Burnham rules out Scottish independence vote in Swinney meeting

Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Scotland’s first minister that another independence referendum is “off limits” as he used meetings in Glasgow to press his case for a new model of devolution across the United Kingdom.

Burnham met Scottish First Minister John Swinney and Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth on Thursday ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Downing Street said the prime minister congratulated Swinney and the city on hosting the Games, but the meetings focused heavily on the relationship between London, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Burnham “stated up front that another referendum on independence was off limits because it would take our focus away from growing the economy and helping families with the cost of living.”

Burnham, who became prime minister on July 20, has made economic growth and lowering the cost of living central priorities of his new administration. Al Jazeera reported that he told Swinney during a call on Tuesday that they would have to “agree to disagree” on Scottish independence.

Scotland voted in 2014 to remain in the United Kingdom, with 55% backing the union. The Scottish government has since sought another vote, arguing circumstances changed after the UK voted to leave the European Union, a decision opposed by 62% of Scots. Britain’s top court has ruled that the Scottish government cannot hold a second independence referendum without approval from the British Parliament.

Swinney has said independence could move Scotland out of “political chaos and economic stagnation” and into “greater security and prosperity” as a member of the EU. Burnham, however, said in a UK government statement cited by Al Jazeera: “I’m not focused on point scoring or discussing constitutional changes like referendums.” He said his government would instead pursue “practical measures to help people live well” across “every postcode” in the UK.

Downing Street said Burnham and Swinney discussed how they could “work more closely together to build a model of devolution to improve people’s lives across Scotland.” The prime minister spoke about his hope that devolution could help re-industrialise the UK by “creating jobs, transforming high streets and reviving local economies,” and welcomed Swinney’s “willingness to engage with that process.”

Swinney described the meeting as “very constructive” and said the two discussed areas “of common purpose,” including the cost of living and strengthening the economy.

“The prime minister is the first prime minister to have signalled that Westminster has failed many parts of the United Kingdom, including Scotland,” Swinney told BBC Scotland News. “So there’s welcome opportunities to advance discussions about where powers should lie within our country and that’s what we’ve agreed to take forward.”

Swinney said Burnham had given him an assurance that any discussion about shifting powers to local communities would involve the Scottish government. “It wouldn’t be done over our heads and that’s a really welcome assurance from the prime minister,” he said.

Burnham also met ap Iorwerth, who said he had welcomed the chance to “begin a new chapter” in relations between the UK and Welsh governments based on “mutual respect.”

“I know that Andy Burnham shares my belief in the power of devolution to change people’s lives for the better,” ap Iorwerth said. He said he pressed the case for Wales to have “parity of powers with Scotland” through a new Wales Bill, with an immediate focus on devolving policing and justice and replacing the Barnett formula with “a fairer funding model.”

Ap Iorwerth said they also discussed the cost-of-living crisis and “a more collaborative approach to politics.”