A backlash against far-left Labour policies may help spur a new sort of “Brexit” movement with England’s subjugated U.K. territories torquing up discussions of a conscious uncoupling.
The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland planned to meet in Cardiff on Monday for discussions on independence referendums that would break up the British Isles into four or five sovereign nations, The Telegraph reported.
It follows comments from British Prime Minister Andy Burnham that he would yield to the separatists if there were a “clear consensus” in public support.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said Burnham’s pivot — after previously calling such a referendum “off limits” in July — was a major development in the long-simmering independence movement.
It marked the first time since 2014 (under Conservative PM David Cameron) that a British prime minister had “accepted that majority support for a referendum should mean one takes place.”
Swinney, the leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party, also said the comments coming from far-left Labour leader Burnham were a milestone of historic proportions.
“To go from ‘off limits’ to this is an acceptance of the reality that the people of Scotland will decide their own future --- not the UK government,” Swinney said.
The push may be part of a backlash against Burnham and his party’s stewardship after he replaced bedraggled ex-PM Keir Starmer in July.
During a meeting in Dublin on Saturday with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that he would “love” to see Irish reunification with its eponymous northern neighbor.
The two countries have faced had a tumultuous past since the Protestant-leaning Northern Ireland split from the Catholic-dominant Ireland to join the UK in 1921.
“I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you I’d love to see it unified,” Trump said in response to a reporter question.
“I have friends on both sides, great people. They’re Irish people,” he added. “How can they be bad, right? I’d love to see it unified. I think it would be a great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened. It’s going to happen eventually.”
On Sunday, while visiting his family-owned Trump International Golf Links in Doonberg, County Clare, for the Irish Open, Trump reiterated his hope for a unified Ireland, suggesting it was what God intended, the BBC reported.
“It seems that one of the naturals of all time is to put them together,” Trump said.
However, he resisted weighing in on Scotland, which shares a natural border with England.
“I won’t talk about Scotland yet I will save that,” he said.
Scotland previously voted in 2014 to oppose independence from the UK by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent.
In 2022, the British Supreme Court ruled that any future separation of the two would require UK approval.
Nonetheless, Swinney said he was “facing up to the idea that he will go down in history as the final prime minister of the United Kingdom.”
The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland planned to meet in Cardiff on Monday for discussions on independence referendums that would break up the British Isles into four or five sovereign nations, The Telegraph reported.
It follows comments from British Prime Minister Andy Burnham that he would yield to the separatists if there were a “clear consensus” in public support.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said Burnham’s pivot — after previously calling such a referendum “off limits” in July — was a major development in the long-simmering independence movement.
It marked the first time since 2014 (under Conservative PM David Cameron) that a British prime minister had “accepted that majority support for a referendum should mean one takes place.”
Swinney, the leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party, also said the comments coming from far-left Labour leader Burnham were a milestone of historic proportions.
“To go from ‘off limits’ to this is an acceptance of the reality that the people of Scotland will decide their own future --- not the UK government,” Swinney said.
The push may be part of a backlash against Burnham and his party’s stewardship after he replaced bedraggled ex-PM Keir Starmer in July.
During a meeting in Dublin on Saturday with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that he would “love” to see Irish reunification with its eponymous northern neighbor.
The two countries have faced had a tumultuous past since the Protestant-leaning Northern Ireland split from the Catholic-dominant Ireland to join the UK in 1921.
“I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you I’d love to see it unified,” Trump said in response to a reporter question.
“I have friends on both sides, great people. They’re Irish people,” he added. “How can they be bad, right? I’d love to see it unified. I think it would be a great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened. It’s going to happen eventually.”
On Sunday, while visiting his family-owned Trump International Golf Links in Doonberg, County Clare, for the Irish Open, Trump reiterated his hope for a unified Ireland, suggesting it was what God intended, the BBC reported.
“It seems that one of the naturals of all time is to put them together,” Trump said.
However, he resisted weighing in on Scotland, which shares a natural border with England.
“I won’t talk about Scotland yet I will save that,” he said.
Scotland previously voted in 2014 to oppose independence from the UK by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent.
In 2022, the British Supreme Court ruled that any future separation of the two would require UK approval.
Nonetheless, Swinney said he was “facing up to the idea that he will go down in history as the final prime minister of the United Kingdom.”
