Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have joined forces to demand the right to decide their own future, setting the stage for a fresh constitutional clash with London.
At a rare meeting in Cardiff, the heads of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein signed a memorandum declaring that no UK government can block democracy or override the principle of self-determination. All three parties seek independence from the United Kingdom.
The agreement comes days after US President Donald Trump said he would support a united Ireland, a comment Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill said proved the unity debate was “very much alive”. O’Neill attended alongside SNP leader John Swinney, Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth and Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald.
“For the first time ever, people across these islands have first ministers in Scotland, in Wales and in the North of Ireland who are all committed to independence from the UK,” the memorandum said. It added: “The future of our nations belongs in the European Union.”
The three parties are now the largest in their respective devolved parliaments, which hold powers over health, education, housing, transport and some taxation. Yet they differ on timing and method. The SNP wants a second independence referendum after Scotland voted to stay in the UK in 2014. Sinn Fein is pushing for a vote on Irish reunification, while Plaid Cymru sees Welsh independence as a long-term goal with no immediate referendum planned.
Tensions with Westminster have already flared. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham initially said a referendum on Irish unity was “off the table”, prompting outrage from Sinn Fein. He later clarified that a Scottish vote could happen only with “clear consensus”, though his office insisted a referendum remained off limits.
A spokesperson for Burnham said the prime minister “believes strongly in the union” and would focus on economic security rather than “constitutional debates”. But the Cardiff agreement sent a different message: “There could be no clearer sign that Westminster’s time is coming to an end.”
With nationalist parties holding unprecedented influence, the question of who decides the union’s future is moving centre stage.
