According to The Telegraph, leaders from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to sign an agreement on Monday to begin a process that could lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom.
At a summit in Cardiff, the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will sign a joint declaration seeking the right to hold independence referendums.
The move follows remarks by US President Donald Trump during his visit to Dublin, where he said he would “love” to see a united Ireland.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iowerth and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding calling for greater cooperation on economic, energy, European and constitutional issues.
Mary Lou McDonald, President of Sinn Féin, is also scheduled to attend the Cardiff conference.
The agreement is expected to affirm that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the right to use democratic processes to determine their own constitutional futures.
The summit comes amid renewed debate over Irish reunification and Scottish independence.
UK PM Burnham’s ‘clear consensus’ remark signals potential shift
The Telegraph’s report also disclosed that United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Members of Parliament (MPs) that he would approve another Scottish independence referendum if there was a “clear consensus” in favour of one.
Responding to a Scottish National Party (SNP) MP who questioned Scotland’s lack of formal secession procedures compared with Northern Ireland, Burnham said authorities initiate a border poll in Northern Ireland when a clear popular consensus supports it.
He said Scotland was in the “same situation.”
Burnham made the remarks during Prime Minister’s Questions, a weekly UK parliamentary session where the Prime Minister answers MPs’ questions for 30 minutes on Wednesday afternoons.
Trump’s United Ireland Comments
Meanwhile, the meeting comes just few days after US President Donald Trump said he would “love” to see a united Ireland, adding that it “may as well happen now.”
Trump made the remarks during a joint news conference with Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin in Dublin on Saturday.
He said, “I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you, I’d love to see it unified,” Trump said.
“I think it would be a great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened. You know what? The way I look at it, it’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.”
However the UK PM said that there was currently no consensus for another independence referendum in Scotland and no clear evidence that a majority in Northern Ireland wanted to leave the UK.
