Politics / ‘No issues’ with Labour party chair role, independent councillor says
A LOCAL councillor says becoming the chair of the Labour party branch in Shetland has no conflict with his role as an independent elected member.
Stephen Leask took up the role in the party in mid-April, having earlier become a Labour party member last year.
The Lerwick North and Bressay member says independent elected members having political interests outside of the council is “nothing new”.
Recent examples include Shetland Islands Council leader Emma Macdonald joining the Liberal Democrats in 2023, and its Shetland executive committee the following year.
She and Shetland Central councillor Moraig Lyall, who also joined the Lib Dems earlier this year, are in contention to become the party’s local candidate for the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.
North Isles member Ryan Thomson is also the convener of the local SNP branch.
“For me I don’t really have any issues with it,” Leask said.
“I’m quite happy at the moment just to sit as an independent member of the council, because I feel I have to represent everybody from different parties within the community.”
He added that “whether at the next election I step up and nail my colours to the flag, I do not know”.
Only two of Shetland’s 23 councillors were elected on a party ticket – the SNP’s Robbie McGregor and Green member Alex Armitage.
Tom Morton also represented Labour between 2022 and 2024.
Meanwhile Leask also said he was not won over by some of the terminology used by prime minister Sir Keir Starmer when unveiling Labour’s immigration proposals recently, which has divided opinion.
“I think Keir Starmer has to sack his speech writer to be honest,” he said, “because I think if it had been done in a more dignified [way] then I don’t think it would have been a big issue, to be honest.”
Local Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael for instance said he believed Labour was “falling into the same trap as the Tories did – leaning on hostile rhetoric around immigration”.
Leask said beyond the “rhetoric” the white paper represented a “sensible approach to immigration”.
“It’s well above capacity and it has to be dealt with,” he said.
The government said the white paper will “reshape our immigration system towards those who contribute most to economic growth, with higher skills standards for graduates and workers”.
Leask said Starmer did state that multiculturalism is “good thing for Britain” – “and we know that in Shetland as well”.
Meanwhile the local Labour branch chair said nothing has been confirmed yet regarding the party’s candidate for the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.
The only publicly announced candidate for Shetland so far is the SNP’s Hannah Mary Goodlad.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
