A historic memorandum signed in Cardiff
The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland held a joint summit in Cardiff on Monday 14 September 2026, a meeting described as historic and one that stirred strong political reaction across the United Kingdom. In the Welsh capital they signed a memorandum of understanding in which they asserted the right of their nations to self-determination and stated that their future lies in the European Union. The three devolved regions are all currently governed by pro-independence forces, an unprecedented convergence that the participants presented as a turning point.[S1][S2]
According to the memorandum, the signatories agreed to coordinate their efforts to press London for the transfer of greater regional powers and for the authorisation of binding popular consultations on their political status. The text also urged the British executive to prepare, plan and facilitate constitutional change, and argued that Brexit has considerably harmed the socioeconomic development of their territories. In their view, rejoining the European bloc is the natural destination for their nations.[S2]
Who took part in the summit
The meeting brought together the Welsh first minister and Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth; the Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party leader, John Swinney; and leading figures of the Irish republican party Sinn Féin, Michelle O'Neill, first minister of Northern Ireland, and Mary Lou McDonald, the party's president. The authorities clarified that they attended as party leaders rather than as official representatives of their respective cabinets.[S2]
Warnings to Westminster and London's reply
In the memorandum the leaders issued a blunt warning to the seat of the British government, saying that for observers on these islands and around the world there could be no clearer sign that the era of Westminster is coming to an end, and that no Westminster government has the right to block democracy or undermine the principle that their peoples will decide their own future. At the press conference that followed, Swinney predicted that the current British head of government, Andy Burnham, would be the last prime minister of the United Kingdom, expressing confidence that the population would choose independence if given the chance to vote.[S2]
Downing Street responded quickly. Through a spokesperson, Burnham reaffirmed his commitment to the union of the four nations and stressed that the country works better when it promotes its shared values together to solve everyone's problems instead of dividing. The central executive said its priority will be easing pressure on household finances and offering economic security, ruling out constitutional debates or the calling of new referendums. That official position continues the line taken by previous administrations.[S2]
