The Shetland branch of the Labour Party is warning that heavy council cuts could have a disastrous effect on the isles economy.

Scotland’s charity watchdog has placed Shetland Charitable Trust under intense surveillance and may stop it conducting business if councillor-trustees are seen to have any more conflicts of interest.

Two thirds of Shetland Charitable Trust’s trustees should be independently elected and only three should be SIC members. That is the view of John Scott, one of the trust’s two non-councillor trustees, who is trying to reignite the debate about how to implement reform in the wake of renewed criticism of the relationship between the council and the £200 million community fund.

A one-off payment of £400,000 from Shetland Islands Council has provided temporary respite from financial worries at Shetland Recreational Trust (SRT).

A street stall promoting youth politics in Shetland and Scotland will be on Commercial Street in Lerwick from noon to 4pm on Saturday.

The Shetland and Orkney and Western Isles seats will not be lumped together or in with those on the mainland as part of the coalition government’s plan to create more uniformly sized parliamentary constituencies because they are “uniquely placed given their locations”.

The banks are willing to fund 80 per cent of the proposed £800 million Viking Energy windfarm, leaving Shetland Charitable Trust with £72 million to find from its own funds or loans.

Viking Energy’s plans for a huge windfarm in the isles have received a qualified thumbs-up from all but one of the five candidates standing in the Orkney and Shetland constituency at next month’s general election.

Labour’s general election candidate has defended the UK government’s stance on fuel duty as rival politicians queued up to condemn the high prices being paid by islanders, with the price of unleaded petrol rising well above £1.30 a litre in some areas following the latest rise in duty.

This year’s UK general election will take place on Thursday 6th May after Prime Minister Gordon Brown went to Buckingham Palace this morning to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament.