Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has predicted that Andy Burnham will be the last prime minister of the United Kingdom, while calling for a Scottish independence referendum within the next five years.


Speaking at a joint press conference in Cardiff with Sinn Féin and Plaid Cymru leaders, where they declared that “Westminster’s time is coming to an end”, the politician said all available polling trend data indicates that the people of Scotland favour independence, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Standard.


The SNP leader, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill signed a memorandum of understanding during a meeting on September 14.


Alongside Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, they said each nation has “the right to self-determination” and urged the UK Government to “prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change in each jurisdiction”.


Swinney made clear that he believed Scots would now vote for independence, after rejecting it by 55%-45% in the 2014 referendum.


He argued that Burnham’s support for devolution should lead to recognition of Scotland’s right to determine its own future.


Burnham told the Commons last week that an independence vote could take place if there was a “clear consensus” for one in Scotland. However, a subsequent letter to Swinney said a referendum remained “off limits”.


Swinney said he was “crystal clear” that a referendum should be held during the current Holyrood term, which ends in 2031.


The SNP leader also urged Burnham to honour his parliamentary statements.


“When you say things to the House of Commons when you’re the prime minister, you should stick to them. That’s vital. That’s the whole purpose of parliamentary accountability. When I speak to the Scottish Parliament, I stick to what I see in the Scottish Parliament, and I look forward to the Prime Minister doing exactly the same thing as he did on Wednesday,” he added.


Earlier, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth claimed that the conditions for another independence referendum had already been met. Gilruth further stated that she did not regard Burnham as an “ardent unionist”.


Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, she said: “Fundamentally, the trigger mechanism should be to respect the right of the Scottish people and we only need to look at the last election result to say that we’ve met that requirement.”


The Conservatives criticised the meeting as a “separatist summit” and called it a “blatant distraction to the real issues facing Scotland”.


By Bakhtiyar Abbasov