Turnout good for politics

Following the announcement of a record 84.4 per cent turnout in Shetland, SIC political leader Gary Robinson said the challenge now was to keep people engaged in politics.

Mr Robinson said: “If Westminster and Holyrood politics go back to what it was before, it will have been a waste.

“I would like to see this kind of turnout for all our elections whether council Westminster or Holyrood. The real challenge to all parties is to keep this level of engagement up and get people interested in politics again.

Mr Robinson said that the key to this was to keep politics more local and  relevant to people and communities and that was part of the work undertaken by the Our Islands Our Future campaign.

MSP Jean Urquhart, in Lerwick for the count, said: “I am delighted. 84 per cent must be a record for Shetland.It just shows the level of interest in the governance of Scotland.