UK is falling apart!

The first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are meeting in Cardiff on Tuesday to strengthen cooperation and discuss their nations’ constitutional futures, amid renewed debate over the future of the United Kingdom.

The meeting follows US President Donald Trump’s recent support for a united Ireland and a dispute over Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s comments on Scottish independence.

The gathering brings together leaders of three devolved nations whose governing parties support greater self-determination, although they differ over the timing and route to independence.

Scotland’s First Minister and Scottish National Party leader John Swinney, Welsh First Minister and Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin began talks at Cardiff Bay on Monday morning. Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald is also attending.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the leaders said they would work to strengthen cooperation between Wales, Scotland and Ireland and build towards constitutional change.

The discussions are expected to cover the economy, energy, relations with Europe and the wider constitutional questions facing the three nations.

Ap Iorwerth and Swinney are also expected to hold bilateral talks and sign an agreement on future collaboration in areas of shared interest.

The meeting is the first face-to-face gathering of the nationalist leaders since ap Iorwerth became Welsh first minister following May’s Senedd election.

It marks the first time since devolution began that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have first ministers from parties seeking to take their nations out of the United Kingdom.

Swinney said the meeting came at a pivotal moment for constitutional change.

“We are at a pivotal moment of constitutional change, and our parties share the common belief that our interests will never be served by Westminster, and that the people of our respective nations must have a meaningful say over their future,” he said.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, he described the gathering as a significant moment for the United Kingdom and said the political situation had changed permanently.

“The people of Scotland, Wales and Ireland have a right to self-determination. They are entitled to decide on their own future,” Swinney said.

O’Neill said the best interests of people across the island of Ireland had never been served by Westminster, adding that political change was taking place across the islands and that leaders must be prepared for constitutional change.

McDonald, meanwhile, said the three nations had different political histories and different paths towards self-determination. She stressed that the people of Ireland, Scotland and Wales should decide their own futures.

Wales is taking a more cautious approach to independence. Ap Iorwerth, the first non-Labour first minister of Wales, has ruled out holding an independence referendum during his party’s first term in government.

Instead, his administration plans to establish a national commission to lay the foundations for future independence plans and begin a national conversation on the issue.

Welsh ministers are also seeking greater powers, including responsibility for policing and youth justice.

The meeting comes days after Burnham appeared to suggest in the House of Commons that Scotland could hold another independence referendum if there was clear public support for one.

During Prime Minister’s Questions last Wednesday, Burnham compared Scotland’s position with the conditions for a border poll in Northern Ireland under the Good Friday Agreement.

The agreement provides a constitutional route to a referendum on Irish reunification if it appears likely that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would support leaving the United Kingdom.

Burnham subsequently clarified that a further Scottish independence referendum remained off limits.

He wrote to Swinney to confirm the government’s position, prompting criticism from the SNP leader’s camp.

A source close to Swinney told the Sunday Telegraph that Burnham did not appear to understand the basics of the UK government’s position on the Union.

Scotland last held an independence referendum in September 2014, when voters rejected independence by 55% to 45%.

The constitutional debate has been further fuelled by Trump’s remarks during his visit to Ireland.

He said he would love to see a united Ireland and described the prospect of Northern Ireland joining the Republic of Ireland as a fantastic development.

Trump said a united Ireland would happen eventually, adding that he could not see how it could be a bad thing.

His comments have added pressure on the British government as nationalist parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland call for greater powers and a say in their constitutional futures.

The UK government said Burnham remained committed to change across all four nations of the United Kingdom and strongly supported the Union.
The three first ministers are due to meet Burnham next month.

The talks are expected to include the funding of the devolved nations, an issue that has long been contentious between Westminster and Cardiff.

Welsh ministers have called for reform of the Barnett funding formula, arguing that it disadvantages Wales. Scotland, however, is widely considered to benefit from the current arrangement.

Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar criticised the Cardiff summit, saying the first minister should focus on the Welsh NHS and schools rather than independence.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four constituent nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Great Britain is the island comprising England, Scotland and Wales, while Northern Ireland occupies the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland.

The three nations represented at the Cardiff meeting are geographically distinct.

Scotland occupies the northern part of Great Britain, Wales lies to the west of England, and Northern Ireland is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea.

Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland, which is an independent country and is not part of the United Kingdom.