John Swinney meets nationalist leaders of Northern Ireland and Wales in Cardiff

First Minister John Swinney will today join the nationalist leaders of Northern Ireland and Wales in calling on the UK Government to prepare for constitutional change.

Swinney will meet Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth and Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation between the three countries.

But the talks are also an attempt to put pressure on the UK Government to “prepare and plan” for constitutional change.

Last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham was forced to rule out a second referendum on Scottish independence after earlier comments which were seized on by the SNP.

Speaking at PMQs on Wednesday, Burnham said there could be another referendum if there was a “majority of public support” in favour of holding one.

He was responding to a question from the SNP’s Chris Law who asked why Scotland was seen as different to Northern Ireland, where there are provisions for a so-called border poll in the Good Friday Agreement.

Swinney welcomed the PM’s comments, saying it was the first time the principle of majority support for a second referendum had been accepted by a prime minister since 2014.

But Burnham later backtracked, saying the prospect of indyref2 remained “off limits”.

Speaking ahead of today’s meeting in Cardiff, Swinney said: “I welcome the opportunity to meet with colleagues in Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin in Cardiff. 

“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.

“This discussion comes the week after the prime minister accepted that a referendum should take place when there is majority support for independence in Scotland. That acknowledgment that the people of Scotland can and should determine their own constitutional future is long overdue.”

He added: “Today, our parties will come together and commit to working in partnership on areas such as social justice, energy, and the right to national self-determination.”

In an interview at the weekend, ap Iorwerth said that if Burnham was serious about devolution he would understand that Wales is “not a region of England”.

The first non-Labour first minister of Wales since devolution, ap Iorwerth nevertheless said he had been encouraged by his initial discussions with the new PM.

Speaking ahead of today’s meeting, he said: “May’s election was a turning point for Wales. We now have a Plaid Cymru-led Welsh Government with a clear mandate to do things differently. Across these islands, we are seeing a new political landscape emerge, with a growing recognition that the Westminster model is no longer working.”

O’Neill, who will be joined at today’s summit by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, said: “Partition has failed the island of Ireland and the best interests of our people have never been served by those in Westminster.

“However, change is happening right across these islands and we must be ready for constitutional change when it comes.”

Tory MP Harriet Cross, shadow Scottish Secretary, said the meeting was a “separatist summit” designed to “break up the UK”.

“Swinney is clearly emboldened by Andy Burnham's naive remarks about the Union and is now typically using his constitutional obsession to distract from the SNP's long list of failures,” she said.

“He should be spending time focusing on what really matters to Scots.

“Instead, he's starting his week with a performative photo call to push for a divisive referendum that Scots don't want.”