One way or the other

One way or the other

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They live in the most remote part of Scotland, 12 hours by ferry from the Scottish mainland and hundreds of miles from Edinburgh. And when it comes to the debate on Scottish independence, the inhabitants of the windswept Shetland Islands have their own aspirations.

As Scots prepare to vote on whether to end the union with England, many Shetlanders see the referendum as an opportunity to gain greater autonomy for themselves.

. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

The detachment many Shetlanders feel on their northerly outpost runs deeper than the stormy, cold seas which separate them from the rest of Britain.

The islands’ rolling peat hills and isolated coves lie closer to Oslo than London, and for some 500 years they were part of Norway.

With their own fierce sense of identity, many of the islands’ inhabitants would like to gain control over local services as well as a share of revenues from the oil pumped from the North Sea. Some even want to have a vote on their own independence.

. BRESSAY, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

As the Sept. 18 Scottish independence vote nears, Shetland's council has joined forces with two other island councils, Orkney and the Western Isles, to ask for more authority over local affairs and new fiscal arrangements to enable them to directly benefit from the oil, fisheries and renewable energy sources surrounding them.

Caroline Miller (pictured above), an ex-Shetland councillor who now helps run a bed and breakfast hotel thinks the resource-rich islands have a strong negotiating position.

"I think you'll get something because Scotland will need Shetland more than Shetland will need Scotland," she said.

. SULLOM VOE, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Over the last four decades, Britain's oil fields have pumped out 42 billion barrels of oil equivalent and about 20 percent of it has flowed through Shetland.

What's more, around a fifth of the oil and gas thought still to be found off Britain's coast is believed to lie to the west of Shetland.

If they win independence, the Scottish government wants to use tax revenue from fossil fuel production to support its state spending.

But Shetland's bid for power over local affairs and a slice of oil revenues could complicate negotiations between Edinburgh and London in the event of a Yes vote in September and ahead of what would be independence in March 2016.

. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Lauraine Manson, a 47-year-old abattoir manager says that when the Scottish independence referendum arrives, "I will be voting no because there's too many questions unanswered".

But she says that the Shetland Islands' sense of their own independent identity is very much alive.

"If you ask a Shetlander who are you? We say Shetlander, we're not Scottish," she said.

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Slideshow

Cars travel over a bridge connecting mainland Shetland with west Burra.
. SCALLOWAY, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Cars travel over a bridge connecting mainland Shetland with west Burra.

A woman walks out of her Scandinavian-style house in the town of Lerwick.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

A woman walks out of her Scandinavian-style house in the town of Lerwick.

Two women take a selfie in front of a sign in Lerwick, the Shetland capital.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Two women take a selfie in front of a sign in Lerwick, the Shetland capital.

Boys play at a skate park.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Boys play at a skate park.

Lawrie Malcolmson, 48, works in an abattoir on the Shetland Islands. Malcolmson says he plans to vote no in the upcoming independence referendum as "there are more questions than answers."
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Lawrie Malcolmson, 48, works in an abattoir on the Shetland Islands. Malcolmson says he plans to vote no in the upcoming independence referendum as "there are more questions than answers."

A dead meadow pipit lies among rushes in a remote glen near the village of Scalloway.
. SCALLOWAY, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

A dead meadow pipit lies among rushes in a remote glen near the village of Scalloway.

Crofter Ronnie Eunson unloads bales of silage on the Shetland Islands. Eunson plans to vote in favour of independence, because he thinks "a small country will be more responsible for the policies it pursues."
. SCALLOWAY, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Crofter Ronnie Eunson unloads bales of silage on the Shetland Islands. Eunson plans to vote in favour of independence, because he thinks "a small country will be more responsible for the policies it pursues."

Fifty-one-year-old Sue White, pictured in the garden of her croft near the village of Scalloway, says she plans to vote for independence because "I am an optimist".
. SCALLOWAY, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Fifty-one-year-old Sue White, pictured in the garden of her croft near the village of Scalloway, says she plans to vote for independence because "I am an optimist".

Cats rest on a fence beside a house on the Shetland Islands.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Cats rest on a fence beside a house on the Shetland Islands.

Ian Tomkinson, 57, and Jo Tomkinson, 48, stand beside their house near the village of Sandness. They both plan to vote no in the upcoming referendum. "We're being asked to vote for something for which we've really no idea what the outcome will be," said Ian.
. Sandness, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Ian Tomkinson, 57, and Jo Tomkinson, 48, stand beside their house near the village of Sandness. They both plan to vote no in the upcoming referendum. "We're being asked to vote for something for which we've really no idea what the outcome will be," said Ian.

Five-year-old Roan plays with the family cat in the croft near the village of Scalloway.
. SCALLOWAY, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Five-year-old Roan plays with the family cat in the croft near the village of Scalloway.

Laundry hangs from a clothes line.
. SCALLOWAY, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Laundry hangs from a clothes line.

Scandinavian-style houses stand in a remote glen near Lerwick.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Scandinavian-style houses stand in a remote glen near Lerwick.

The flag of the Shetland Island flies from a garden.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

The flag of the Shetland Island flies from a garden.

A woman puts money in a juke box in The Lounge bar in Lerwick.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

A woman puts money in a juke box in The Lounge bar in Lerwick.

Youths sit outside a Fish and Chip shop in the town.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Youths sit outside a Fish and Chip shop in the town.

Light trails from a passing car are seen in front of a gift shop in Lerwick.
. LERWICK, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Light trails from a passing car are seen in front of a gift shop in Lerwick.