SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM RULED ‘OFF LIMITS’ BY UK PRIME MINISTER

Fri 24 July 2026:

In his first meeting addressing the subject since becoming premier, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Thursday told Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney that another referendum on Scottish independence is “off limits.”

During their first meeting in Glasgow, the two leaders discussed how they could work more closely together to build a model of devolution aimed at improving people’s lives across Scotland, said a Downing Street spokesperson in a statement.

Burnham said he believed “deeper devolution could make a real difference” in helping communities across the UK to re-industrialize, and welcomed the first minister’s willingness to engage with the process.

However, the issue of a second independence referendum was raised during the talks. The Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister “stated up front that another referendum on independence was off limits.”

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

They added that Burnham believed a further referendum would “take our focus away from growing the economy and helping families with the cost of living.”

He said the meeting marked an opportunity for both sides to work together in a “constructive relationship” and said he looked forward to regular discussions with Swinney in the months ahead.

In the last Scottish independence referendum, in 2014, Scots voted to stay in the United Kingdom by a vote of 55.3% to 44.7%.

However, the 2016 Brexit referendum, in which voters overall chose to leave the European Union while 62% of Scots voted Remain, gave new impetus to pro-independence forces, arguing that an independent Scotland would be free to rejoin the EU.

-Source: AA

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22