Westminster’s Time Is Coming to an End, Say First Ministers of UK’s Celtic Nations

Westminster’s time is coming to an end, the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have said at a summit aimed at putting the UK’s Celtic nations on the path to independence referendums.

The Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth; the Scottish National party leader, John Swinney; Sinn Féin’s vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, and the president and leader of the opposition in Ireland, Mary Lou McDonald, met in Cardiff on Monday to sign a memorandum of understanding recognising that “the political landscape across these islands is changing”.

“Momentum is behind our movements; we believe that constitutional change is coming,” the memorandum read. “No Westminster government has the right to block democracy or undermine the principle that our people will decide their own future.

“We call for the British government to prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change in each jurisdiction.”