I heard that Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales leaders are planning to meet to break up UK. Is it really true? Anyone from UK here who can tell me what is actually happening there?
It started with this article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/09/13/irish-scots-and-welsh-leaders-meet-to-plot-break-up-uk/
Basically right now an independence referendum in Scotland can only be authorised by the Westminster (London) government. Whether Scotland wants one or not, thats how it is.
For the first time there are independence-supporting administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The first ministers of those countries will meet on Monday and agree a path forward, ultimately to make it harder for Westminster to say ‘no’ to future referendums.
This doesn’t ‘kick start the break up of the UK’ - all it does is put pressure on Westminster not to block independence referendums when there’s an appetite for them. The Prime Minister and his government can choose to ignore that. Nothing is changing.
The Telegraph and other right-leaning nonsense rags have latched onto this, exaggerating it because its red meat for their target audience. I think that’s where the ‘Russian interference’ is, but I’m not a unionist and one of them might explain it better.
As things currently stand, Andy Burnham will just flat-out reject their demands. The only way I can see him agreeing to another referendum is if the next general election leads to a hung parliament with Labour as the biggest party.
A better question would be if such a referendum would succeed.
Scotland: probably not. But then again, one of the biggest reasons the Scottish people voted to remain twelve years ago was due to them losing their EU membership by going independent. They could apply to join the EU, but it’s very possible that Spain could veto their accession on the basis that they don’t want to give legitimacy to the Catalan independence movement. Brexit is a game-changer that could make Indyref2 succeed. And Hungary under Viktor Orban could have rejected it because he was a useful idiot to Russia. What doesn’t help Scotland’s case for independence is that the SNP nosedived in popularity since Nicola Sturgeon resigned.
Wales: definitely not. Support for Welsh independence is actually pretty damn low. Plaid Cymru winning big in the Senedd moreso represents how badly Labour fucked up under Keir Starmer. Welsh voters tactically voted them in to prevent a Reform UK majority.
Northern Ireland: maybe. The gap has narrowed since Brexit, and there is a particular clause in the Good Friday Agreement where the Secretary of State must agree to hold a referendum to unite Ireland if it appears likely that such a vote would succeed. I think the reason why this hasn’t happened is because our deal with the EU has largely shielded Northern Ireland from the negative consequences of Brexit via a backstop.
They’re planning to meet up to persuade the new prime minister (who is pro devolution generally) to do it in such a way as to allow the national assemblies to have more power, but it being a secret plot to break up the UK is a bit of rightwing hysteria and a massive over exaggeration.
I support the removal of Northern Ireland from the UK so that it can be reunited into the Irish Republic.
did you ask northern Ireland first?
Did England fucking ask Northern Ireland first?
Do you know the answer to your question? Did they?
“England”
Jaysus lad learn your history.
Nope, but it should still also be a referendum.
Does that matter? It’s about time someone starts asking them.
Erm, yes.
The truth is that the British practiced colonizing Ireland before they took their show global. They even partitioned the Island. The British get horny for partitioning stuff. They partitioned India and Palestine too.
British Patriotism requires amnesia. God damn the King.
Ireland was partitioned due to a referendum, so yes they were asked.
No such referendum occurred. British legislation came into effect without a public vote.
Irish leaders were promised by British negotiators that there would be an “immediate and terrible war” in Ireland if they did not agree.
A referendum was held in 1973, so I should have said partition continued due to a referendum.
However even the opt-out of 1922 could be seen as the result of a public vote, as Sinn Féin campaigned the 1921 election focused almost solely on the issue of partition, and underperformed with 20% of the popular vote.
Unionist and nationalist paramilitaries had been formed during the previous decade, and both had been generously armed by Germany during the war. Unionist paramilitaries had taken to marching through English cities en masse, promising England would face consequences if a united Ireland gained independence.
not for a while. There are always calls for independence from groups there but Scotland had a vote to stayor leave a while back and they wanted to stay.
Something they came to regret after brexit. I doubt the vote would be the same today.
I haven’t looked at it recently but it was a close vote, like withing a couple percentage points.
I doubt any of the current parties have the political capital to run the vote again in the near future.The Scottish wanted to do a new vote after the Brexit was voted in, but that was quickly shut down by the UK government.
Ignore the comments here saying that this is Russian interference or that it came “out of nowhere”.
Ireland has always wanted independence and has wanted to reunite since partition happened. The people in Ireland who identified as British opposed that and had the entire British state/terror services at their disposal. That has changed a lot and now even British settlers here are talking publicly and seriously about the potential (pros and cons) of reunification.
The vast majority of Britons are ignorant and diseducated on this matter so be careful which comments you trust.
It was never meant to last forever but the tide has been turning for some time now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_on_a_United_Ireland
What? No poll shows “yes” leading.
No poll shows “yes” leading.
Polls done in Ireland consistently favour reunification.
In the North, the majority of Irish (labelled “Catholic” in polls) support reunification. Overall, they don’t have a majority yet due to those who identify as “British” or “neither”. which is why a border poll has not yet happened, but it has been trending upwards since about 2015.
We even have senior unionist politicians talking about it now and I see many protestants making videos online about becoming comfortable with the idea of reunification and even learning the language. Times are changing.
Polls dane in Ireland consistently favour reunification.
It would not be Ireland voting, it would be Northern Ireland.
I am sure one day it will happen, but it is not imminent.
Incorrect. Under the Good Friday Agreement, both the North and the the rest of Ireland must vote ‘yes’ to reunification by public referendum. This is one reason why Irish citizens are also polled on this issue.
I agree that it is not imminent. It seems somewhere between likely and inevitable.
Sure, what I mean is that regardless of whether or not Ireland votes yes - Northern Ireland must also vote yes. And it won’t happen until Northern Ireland specifically is ready.
No. Not true. There are very vocal groups that are calling referendums and voting on things that are not even part of the scope of elections to divide the union.
All this noise could be a Rusia operation to reduce the influence that together production and labor markets can yield much more than independently. Doing that without being part of a common market like the EU is simply not happening, no one will win anything if it comes to happen, just Rusia and other hostile countries.
I don’t quite understand, Scotland and Wales already aren’t part of the common market. By seceding from the UK, they might actually have an easier time joining the common market and strengthening the EU, which is the real unified power block.
Russia might amplify it, but I saw a Telegraph article submitted here with a dire headline along those lines, which I imagine was aimed at getting Conservatives riled up.
This is all it is.
“Every political movement I disagree with is Russian”
Lots of divisive political movements in the West really are pushed and supported by Russia. Are you disputing that?
Obviously not. Are you disputing the legitimacy of the welsh and scottish independence movements? Which I’m sure you are extremely knowledgable on.
No, of course I’m not disputing them. It just seemed like a weird, pro-Russia take.
The scottish and welsh independence movements are literally centuries old. Arguably millenia. They have been around long before Russia’s dickheadery. It’s not “weird” or “pro-russia” to say that, but it’s very weird to assert that they are some kind of astroturfed KGB plot.
Is the legitimacy dispute here in the room with us now?
Because I don’t see it in that comment.
Huh? The room?
They said "could ”
Frankly I think the UK would like it if NI rejoined Ireland, it’d probably make things a lot simpler for everyone. There was a vote in the 70s and it was like 99% remain in the UK. The UK government has said that they’ll do a vote if it ever looked like the majority might want to rejoin but it’s not there right now. I know a few people from there and they agree with that.
I understand that a party that wants to reunify got voted into power there for the first time ever but I don’t think it was on any promise to reunify if you know what I mean, but I think things are slowly heading in that direction.
If the people of NI actually wanted to reunify I don’t know anyone in England who would have a problem with it, but the government won’t hand over any land if the majority of the people there want to remain part of the UK. Trump is just making his comments because he’s pissed that the UK wouldn’t help with the Epstein Wars.
No, this is out of nowhere and it’s basically just a formal request to the prime minister
If it goes anywhere, it’ll take some time
It’s not breaking but it’s certainly broken
No, it’s not true.
Only if Reform keeps winning. So make goddamn sure they don’t.
You’re presuming what people’s stance is on a UK breakup.
Without any further information whatsoever: I believe it when I see it. Just like Belgium the UK is always supposedly one step from splitting.
