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Nationalist leaders plan independence agreement
Leaders from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland planned a Cardiff agreement on cooperation and constitutional change.
What happened
The nationalist leaders of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland planned talks in Cardiff on closer cooperation and constitutional change. Their plan included an agreement on future collaboration and a joint call for their nations’ right to self-determination. The meeting was their first face-to-face gathering since Plaid Cymru took office.
Numbers
- Three first ministersLeading their devolved governments
- 14 SepScheduled Cardiff meeting date
- First meetingSince Plaid Cymru took office
Questions
- Who was due in Cardiff?
- Rhun ap Iorwerth was due to host John Swinney and Michelle O’Neill; Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald was also attending.
- Why are the parties coordinating now?
- Plaid Cymru cited Wales’s recent Senedd election and shared interests in energy, the economy and Europe as reasons for closer political cooperation.
- What are they asking Westminster?
- They planned to call on the British government to prepare for constitutional change and permit independence referendums in their territories.
- Does this change the law?
- Scotland has no statutory trigger equivalent to Northern Ireland’s for a referendum, and the proposed agreement creates no legal change.
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The catch
Coverage published before the Cardiff meeting does not confirm that any agreement was signed.