• SNP, Plaid Cymru, Sinn Fein sign joint self-determination pact
• UK PM Burnham says he believes ‘strongly in the Union’

CARDIFF: The leaders of the main Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh nationalist parties declared their right on Monday to choose whether to remain in the United Kingdom, signing an agreement that envisions their futures as independent nations within the European Union.

The rare meeting in the Welsh capital came just days after US President Donald Trump waded into the issue, saying he would back a united Ireland.

His comments showed “the unity debate is very much alive”, Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill said alongside her fellow party leaders as they announced a memorandum of understanding.

All three parties — the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein — want to break away from the UK.

“Our nations have the right to self-determination. No Westminster government has the right to block democracy or undermine the principle that our people will decide their own future,” the joint agreement said.

SNP leader John Swinney, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and deputy leader O’Neill met as party leaders rather than government officials. O’Neill is Northern Ireland’s first minister; Iorwerth and Swinney are first ministers of Wales and Scotland.

Announcing the agreement, Swinney said the three parties were “absolutely united by that principle of self-determination”.

For the first time, the nations each have first ministers “committed to independence from the United Kingdom,” the agreement said, adding: “The future of our nations belongs in the European Union.”

The independence parties are the biggest in both the Scottish and Welsh parliaments for the first time since devolution began in 1999. Sinn Fein has been the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2022.

The regional parliaments of the United Kingdom — which comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have key powers on health, education, housing, transport and environment matters, along with some tax gathering.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said relatively little on devolution since taking office in July. A spokesperson for his Downing Street office said he believes “strongly in the Union”.

While united in their desire to break away, the parties have varying positions on how and when this might occur.

The SNP wants a second independence referendum after Scotland narrowly voted to remain in 2014. Successive governments have ruled out an immediate rerun.

Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army, wants a vote on reunifying Ireland with Northern Ireland.

Plaid Cymru seeks Welsh independence in the longer term, but Iorwerth has ruled out pressing for any immediate referendum.

Burnham received a sharp response from Sinn Fein in August when he said a referendum on Irish unity was “off the table”.

The 1998 Good Friday peace agreement provides for a referendum if the British government’s Northern Ireland minister believes a majority is likely to favour joining the Republic of Ireland.

McDonald noted the prime minister had no authority to remove any provisions of the agreement, and Burnham backtracked in parliament last week.

On Scotland, Burnham told lawmakers there could be another vote if there was a “clear consensus” for it, but later clarified that a referendum remained “off limits”.

The meeting and Trump’s remarks sparked a range of opinions in Belfast.

“Ireland would be better off if it was one country and we were back in the EU,” retiree Ray Dennison, 61, said.

But Jim Boyle, 64, an environmental worker, said the nationalist leaders’ meeting filled him with “trepidation”.

“Many years ago I may have wished for the break-up of the United Kingdom, now ... I just don’t want anything that’s unpredictable,” Boyle said.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2026