Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland leaders unite behind independence push from UK

Filed 1h ago · Via Courthouse News · The Buffoon Desk

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Entrance of the Gladiators

Fučík — U.S. Marine Band · Public Domain

Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

First ministers John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Michelle O'Neill signed a memorandum in Cardiff Monday pledging cooperation between the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin, calling on Westminster to ‘prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change’ in each nation. It marks the first time all three devolved governments have simultaneously been led by pro-independence parties.

The agreement followed President Trump's weekend remarks in Ireland calling a united Ireland ‘one of the naturals of all time’ and saying it would ‘happen eventually,’ breaking with decades of U.S. neutrality on Northern Ireland's status. Trump declined to comment on Scottish independence, saying he'd ‘save that for another day.’

Northern Ireland's DUP rejected outside commentary on the region's future, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government dismissed the pact, saying it was focused on household finances rather than constitutional debate. The three first ministers are due to meet Burnham in October for a wider summit.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

An American president wandered into a century-old argument about Irish borders and casually predicted an outcome like he was calling a coin toss, and now three regional governments are pointing to it like a permission slip. Burnham's line about focusing on household bills instead of the Union is the sound of a man changing the subject at a family dinner. Whether that works twice is the real question for October.

Source: Read the original at Courthouse News → Scored: Entrance of the Gladiators · Fučík — U.S. Marine Band · CC BY 4.0

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