The governing parties of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland signed a historic joint declaration of “self-determination” this Monday, in which they defended that the future of the three nations “lies in the European Union.”
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“Brexit has damaged our economies and limited opportunities for our people. We believe that the future of our nations belongs to the European Union. We want to work together to rebuild and strengthen those European relationships, creating greater opportunities for trade, investment, culture, and cooperation,” stated in a joint communiqué the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth, and Michelle O’Neill, respectively.
The leaders of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Sinn Féin, and Plaid Cymru emphasized that their nations “have the right to self-determination” and that “no Westminster government has the right to block democracy” or “undermine” the principle that their peoples “will decide their own future.”
“We recognize that our parties have different constitutional positions and that each nation will determine its own future in its own way and in its own time. What unites us is the determination to ensure that the voices of our nations are heard, that our people have the opportunity to prosper, and that cooperation between Scotland, Wales, and Ireland is strengthened,” they concluded.
Likewise, they agreed that a “stronger and fairer economy” is necessary, while assuring that they seek to “share experiences and ideas” about building “productive and prosperous economies that create good jobs, combat inequality, and ensure that wealth and opportunities are distributed more equitably.”
“We reject the failed economic model of Whitehall (centralized management of the British economy) and, instead, will build economies that provide social justice and reduce inequality across all our nations,” the leaders indicated, showing support for expanding their own energy resources, particularly renewable energy, to contribute to household economies and ease the burden on businesses.
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For all these reasons, they have committed to strengthening their cooperation and “identifying practical areas to work together.” “Our movements have momentum; we believe constitutional change is coming,” they pointed out.
The joint declaration was signed during a meeting held in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, attended by Swinney, Iorwerth, and O’Neill as leaders of their respective parties, as well as Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the opposition in the Irish Parliament.
Sources cited by The Telegraph newspaper indicate that the goal is to pressure British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, after he stated that there could be another independence referendum in Scotland if public opinion supports it. In fact, he said before Parliament that the conditions for the vote are “exactly the same in Scotland” as for Northern Ireland.
Wales is governed by Iorwerth, candidate of the Welsh nationalist party that achieved a majority in the Parliament or Senedd, while Swinney governs Scotland as First Minister after achieving a fifth consecutive victory in the last elections.
In Northern Ireland, and for the first time since the creation of the devolved government resulting from the 1998 Good Friday Agreements, the Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin was the most voted in the 2022 elections, but the withdrawal of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from the government meant that it was not until 2024 that nationalist leader O’Neill became First Minister.
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