Nationalist first ministers sign joint agreement in Cardiff asserting ‘no Westminster government has the right to block democracy’.
Leaders of the main nationalist parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have declared their nations’ right to self-determination and called on the UK government to prepare for constitutional change, in a rare show of unity in the Welsh capital, Cardiff.
Scottish National Party leader and First Minister John Swinney, Plaid Cymru leader and Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth, and Sinn Féin vice-president and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday. Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the opposition in the Republic of Ireland, also attended the meeting.
“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 agreement states. It continues: “For the first time ever, people across these islands have first ministers in Scotland, in Wales and in the North of Ireland who are all committed to independence from the United Kingdom… For people watching across these islands-for people watching around the world-there could be no clearer sign that Westminster’s time is coming to an end.”
The leaders met in their capacity as party leaders rather than as government ministers. They stressed that while their parties hold different constitutional positions, each nation should determine its future “in its own way and in its own time.” They called on the British government to “prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change in each jurisdiction” and expressed a shared aspiration that the future of their nations “belongs in the European Union.”
UK Nationalist Leaders Push for Greater Self-Rule:
The three movements pursue distinct objectives. Swinney is pressing for a second Scottish independence referendum within the current Scottish parliamentary term, arguing that recent polling trends show majority support and describing UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham as potentially “the last prime minister of the United Kingdom.” Sinn Féin seeks a border poll on Irish reunification, with McDonald suggesting one could occur by 2030. Plaid Cymru, which has ruled out an independence referendum in its first term in government, is focused on securing greater devolved powers and the principle of the right to choose.
The gathering marks a symbolic moment: for the first time, nationalist or pro-independence parties lead the devolved administrations in all three nations, following electoral shifts including Plaid Cymru’s gains in Wales. Support for independence has hovered around 45-50 percent in Scotland since the 2014 referendum, while polling indicates gradual rises in Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK Nationalists Unite Over Future of Union:
The meeting comes days after US President Donald Trump expressed support for Irish reunification during a visit to Dublin, comments that Sinn Féin leaders said demonstrated the issue remains live. Unionist parties and the UK government have traditionally resisted unilateral moves toward referendums, citing the need for Westminster consent under existing constitutional arrangements, particularly for Scotland, and the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement for any Northern Ireland border poll.
The leaders pledged to strengthen cooperation on practical areas such as economic growth, energy resources and rejecting what they termed “Whitehall’s broken economic model,” while maintaining cultural ties across the islands. Critics argue the agreement is largely symbolic given the legal and political hurdles to any independence votes, and that public appetite for immediate constitutional upheaval remains mixed.
The joint declaration adds to ongoing debates over the future of the United Kingdom, devolution and the long-term consequences of Brexit, as nationalist parties seek to capitalise on what they describe as growing momentum for change.