Orkney Manifesto Group

Summary

The Orkney Manifesto Group (OMG) was a minor political party in Orkney, Scotland. The group advocated for politicisation of Orkney Islands Council, believing that party-based representation would offer more robust democratic governance than the current council of elected independents.[1] The OMG started as an alliance of three Independents who campaigned on a joint manifesto for the 2012 election,[2] before finally registering as a party in 2013.[3]

Orkney Manifesto Group
LeaderRachael King
FoundedMarch 2013; 11 years ago (2013-03)
Dissolved29 March 2022; 2 years ago (2022-03-29)
HeadquartersSycamore
Main Street
Kirkwall
KW15 1BU
Orkney Islands Council
0 / 21
Website
orkneycommunities.co.uk/omg

The party won two seats at the 2017 Orkney Islands Council election.[4]

The party de-registered with the Electoral Commission on 29 March 2022, and as a result has fielded no candidates in the 2022 Orkney election.[3] Rachael King is the only OMG councillor to seek re-election, as an independent candidate.

Election results edit

West Mainland by-election edit

In its first electoral test as a registered party, Rachael King was elected in a by-election for the West Mainland ward following the death of the incumbent councillor Alistair Gordon (first elected as an Independent, he had helped set up the OMG).[5] Having won a majority of first preference votes, she was elected in the first round.

West Mainland by-election, 18 August 2015[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Orkney Manifesto Group Rachael King 51.3
Independent Barbara Foulkes 38.6
Scottish Green Fiona Grahame 9.9
Turnout 1,154 34
Orkney Manifesto Group gain from Independent Swing

Orkney Islands Council election edit

Year Votes FPV% Seats +/-
2017 894 12.1%
2 / 21
 2

References edit

  1. ^ "Orkney Manifesto Group". Orkney Communities. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Kirkwall councillor to stand down at end of OIC term". The Orcadian. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Orkney Manifesto Group Registration". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Going Local: Orkney - where politics, and life, are very different". The National.
  5. ^ Tributes paid to Councillor Alistair Gordon
  6. ^ "Manifesto Group candidate elected". The Orcadian. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2019.