PM Burnham Meets Scottish and Welsh First Ministers, Rules Out Independence Referendum

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has met the Scottish and Welsh first ministers ahead of the start of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Burnham spoke to John Swinney and Rhun ap Iorwerth at a series of face-to-face meetings in Glasgow.

Downing Street later said a second Scottish independence referendum was "off limits".

Swinney said the new prime minister gave a commitment not to bypass Holyrood with his plans for further devolution of power, while ap Iorwerth said he set out the case for Wales to have parity of powers with Scotland.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister congratulated Swinney and the city of Glasgow on hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

He said he was looking forward to the opening ceremony later in the evening.

However, the cross-government meetings were dominated by conversations about the relations between London, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

The Downing Street statement said: "The conversation then turned to how the prime minister and first minister can work more closely together to build a model of devolution to improve people's lives across Scotland."

Burnham was described as speaking about his hope that devolution could help re-industrialise the UK, "creating jobs, transforming high streets and reviving local economies."

He welcomed "the first minister's willingness to engage with that process".

The spokesperson added: "The prime minister 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.

"More broadly, the prime minister said this was a moment for both sides to work together in a constructive relationship. He looked forward to regular engagement with the first minister in the months ahead."

Speaking to BBC Scotland News afterwards, John Swinney said they had a "very constructive meeting" on areas "of common purpose" such as 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," he said.

"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's stated desire to devolve further powers around the UK was something he welcomed.

Asked whether he was prepared to consider devolving powers out of the Scottish Parliament into local authorities or communities along the model Burnham is proposing in England, the first minister said: "The prime minister gave an important commitment today that the dialogue around future powers and how they might be devolved to local communities would be a discussion had with the Scottish government.

"It wouldn't be done over our heads and that's a really welcome assurance from the prime minister.