Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland demand the right to hold independence referendums

The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to meet in Cardiff on Monday to sign an agreement that could set in motion the break-up of the United Kingdom. The news was reported on Sunday, citing data from the British newspaper The Telegraph.

At the summit, the first ministers of the three nations will sign a joint declaration demanding the right to hold their own independence referendums.

A hint from the Prime Minister and Trump's visit

The meeting comes after Wales's First Minister Andy Burnham signalled to lawmakers that he would be willing to allow a new referendum in Scotland if there were a "clear consensus" of public support for one.

The Cardiff summit takes place just two days after US President Donald Trump, during a visit to Dublin, said he would like to see a united Ireland. The remark came amid mounting pressure from nationalist-minded regional leaders on the Prime Minister, who has made devolution one of the central planks of his agenda.

"The last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom"

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney said Burnham "is confronting the idea that he could go down in history as the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom."

Labour's defeat in the Welsh elections in May means that, for the first time, all three regions — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — are simultaneously governed by parties in favour of independence.

According to The Telegraph's sources, the aim of the current meeting is to increase pressure on Burnham following his suggestion that a new Scottish independence referendum could be possible given sufficient public support.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz