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The first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have said they believe the future of their nations belong “in the European Union”.
The three leaders met in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, where their parties signed a joint agreement asserting the right of their nations to self-determination.
The three leaders met in their capacity as party leaders rather than as representatives of their respective governments.
Scotland’s John Swinney leads the Scottish National Party (SNP), Wales’ Rhun ap Iorwerth leads Plaid Cymru, meaning “the Party of Wales”, and Northern Ireland’s Michelle O’Neill is a senior figure in Sinn Féin. They were also joined by Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald.
The SNP and Plaid Cymru support independence for Scotland and Wales respectively, while Sinn Féin campaigns for Irish reunification. The three parties differ over how and when constitutional change should take place.
In 2014, Scotland held an independence referendum in which 55.3% of voters chose to remain part of the United Kingdom.
The agreement signed in Cardiff said the UK government at Westminster should not have the right to “block democracy”.
“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,” it said.
Announcing the agreement, Swinney said the three parties were “absolutely united by that principle of self-determination”, adding that it “lies at the heart of the agreement that we have signed today”.
At a joint news conference, Swinney and O’Neill called for referendums on Scottish independence and Irish reunification respectively. Ap Iorwerth did not set out a timetable for a Welsh independence vote.
Labour, which governs at UK level from London, accused Plaid Cymru of wanting to use its position in Wales “to break up Britain”.
Additional sources • AP, AFP