Rhun ap Iorwerth to meet SNP and Sinn Féin leaders in Cardiff

Sinn Féin has announced plans for Cardiff talks with the leaders of Plaid Cymru and the SNP, bringing together parties seeking a say over their countries’ constitutional future.

In a speech published on 9 September, Mary Lou McDonald said she and Michelle O’Neill would travel to Cardiff the following week to meet Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney.

McDonald set out the visit in a section of her speech on Irish unity. She said the participants had different histories and constitutional objectives but shared a belief that “nations have the right to choose their own future”.

A meeting of party leaders does not itself authorise a referendum or change any country’s constitutional status. The constitutional arrangements are different.

The House of Commons Library explains that Northern Ireland has a legal route to a vote on leaving the UK and joining a united Ireland. The Northern Ireland Secretary must call a poll if it appears likely to them that a majority of those voting would support that outcome.

There is no equivalent provision for Wales or Scotland. Their unions with England are reserved to Westminster. The Library also notes that the UK Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the Scottish Parliament could not legislate alone for an independence referendum.

McDonald’s announcement places the Cardiff visit in the week following 9 September. It does not give an exact day or set out the wording of any joint declaration.