Orange Order: Why are loyalist marches facing new resistance in Scotland?

Thousands of people have signed an online petition against a parade due to take place in Inverness on Saturday, with a planned march in Stonehaven blocked by a court last month

In the west and parts of central Scotland, loyalist marches have been part of the landscape for decades, regardless of whether people want them or not.

But in the north east and now the Highlands, the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys of Derry have met public resistance against their planned parades this spring.

At the heart of the issue sits the legal right to assemble – and a test of tolerance in the face of freedom of expression. Today, a parade of the Apprentice Boys of Derry will go ahead in Inverness, with 300 people expected to march.

The Apprentice Boys of Derry takes part in the annual Relief of Derry march on August 14, 2021 in Derry, Northern Ireland. An affiliated club in Inverness plans to hold a parade on Saturday but is meeting resistance. Picture: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

A petition set up on April 11 to halt the event on the grounds of its sectarian nature attracted 5,300 signatures, but came too late to attract attention of council decision makers.

While the application for the parade was published on the council website, with submissions closed on February 5, it only came to wider public attention when the event was advertised on social media earlier this month.

Police, roads and councillors raised no objection to the parade, which was approved by a council officer, with similar events held in Inverness for the past 15 years.

In terms of the European Convention on Human Rights, the law does not allow a council to prevent marches and parades from taking place, unless the risk to public safety outweighs the presumption of freedom of expression.

Councillor Michael Cameron (SNP), of Inverness Central Ward, said granting permission did not imply support of a particular organisation, but upheld people’s rights.

He said: "Granting permission to march does not imply support for a cause. Marching is a form of peaceful assembly, which is protected under human rights legislation and the police were content that there is little risk of disorder. There is a history of these events in Inverness being small scale and largely ignored.

“The additional heat being generated around the matter this year, primarily by people outwith the Highlands (judging by my inbox), appears to have elevated what was a minor irritation to a potentially large issue."

In the case of both Stonehaven and Inverness, the order for the parades was decided under the Civic Act 1982, which considers whether the event poses serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community.

In Stonehaven, councillors found this to be be partly true.

An online petition gathered 10,000 signatures in a town with a population of around 14,000. As the debate over the Stonehaven march intensified on social media, evidence of some inflammatory posts were presented to members before they unanimously rejected the application. A sheriff later rejected an appeal by the Orange Order.

The Orange Order has claimed the Stonehaven petition was largely buoyed by signatories from outwith the area and rooted in anti-Union sentiments.

But it is also true many people in Stonehaven simply did not want the march imported to a place free from the religious divides felt elsewhere. In Inverness, this sentiment was also aired – but ultimately not heard.