First Minister John Swinney has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham asking him to turn his comments on Scotland’s constitutional future into an agreed legal mechanism for a referendum.
Swinney has invited the Prime Minister to meet after Burnham told the House of Commons that the situation in Scotland was “exactly the same” as Northern Ireland when considering public support for constitutional change.
The Prime Minister made the comments in response to a question from SNP MP Chris Law during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Burnham said:
“On that question of a border poll, it is to be considered by the Northern Ireland Secretary when there is a clear consensus in the country when public opinion has changed to the point where the call has to be considered.
“I would say that it is exactly the same situation in Scotland.”
Swinney has now sought to turn those words into a defined process under which another Scottish independence referendum could take place.
The Good Friday Agreement, implemented in UK law through the Northern Ireland Act 1998, provides a legal mechanism for holding a referendum on Irish unification if it appears likely that a majority in Northern Ireland would vote for it.
In his letter, Swinney welcomed what he described as Burnham’s acceptance that majority support for Scottish independence should also lead to a referendum.
He said:
“Your acceptance of the fact that majority support for independence in Scotland also means that a referendum should take place is welcome.”
Swinney also pointed to Burnham’s previous position that another independence referendum was “off limits”, arguing that the Prime Minister had now reconsidered that stance.
“This is a long-overdue acceptance of the reality that the people of Scotland will decide their own future, not the UK Government, and a clear endorsement of the fact that the UK must be a voluntary union.”
The First Minister pointed to the SNP’s fifth term in government and the number of pro independence MSPs returned to Holyrood in May as evidence that the constitutional question remains unresolved.
His letter now seeks agreement on something more concrete than the political principle expressed by Burnham.
“By concluding a clear, understandable mechanism, both sides of the constitutional debate can move forward constructively in the full knowledge of an agreed process by which the Scottish people can exercise their democratic right at a time of their choosing.”
“Now that you have agreed the principle that Scotland should have a referendum when it is likely that people would vote for independence, it is important for us to meet to discuss how we turn that principle into an agreed legal mechanism, as exists in Northern Ireland.”
Swinney has asked his office to begin making arrangements for the proposed meeting with the Prime Minister.
