Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Sign Pact Calling for Self-Determination

On September 14, 2026, the heads of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin met in Cardiff and signed a memorandum of understanding.

Leaders from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sign pact on 'right to self-determination' and return to EU

Devolution began in the late 1990s, when the UK Parliament passed legislation granting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland varying degrees of policy independence while retaining control over national matters and England. Since then, nationalist parties have gained power: the SNP and Plaid Cymru now lead the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, and Sinn Féin is the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Leaders from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sign pact on 'right to self-determination' and return to EU Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Leaders Sign Self-Determination Pact Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland leaders sign Cardiff independence pact UK's unity threatened by pact between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland The Independent

Scotland previously held an independence referendum in 2014, which was rejected by 55 % to 45 % of voters. Support for independence has risen after the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union in January 2020, a move that many in Scotland and Northern Ireland view unfavourably. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement requires a border poll in Northern Ireland only if a clear majority favours unification, a threshold the UK government says has not been met.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Leaders Sign Self-Determination Pact

• 2014 Scottish independence referendum result: 55 % No, 45 % Yes.

The Independent

• Brexit referendum (June 2016) saw a majority of Scottish voters favour remaining in the EU.

The Independent

• The 2022 UK Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate for an independence referendum without Westminster consent.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland leaders sign Cardiff independence pact

The spokesperson added that the government is focused on “easing the cost-of-living crisis” rather than constitutional debates.

The Independent

Emma Little-Pengelly, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), accused Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill of “weaponising” the first-minister role by signing the agreement.

UK's unity threatened by pact between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

• “The United Kingdom is at its best when people come together around our shared values and problem-solving, rather than division,” — Tom Wells

UK's unity threatened by pact between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

• “I don’t see the threat to the union being bigger today than it was yesterday,” — Nicola McEwen, director of the University of Glasgow Center for Public Policy

UK's unity threatened by pact between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

• “It does keep on the agenda that question about, well, if the United Kingdom is a union based on consent, what is the pathway where it looks like that consent may no longer be there?” — Nicola McEwen, director of the University of Glasgow Center for Public Policy

UK's unity threatened by pact between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

These statements capture the contrasting views on the future of the United Kingdom and the perceived legitimacy of the pact.

The Jerusalem Post