Politics
The First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Michelle O’Neill—have signed a memorandum of understanding affirming the right of these regions to separate from the United Kingdom.
The First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Michelle O’Neill—have signed a memorandum of understanding affirming the right of these regions to separate from the United Kingdom. The signing ceremony was held in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The leaders called on the British government to “prepare for, plan for and facilitate constitutional change” so that the regions can hold referendums on leaving the United Kingdom. “Our nations’ future is in the European Union,” they said. The memorandum also states that the First Ministers intend to expand economic cooperation.
The Cardiff summit took place two days after U.S. President Donald Trump, during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill in Dublin, said that he would like to see the reunification of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It should be noted that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejected the possibility of a referendum on the issue during a visit to Belfast on August 27. According to RTÉ, Swinney, ap Iorwerth and O’Neill met not in their capacities as First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but as members of their respective political parties—the Scottish National Party (SNP), the left-wing Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru, and the Irish republican party Sinn Féin.
The debate over a possible reunification of Ireland has intensified in Northern Ireland amid Sinn Féin’s electoral successes. Under the 1998 Belfast Agreement, if a majority in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were to support reunification, Dublin could assume control of Northern Ireland. A referendum on Scottish independence was held in 2014, in which 55 percent of voters supported maintaining the union between Edinburgh and London. However, the Scottish National Party has been calling for another referendum for several years, citing the changed circumstances following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. The Plaid Cymru party came to power in Wales for the first time following the regional parliamentary elections held on May 7.
