Three Nations' Leaders to Press London to Prepare for Independence Votes
Leaders from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will meet in Cardiff on Monday to affirm their nations' right to seek independence from the United Kingdom, with a joint memorandum expected The Guardian.
Those taking part are Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National Party, and Michelle O'Neill, vice president of Sinn Féin. Swinney is also Scotland's first minister. The three are meeting as party leaders, not as members of their governments.
The focus is a memorandum of understanding — a formal written agreement between parties. It calls on Westminster to "prepare, plan and facilitate constitutional change" in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It does not itself start a referendum or negotiations. It asks the central government in London to set out how such steps could be organized.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald will attend with the three leaders. McDonald is also leader of the opposition in Ireland. The meeting will also cover Europe, international cooperation, the economy and energy, though no detailed programme has been made public. Swinney said in January he would call for another independence referendum if the SNP won a majority in May Reuters. At Westminster, Andy Burnham has said his focus is economic growth and the cost of living, and clarified remarks he made in the House of Commons BBC. The verified accounts do not link those remarks directly to the Cardiff meeting.
The broader context here is coordination between parties that usually work in separate elections and legal systems. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have different rules for how a vote on status could happen. A shared text does not make those rules the same. Think of it like asking for a rulebook before a match, rather than arguing about the rules during the game. It makes a joint political argument that London should plan for constitutional change rather than respond only when pressed.
Looking at what this means for Westminster, the words prepare, plan and facilitate shift the question. The debate moves from levels of support for independence to how the state would manage a process. That would involve timetables, legal clarity, planning by officials, and agreed ways to test public consent.
In my view, meeting as party leaders affects how the memorandum will be heard. A party agreement has political weight but not the authority of a government deal. That lets the signatories speak directly. It also lets Westminster answer in political terms, without the obligations that come with formal accords.
For those following British-Irish relations, McDonald's attendance adds another dimension. Sinn Féin is active on both sides of the Irish border, with leadership in Belfast and Dublin. Her presence alongside O'Neill visibly connects the Northern Ireland question to politics in the south, even though the memorandum is addressed to London.
