Leaders of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland unite for self-determination

The leaders of the main political parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have declared their right to “self determination” in a joint agreement signed at a rare meeting in the Welsh capital, Cardiff.

All three parties – the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru in Wales and the pro-Irish unity Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland – want greater autonomy and eventually independence from the UK, but have different views on issues such as referendums and timelines.

The SNP’s John Swinney, Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill and Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth attended in their capacity as party leaders, rather than as officials in their respective governments.

Laura McAllister from Cardiff University told Al Jazeera that the wording of the agreement was “deliberately” couched in the broader “constitutional language of self-determination”.

“This is the first time that the nations of the United Kingdom are attempting to drive the constitutional question,” she said. “They also covered some of the more practical policy areas where they may wish to share stances, such as renewable energy, relationships with Europe, economic development.”

“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,” they said on Monday, referring to the UK-wide parliament in London.

“For the first time ever, people across these islands have first ministers in Scotland, in Wales and in the North of Ireland who are all committed to independence from the United Kingdom,” the memorandum of understanding continued.

“The future of our nations belongs in the European Union … For people watching across these islands – for people watching around the world – there could be no clearer sign that Westminster’s time is coming to an end.