John Swinney said he wants to work with Sinn Fein and Plaid Cymru to secure Scottish independence. He said cooperating with them would 'change the dynamics' of the UK 'irreversibly'. Swinney has repeatedly said the SNP will win a Holyrood majority in May and that would give him a mandate for a new independence vote.
Plaid Cymru is close to an historic win in the Senedd, with a poll putting them level with Reform UK as Labour's support collapses. Sir John Curtice said Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth looks 'inevitably' like becoming the next First Minister of Wales. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill is First Minister and is not due to face an election until next year. Sinn Fein wants a referendum on a united Ireland by 2030. Labour has led Wales since the Senedd was established in 1999, but opinion polls suggest the May election could end that.
I certainly would enjoy the cooperation with counterparts in Plaid and Sinn Fein in Wales and Northern Ireland.
The proposal has sparked backlash from Unionist politicians. Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said pro-UK voters will be appalled at Swinney working with Sinn Fein. She said the Union is on the line at this election and only the Scottish Conservatives can be trusted to defend it. Former Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw criticized Swinney, saying his willingness to work with Sinn Fein 'turns my blood cold'. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said Swinney's willingness to work with Sinn Fein is a 'wake-up call' about the threat of independence. Reform UK councillor Thomas Kerr accused Swinney of seeking a cooperation agreement with a 'terrorist-sympathising' party. Ex-Tory cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt warned the Union could be at risk if Sinn Fein, the SNP and Plaid hold power simultaneously.
Swinney downplayed Sinn Fein's historic links to IRA terrorism, saying 'these issues have been well aired over many years'. He addressed Plaid Cymru's spring conference in Newport, saying Westminster is a system that 'clearly doesn't work' for Scotland or Wales. Swinney said the SNP and Plaid Cymru must work together to make the 'best' case for both nations to have the power to make their own decisions.
I think the United Kingdom would be changed irreversibly if that outcome was to be the case.
Swinney and ap Iorwerth have set out a vision for a 'progressive alliance' between the Scottish Government and a Plaid-led administration in Wales. Ap Iorwerth outlined ambitions for the first 100 days of his party's administration in Wales. He said May's Senedd election is a 'two-horse race' between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, declaring Labour is 'over' in Wales.
I was appalled to hear John Swinney reiterate his desire to work with Sinn Fein in their shared goal of breaking up the UK.
The thought of John Swinney working in tandem with the political wing of that terrorist organisation turns my blood cold.
These issues have all been well aired over many years and addressed in the governance arrangements of the north of Ireland, which are not for me to speculate about.
He'll work with anyone including Sinn Féin to achieve the break-up of the United Kingdom.
Which will mean nationalist First Ministers in all three devolved administrations, which was not what devolution was meant to be about.
Our parties share something deeply important, a belief that democracy works best when power sits as close as possible to the people it serves.
It's a system that, no matter which Westminster party is in power, so clearly doesn't work for our countries and our people.
But devolution is not the destination. It is part of the journey.
It is by working together that we can best make the case for our nations to have the power to make our own decisions, two independent countries that work together with others based on partnership, consent and democracy, where power is shared, not imposed.
I want to have a constructive relationship with a UK Prime Minister, whoever that is, be it Keir Starmer or his successors, but it will be based on transparency and honesty.
I'm sometimes accused by (Labour First Minister) Eluned Morgan of saying, all I want to do is shout louder. It's not about just shouting louder, but damn it, we do need to shout louder as a nation