Over 100 incidents of violence, abuse and drug-taking on Shetland’s lifeline ferry service in just three years is deeply concerning. Read more: www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/violenc...

The SNP keeps telling Shetland it would be listened to if it just had a seat at the table. The Western Isles have had that seat - for 18 years - and the fishing industry still wasn’t listened to.

I’m taking a short period of paternity leave this week after the birth of my second son, James. www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/labour-...

Scotland needs both renewable energy and renewable food. 🐟🔋 More in the @shetnews.co.uk ⤵️https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2026/01/08/fishing-treated-afterthought-labour-candidate/

No Shetland parent, pupil or teacher should feel blamed by performance reports - island schools need investment and support. After nearly 20 years of SNP government, education isn’t a priority and outcomes suffer. www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/whalsay...

Long waits. Missed care. A system under strain. Last year in NHS Shetland: • 1,242 people waited over 4 hours in A&E • 97 patients waited more than a year for treatment • 22 young people were turned away from CAMHS After 18 years of SNP failure, Shetland deserves better.

John Swinney says he wants another term in office. So let’s have the debate. I’m calling on the First Minister and the SNP to agree to a head-to-head debate with Anas Sarwar in Shetland - and explain their dismal record directly to island communities.

What a brilliant speech from Anas Sarwar this morning in Edinburgh. After 20 years, the SNP has had their chance and they blew it. It’s time for a @scottishlabour.bsky.social First Minister that offers competence, hope, and a better future for our young people.

Crime is rising and people in Shetland are feeling less safe. After years of SNP cuts to policing and justice, the system is at breaking point. Scottish Labour will end the soft-touch approach to justice and get police back on the frontline.

Crime is rising and people in Shetland are feeling less safe. After years of SNP cuts to policing and justice, the system is at breaking point. Scottish Labour will end the soft-touch approach to justice and get police back on the frontline.

First-footed on New Year’s Day this morning. Some would still say overpriced….

As we step into 2026, I wanted to share a short New Year message with everyone across Shetland and the Highlands and Islands.

🐀 Rat complaints are rising in Shetland as SNP cuts bite. Council budgets slashed. Street cleaning cut back. Communities left to deal with the consequences. Shetland deserves better than a government failing on the basics.

7.4% of shops in Shetland are lying empty. Unfair business rates and SNP neglect are hollowing out our high streets. Scottish Labour will back local retailers and revive our town centres.

Wishing everyone across Shetland and the Highlands and Islands a very happy Christmas this morning!

£3,000 a day is being lost to delayed discharge in NHS Shetland. After 10 years of SNP promises, patients are still stuck in hospital and pressure keeps rising. Scottish Labour will fix social care and free up beds where they’re needed most.

Finished my last round of door-knocking before the Christmas break here in Lerwick. People are raising the same issues again and again, ferries, NHS pressures and the cost of living. I’ll be back out on the doors in the New Year as we build up to the Scottish Parliament election in May.

ASN support in Shetland is under severe strain: 1,366 pupils. 46 ASN teachers. That’s a system stretched to breaking point – and pupils paying the price. Scottish Labour will rebuild ASN support so every child gets the help they need.

The Lib Dems can’t keep both sides of this argument straight. Ed Davey admits the case for Digital ID has moved on yet Alistair Carmichael now pretends it’s still 2005. That’s not principle. It’s flip-flopping and misrepresentation. Shetland Times reports⬇️ www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/labour-...

Just under five months to go until the Scottish Parliament election - and the choice is clear. After years of SNP failure on ferries, housing and NHS services, the Highlands and Islands deserve better. Scottish Labour has a plan to deliver real change. It’s time for a new direction.

Great to be on Commercial Street in Lerwick for Small Business Saturday, stopping by the brilliant Peerie Café. Local businesses are the backbone of Shetland and the Highlands & Islands, they keep our communities thriving. If you can, shop local and support the people behind our small businesses.

Shop local across the Highlands and Islands this small business Saturday. 🛍️

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar, Scotland’s next First Minister set out a compelling vision for Scotland at tonight’s Scottish Labour Winter Gala. Momentum is building and Scotland’s read for the change Labour offer. 🌹

Positive news on NorthLink pods, lie-flat options are coming in April. Bigger, more private, but fewer overall. 🛳️ I filmed this recently about the current pods. What do you think of the new plans? Enough pods? Still need more cabins or a rethink? Let me know. 💬⤵️

Scotland's island communities deserve better than drifting from one ferry fiasco to the next.

Happy St.Andrew’s day to everyone celebrating across the Highlands and Islands, Scotland, the U.K. and around the world! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The Crowdfunder is live. Shetland and the Highlands & Islands deserve better than another decade of excuses and drift. If you can, chip in and help us build a campaign rooted in community and focused on fixing the basics. 👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/john-erski...

Up at Cairngorm Mountain Rescue today talking about what this Budget delivers for the Highlands & Islands: VED scrapped for Search & Rescue vehicles, £300 off energy bills, higher wages, the two-child limit gone, and £820m more for Scotland’s services. Real backing for the Highlands and Islands.

ICYMI - wages are going up with Labour 🌹

Boost for Scots workers as Rachel Reeves confirms rise in National Minimum Wage

The Shetland Islands Council CEO is set for a £165,755 salary – a £30k+ rise – while local staff received just 4%. Services are already stretched. The STUC is right: it looks like one rule for bosses, another for everyone else. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below. 💬

At Dynamic Earth for Scottish Labour’s Policy Conference. After two decades of SNP failure, Scotland needs a new direction. In May, the choice is clear: a third decade of John Swinney and the SNP, or a Scottish Labour government that believes in Scotland’s potential.

Strong speech from Anas Sarwar today. Scottish Labour setting out real change: 🚑 Mental Health Emergency Response Service 👷 Apprenticeship Guarantee — 9,000 new places 👮 Restoring community policing with officers back on the frontline Scotland can’t afford another decade of SNP failure.

Getting to some of Scotland and the UK's major gigs and sporting events across is expensive enough when you are travelling from the Highlands and Islands. Labour is making it illegal to resell tickets for live events above the original cost.

Back in Shetland this week. Pushing to get ferries, transport, housing, energy costs, NHS access and the cost of living firmly into Scottish Labour’s manifesto. Our region can’t be an afterthought, Scottish Labour will act where the SNP won’t.

We’re delivering for the Highlands and Islands. But there’s lots more to do.🌹

Dropped into Aa’ Fired Up after canvassing for a quick sugar boost, the chocolate orange and Irish cream fudge is unreal. Great to see the studio packed with families getting stuck into Christmas plates, baubles and more. A brilliant Lerwick business well worth supporting.

Lerwick to Livingston and then on to the Blackburn and Whitburn by-election campaign! The campaigning for @scottishlabour.bsky.social never stops!🌹

This must be the last winter the SNP runs our NHS. In Shetland and the Highlands & Islands, long waits, staff shortages and long trips for care are now the norm. It’s not staff failing - it’s the SNP. In May we can change it. Get involved with @scottishlabour.bsky.social: events.labour.org.uk

Thanks to the Shetland Scottish Labour members who came along to my candidate drop-in meeting today in #Lerwick! Really looking forward to campaigning with you as we head towards the Scottish Parliament elections next May! 🌹

Out on the doors in #Lerwick today speaking to folk about ferries, NHS services and local priorities. The conversations at the doorstep show just how much change is needed with Scottish Labour. I'll be knocking right through to May, if I miss you, you can reach me anytime via my socials.🌹

Starting the day off right with a flat white from the Peerie Shop Cafe in Lerwick before campaigning and meetings! ☕️🌹

Today, we honour all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Now and always, we will remember them.

Great day at the Highlands and Islands Scottish Labour Conference in Inverness. Proud to represent Shetland CLP and be part of such a strong turnout of members & activists, all focused on delivering a Labour Government and Anas Sarwar as First Minister next May. Good discussions!🌹

🚨The Highlands and Islands are being left behind by the SNP. The ferry fiasco. Broken A9 promises. Vital NHS and public services being cut. Holyrood feels further away than ever. This weekend, I’m asking candidates to back my Highlands & Islands Pledge to put the region first, always.

Looking forward to speaking at tonight’s Highlands & Islands @coopparty.party.coop meeting with @rhodagrant.bsky.social. Trade unions fight for power where we work. The co-op movement fights for power where we live. Proud to stand as a Labour & Co-operative candidate next year. 🌹🤝

A big thanks to Livingston MP @gregorpoynton.bsky.social & @scottishlabour.bsky.social Shetland Candidate @johnrerskine.bsky.social for joining @chriskanemp.bsky.social & @drkaindemanji.bsky.social on the Stirling East Council By-Election campaign trail! 🗳️ Vote 1️⃣ for Yvonne Dickson on 30th Oct!

Out in Stirling East this afternoon with @chriskanemp.bsky.social and @drkaindemanji.bsky.social, backing Yvonne Dickson ahead of next week's by-election. The @stirlinglabour.bsky.socialCouncil is working hard to protect local services despite swinging SNP Gov cuts. All the best for next week!🌹

These ferries shouldn't be built in China. 🛳

Shetland’s tourist office should never have been closed. At a time of record visitor numbers, we should be backing our islands, not holding them back. Tourism means jobs, local pride and stronger communities. Scottish Labour will always back Shetland and the Highlands and Island to succeed.