UPDATED: Electoral contest in South Mainland assured

Shetland South councillor Allison Duncan.

An election contest is assured in the South Mainland in May, with five candidates standing for the ward.

A decision by Bryan Peterson to stand means voters in the Shetland South ward will be required to choose who will represent them in the next council.

Only three candidates came forward for election in 2017, in what was then a three-member ward.

Electoral boundary changes have since meant the Shetland South area will be served by four elected members.

Independent Mr Peterson will be standing against Shetland Greens candidate Alex Armitage in May’s electoral contest.

Earlier this month construction industry expert Stewart Douglas announced he would also be standing.

Mr Douglas last stood for council in 2019, when he campaigned for the Shetland Central seat under an SNP ticket.

But he is standing as an independent candidate this time round.

Retaining the fight for the SNP will be Robbie McGregor, however, who is understood to be standing again for the SNP for the Scottish nationalists.

Meanwhile, Allison Duncan is contesting for Shetland South again.

Speaking to The Shetland Times, the 75 year-old said there was “unfinished business” he wished to see done.

“My main priorities are the Levenwick road refurbishment and the Fair Isle ferry – and close behind that is the water mist suppressant system to enhance safety in all our care homes in Shetland,” he said.

Mr Duncan said it was a “severe disappointment” that not enough potential candidates came forward in the South Mainland in 2017.

He said standing against four other candidates “will tell me if I’ve done a reasonable job, a good job, or if I’m no damned use”.

“This election will at least give me the answer,” he said.

Mr Duncan insisted he would continue as an independent candidate.

Asked if he had considered standing for the SNP, he replied: “You must be crazy to stand for that outfit.”

Local writer and broadcaster Tom Morton will stand as an official Scottish Labour Party candidate in the Shetland North ward.

“I believe the party’s values best represent a viable and valuable future for Shetland,” he said.

“Compassion, social justice and fairness are traditional Shetland qualities, and these are the core ideals of the Scottish Labour Party.”

And Shetland Central member Moraig Lyall has said she will stand again.