Burnham Opens Door to Second Scottish Independence Vote at PMQs, Then Insists Nothing Has Changed

At Prime Minister's Questions on 9 September 2026, Andy Burnham was asked about the circumstances in which a second Scottish independence referendum could be held and replied "I would say exactly the same situation in Scotland. I am not aware that there is a majority of public support for another referendum, and until that changes, there won't be one" — drawing a direct comparison with the Good Friday Agreement's border-poll mechanism for Northern Ireland. First Minister John Swinney seized on the remark as a historic concession, writing to Burnham on 10 September to request a meeting to "turn the accepted principle into a legal mechanism for a referendum," arguing "to go from 'off limits' to this is an acceptance of the reality that the people of Scotland will decide their own future, not the UK Government" and that it was the first time since 2014 a British PM had accepted majority support should trigger a vote. Burnham's office moved quickly to contain the fallout, telling reporters "the PM's been repeatedly clear on this... another referendum on independence was off limits" and, in a formal letter to Swinney sent Thursday 11 September, restated that independence and a referendum remain off limits under Labour's 2024 manifesto because revisiting the constitutional question "would take our focus away from growing the economy and helping families with the cost of living."