John Swinney, Deputy First Minister of Scotland, and Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru’s External Affairs Minister for Wales, will sign an agreement in Cardiff on Monday afternoon to enhance cooperation between their respective governments. The pact aims to address issues such as child poverty and cost-of-living pressures while advocating for greater autonomy from Westminster. Both leaders emphasized their commitment to a devolved government system based on mutual respect and the belief that Scotland and Wales should have control over their constitutional futures.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 14, 2026, the first ministers of Scotland (John Swinney), Wales (Rhun ap Iorwerth), and Northern Ireland (Michelle O’Neill) met in Cardiff to sign a memorandum of understanding pushing for referendums on independence from the UK. The leaders are in their capacity as party heads, not government officials, highlighting tensions with Westminster's stance against such votes. The meeting comes days after US President Donald Trump expressed support for a united Ireland, fueling debate. With 73 pro-independence MSPs in Scotland's parliament representing the largest majority ever, Ms Gilruth argues that the trigger for another referendum is already met. However, Northern Ireland’s DUP criticized O’Neill’s attendance at the event as she requires consensus with her party to attend such significant meetings. The agreement also emphasizes cooperation on issues like child poverty and cost of living pressures.
Written for “UK Devolution Independence Push” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 9 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 4 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 9014: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-14
John Swinney and Rhun ap Iorwerth will sign an agreement in Cardiff on Monday afternoon pledging to make the case for “greater fairness” and power over the “constitutional futures” of their countries together.
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Swinney → sign → countries
The leaders were joined by Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald at a press conference earlier on Monday, where they jointly declared that “Westminster’s time is coming to an end”.
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time → join → end
The group, who met in their capacity as party leaders – rather than as officials in their respective governments – also stated their ambitions for partnership around the economy, energy and international co-operation.
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who → meet → economy
The agreement sets out areas of planned co-operation, including tackling child poverty, addressing cost of living pressures and international engagement.
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agreement → set → pressures
Mr ap Iorwerth said: “While Wales and Scotland are on different constitutional journeys, we both share a commitment to strong, accountable devolved government, and to a relationship between the governments of these islands built on trust and mutual respect.
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we → say → trust
“We share a belief that our people should decide their own future, and that the union isn’t working fairly for either nation.
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union → share → nation
“We will use every opportunity available to us to press the case for greater fairness for Wales and Scotland and for powers over our constitutional futures.”
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We → use → futures
Mr Swinney said: “The signing of the agreement is an important moment in the history of devolution.
“It will improve the way the Scottish and Welsh governments work together on our shared priorities so we can deliver better outcomes for the people we serve.
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we → say → people
“The agreement reflects a relationship built on trust and mutual respect.
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agreement → reflect → trust
Distinct approaches will still be necessary, but we share common goals and a commitment to learning from each other.
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we → share → other
“The new era of co-operation represented by the signing of this agreement is underpinned by a shared belief that the people of Scotland and Wales are best placed to decide their own constitutional future and should not be held back by a UK system that does not work for our nations.”
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that → represent → nations
