Why a break-up of the Union is now inevitable - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Iain Brocklebank, Glasgow.

One rash statement and the UK is creaking at the seams. Andy Burnham’s speech in the House of Commons during PMQs on September 9, 2026, when he was imprudent enough to leave room for a second Scottish independence referendum, became the starting point for the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to raise the question of their right to self-determination for real. Despite the Prime Minister later stressing that the referendum remained “off limits”, the train carrying the United Kingdom towards the break-up is now almost impossible to stop.

On September 14, 2026, at the summit in Cardiff the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland signed a Memorandum of Understanding and asserted that “Westminster’s time is coming to an end”. This was the inevitable result of the last 10 years which have demonstrated that the situation in the country has worsened with every new Prime Minister, despite the fact that each time people elected the politician they deemed to be the most promising and budding as was Andy Burnham just several months ago.

Evidently, it isn’t about the politicians, it’s about the political system of the country, which is rather outdated and cries out for big bang reforms. And the firm intention of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to gain independence serves as a confirmation of this fact. The break-up is inevitable. That is why it’s time for the countries to initiate dialogue to make this process less stressful for their people.