The leftist nationalist leaders of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will gather Monday in Cardiff to sign a joint declaration designed to kick-start the breakup of the United Kingdom.
The three leftist regional leaders, John Swinney of Scotland’s SNP, Rhun ap Iorwerth of Wales’s Plaid Cymru, and Michelle O’Neill of Northern Ireland’s Sinn Féin, are expected to gather in Cardiff on Monday, September 14, and to sign a memorandum of understanding designed to pressure London into handing over referendum rights and tearing the British union apart, The Telegraph reported.
According to the news outlet, the four key pillars of the Cardiff agreement cover the economy, energy, international cooperation, and self-determination. Crucially, all three left-wing party bosses agree that their ultimate goal is dragging their respective regions right back into the European Union.
Scotland and Wales would seek eventual EU membership as independent states, while Sinn Féin’s goal is for Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and become part of a united Ireland, which is already an EU member.
Swinney made his intentions unmistakable ahead of Monday’s gathering, arguing that the current constitutional arrangement is no longer sustainable and predicting Britain may eventually face a “post-UK future.” The SNP leader has simultaneously been ramping up pressure for another Scottish independence vote.
The summit arrives just days after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham created a political firestorm when answering questions about another Scottish referendum.
Burnham compared the issue to provisions governing a potential Northern Ireland border poll, saying there would come a point when public opinion could require the issue to be considered.
Swinney immediately seized on those comments and wrote to Burnham demanding discussions on creating a legal mechanism for another referendum.
Burnham subsequently pushed back against Swinney’s interpretation, stressing that Scotland and Northern Ireland have different constitutional circumstances and rejecting suggestions that he had simply opened the door to another Scottish vote.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay blasted Burnham’s handling of the issue, warning that a handful of opinion polls should not automatically trigger another divisive referendum.
Conservatives have also pointed out that Northern Ireland’s referendum mechanism was specifically established through the Good Friday Agreement and cannot simply be transplanted onto Scotland.
The Gateway Pundit reported on Scotland’s historic 2014 independence referendum, when Scottish voters rejected separation from the United Kingdom by 55 percent to 45 percent.
More than two million Scots voted to remain in the UK, compared with roughly 1.62 million who voted for independence.
Monday’s gathering also comes immediately after President Donald Trump stunned the British political establishment by publicly expressing support for an eventual united Ireland.
As The Gateway Pundit reported Saturday, Trump traveled to Dublin during his visit to Ireland and told Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin that he would “love to see” Ireland unified.
Trump said he believed reunification would eventually happen and described it as something that could be positive for both sides.
Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can’t see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.
Source link
