Tunnel commitment from Burnham government would make a ‘positive impact’, SIC leader says
INCOMING prime minister Andy Burnham and his new government could make a “positive impact” by committing to supporting Shetland Islands Council (SIC) in delivering tunnels.
That is the view of SIC leader Emma Macdonald ahead of a change of prime minister in Westminster.
Former Manchester mayor Burnham is in line to be appointed Labour leader next week after winning a by-election in Makerfield, thus becoming prime minister as he replaces the outgoing Sir Keir Starmer.
He has already spoken of “rebalancing power” away from London and wanting to “extend devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by taking power deeper down”.
What that means in practice for a local authority area like Shetland remains unclear.
Macdonald said she is keen to engage with anyone in either government, in Westminster on Holyrood, who wants to talk about Shetland.
“I would obviously be very happy to see more interest in Shetland from the UK Government,” she said.
“It is disappointing that we no longer have the UK Islands Forum as this was a good opportunity to engage directly with the UK Government and remind them of how strategically important Shetland is to the wider UK economy.”
Macdonald referenced ongoing work on inter-island connectivity, which could hypothetically see the SIC seek government support for tunnels to Yell and Unst.
“Shetland has a lot of opportunities but we do need investment in infrastructure to help us to grow and the work we are doing around inter-island connectivity is a key example of this, and we need to work with both governments to see this progress,” she said.
“I would hope a new prime minister and new government would be looking at ways to make a positive impact and what better way than to visit Shetland and then commit to supporting us to deliver these transformational tunnels.”
The Shetland North councillor also said there needs to be a solution to replacing UK prosperity and levelling up funding.
The SIC benefitted to the tune of nearly £27 million from UK Government levelling up money for the Fair Isle ferry replacement project, but this funding scheme has ended since Labour came to power in 2024.
“We haven’t had a real solution to the loss of European funding so I would hope to see this progress so that island communities like ours aren’t left behind,” Macdonald added.
Burnham is set to become prime minster on Monday, and cabinet positions are expected to be confirmed too.
Another topic of interest to Shetland will be Burnham’s position on oil and gas, with the industry and unions already lobbying Labour to back development in the North Sea.
It comes after Labour’s 2024 election manifesto said the party would not issue new licences to explore fields.
A second decision on the Rosebank field to the north west of Shetland is expected in due course from the UK Government, but this falls outwith the scope of the manifesto pledge as it was already in the works prior to 2024.
Rosebank was previously approved in 2023 but a court ruling meant that the application needs to consider wider emissions.
A public consultation on the £8.7bn Rosebank project – led by developer Adura, which is made up of Equinor and Shell – has now been opened by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), with a deadline of 17 August.
Oil would bypass Shetland but gas would come to the isles via pipeline before heading south.
Work is already well underway on the Rosebank project, with significant engineering work completed and the Petrojarl Rosebank Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel now on site.
Adura is also overseeing the Jackdaw gas field east of Aberdeen, which is also now open to consultation and is in line for a second decision from the UK Government.
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