
Republic: 26%
Fieldwork: 3 February 2026
Faroe, Spyr poll:
Support for independence by party (vs greater autonomy and status quo):
Republic: 72%
Progress: 32%
People's Party: 16%
Centre Party: 8%
Social Democratic Party: 5%
Union Party: 1%
Self-Government Party: 0%
Fieldwork: 3 February 2026
