Independence project: the nationalist leaders of three of the four UK countries have joined forces to break away from London and rejoin the European Union. “The Westminster era is coming to an end,” they said in a joint statement yesterday, Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, and Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth.
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At the first meeting of the three leaders, hosted in Cardiff by the Welsh First Minister, leader of Plaid Cymru, Mary Lou McDonald, president of Sinn Fein and leader of the opposition in Ireland, also participated.
“We ask the British Government to prepare and facilitate constitutional change in every jurisdiction,” urges the document signed by the leaders, because “Westminster has no right to block democracy or deny us the right to decide our future.” The memorandum claims the right to hold referendums in their respective countries to give citizens the opportunity to choose whether to remain part of the United Kingdom or become independent.
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The nationalist leaders aim to take advantage of an unprecedented situation, which for the first time sees three nationalist parties in government in Belfast, Edinburgh, and Cardiff. In last May’s elections, Plaid Cymru won, ending decades of Labour dominance in Wales, while the Scottish National Party has been in power in Scotland since 2007 and in Belfast Sinn Fein has gained the right to appoint the First Minister but is in a coalition government together with DUP, the Protestant party.
Britain’s exit from the European Union has galvanized independence movements and strengthened Sinn Fein, SNP, and Plaid Cymru, three strongly pro-European parties. The three leaders stated yesterday that Brexit has damaged their economies and declared that, once independence from London is achieved, “the future of our nations is in the EU.”
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