A day after President Trump expressed his support for Northern Ireland breaking from the UK to unify with the Republic of Ireland, the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are gathering at a summit in Cardiff to sign a deal designed to kick-start the break-up of the United Kingdom.The three first ministers, all representing pro-independence parties thanks to Labour’s disastrous performance at devolved elections in May, will call on British govt to “prepare, plan and facilitate constitutional change” in Wales, Scotland and the north of Ireland.Leader of the Scottish National Party John Swinney, Leader of Plaid Cymru Rhun ap Iorwerth, Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Fein Vice-President Michelle O’Neill issued a statement Sunday to say they are meeting in Cardiff to “strengthen the cooperation of Wales, Scotland and Ireland” and build towards constitutional change.When Trump said a “unified Ireland is going to happen eventually,” he might have known something UK PM Andy Burnham didn’t. At Prime Minister’s Questions last week Burnham made the strange comment that both in Scotland and Northern Ireland a border poll would be considered if there was a clear consensus that public opinion had changed – even though this is only the case for Northern Ireland. Scotland has no equivalent statutory trigger. He was then forced to write a letter to Swinney saying that independence and a referendum in Scotland “are off limits”. “Burnham doesn’t seem to know the basics of the UK Government’s position on the Union,” a source close to Swinney told the Sunday Telegraph.Swinney said on Sunday: “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.”
