FM writes to PM on Scotland’s right to decide - Meeting invite to turn principle into legal mechanism

First Minister John Swinney has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham regarding his comments on the constitutional future of Scotland. The First Minister invited the PM to meet to turn the accepted principle into a legal mechanism for a referendum.

The full text of the First Minister's letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham: 

Dear Andy

I am writing with regards to your comments at Prime Ministers Question's in response to my colleague Chris Law MP's question.

Earlier today, you said; "on that question of a border poll, it is to be considered by the Northern Ireland Secretary when there is a clear consensus in the country - when public opinion has changed to the point where the call has to be considered. I would say that it is exactly the same situation in Scotland.

The Good Friday Agreement, as implemented in UK domestic law by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, makes clear that if it appears likely that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unification, a referendum should be held.

Your acceptance of the fact that majority support for independence in Scotland also means that a referendum should take place is welcome.

I am encouraged that you have reconsidered your previous comments that the democratic right of the people of Scotland to choose their own future is off limits.

This is a long-overdue acceptance of the reality that the people of Scotland will decide their own future, not the UK Government, and a clear endorsement of the fact that the UK must be a voluntary union.

In May, the SNP won a historic and unprecedented fifth term in office, and the people of Scotland elected more pro-independence MSPs than at any point in the Parliament's history.

Given that, the previous refusal of the UK Government to consider Scotland's right to decide its own future was clearly unsustainable.

You have rightly identified that there must be a discussion about where power lies across these islands.

By concluding a clear, understandable mechanism, both sides of the constitutional debate can move forward constructively in the full knowledge of an agreed process by which the Scottish people can exercise their democratic right at a time of their choosing.

Now that you have agreed the principle that Scotland should have a referendum when it is likely that people would vote for independence, it is important for us to meet to discuss how we turn that principle into an agreed legal mechanism, as exists in Northern Ireland.

I have asked my office to take forward the necessary arrangements.

John Swinney MSP

FM writes to PM on Scotland's right to decide.pdf