Could the breakup of the United Kingdom officially begin this week?

The leaders of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland reportedly will gather on Monday to affirm their countries’ right to seek independence.

A future vote on Scottish independence remains a possibility, The Independent reports.

More from The Guardian:

The Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Scottish National party leader, John Swinney, and the Sinn Féin vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding at a landmark conference in Cardiff on Monday that will call on Westminster “to prepare, plan and facilitate constitutional change in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland”.

The three are meeting in their capacity as party leaders, rather than as officials in their respective governments, alongside the Sinn Féin president and leader of the opposition in Ireland, Mary Lou McDonald. They will also discuss Europe, international cooperation, the economy and energy issues.

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Plaid Cymru’s victory in May’s Senedd elections ushered in a new era for the Celtic independence movements, with separatist parties in government in all three countries for the first time.

Burnham has made much of his support for regional devolution of power and resources in England since becoming prime minister in July, but his approach to the devolved administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh is less clear.

He wrote to Swinney last week to reiterate that a repeat of 2014’s Scottish independence referendum remains “off limits” after apparently misspeaking during prime minister’s questions.

Scottish Education Secretary Mairi McAllan said “an independence referendum is not off the table,” The Independent noted.

In 2014, Scotland voted against becoming an independent country in a 55 to 45 percent vote.

“To go from ‘off limits’ to this is an acceptance of the reality that the people of Scotland will decide their own future – not the UK Government,” Swinney wrote.

“For the first time since 2014, a British Prime Minister accepts that majority support for a referendum should mean one takes place,” he added.

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President Trump weighed in on the potential reunification of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, saying he would “love” to see it.

He predicted that a united Ireland would happen eventually.

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Trump said he would save his opinion on Scottish independence for another time, The Guardian noted.

President Trump Backs A United Ireland, Says It Is ‘Going To Happen Eventually’

The Independent shared further:

The “status quo in the UK is unsustainable”, Ms McAllan added, pointing to the first ministers of both Northern Ireland and Wales being in support of leaving the UK.

“The only people who, until last week anyway, didn’t appear to understand that were the UK Government.

“But the Prime Minister stood at the despatch box in the House of Commons last week and was clear that Scotland must have a route to choose our own future, so we just want that agreed now in a legal format so that we can take forward our mandate in Scotland.”

In a letter to the First Minister this week, the Prime Minister said he had been “highlighting that there is no consensus for an independence referendum in Scotland”.

He told Mr Swinney: “As I made clear to you personally when we met recently in Glasgow, independence and a referendum are off limits as it would take our focus away from growing the economy and helping families with the cost of living.”

Former Conservative minister Lord Michael Gove appeared on the same programme as Ms McAllan on Sunday, said he agreed with the Prime Minister.

He added: “Every time John Swinney talks about independence and invites us to talk about independence, that is time that should be spent talking about how to grow the Scottish economy, how to improve Scottish schools, how to make the NHS work better, how to make transport in Scotland work better, how to bring ferries to the islands.

 

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