{"id":8059,"date":"2026-07-23T20:37:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/23\/uks-burnham-tells-scotland-new-independence-vote-is-off-limits\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T20:37:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:37:05","slug":"uks-burnham-tells-scotland-new-independence-vote-is-off-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/23\/uks-burnham-tells-scotland-new-independence-vote-is-off-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"UK\u2019s Burnham tells Scotland new independence vote is off limits"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>Visiting Scotland, Burnham says a new referendum would detract from efforts to grow the economy.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has closed the door on a new vote for Scottish independence, saying such a referendum is off limits.<\/p>\n<p>Burnham, who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/20\/andy-burnham-pledges-end-to-political-instability-as-he-becomes-uk-pm\">became premier on July 20<\/a>, made the remarks during a meeting with Scotland\u2019s First Minister John Swinney in Glasgow on Thursday.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/23\/why-a-north-sea-oilfield-is-emerging-as-british-pm-burnhams-big-test\">Why a North Sea oilfield is emerging as British PM Burnham\u2019s big test<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/20\/andy-burnham-to-become-uks-pm-on-monday-what-happens-next\">What\u2019s next as Andy Burnham takes over as UK\u2019s next prime minister?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/21\/farage-reform-in-trouble-as-uk-braces-for-crypto-influence-in-politics\">Farage, Reform in \u2018trouble\u2019, as UK braces for crypto influence in politics<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>He said a new Scottish independence referendum would detract from efforts to grow the economy and bring down the cost of living, which he has made a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/21\/andy-burnham-to-cut-taxes-on-electricity-bills-announces-new-uk-cabinet\">major priority of his new administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland held an independence referendum in 2014 in which 55 percent of people voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>But Scotland\u2019s government has since <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/1\/15\/scottish-nationalists-eye-second-independence-vote\">pushed for another vote<\/a>, arguing conditions have changed with the UK\u2019s decision to leave the European Union, which 62 percent of Scots opposed.<\/p>\n<p>Swinney has said that Scottish independence could help bring the country out of \u201cpolitical chaos and economic stagnation\u201d and into \u201cgreater security and prosperity\u201d as an EU member.<\/p>\n<p>Britain\u2019s top court has ruled that the Scottish government cannot hold a second referendum on independence without approval from the British parliament.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"agree-to-disagree\">\u2018Agree to disagree\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Burnham reportedly told Swinney during a call on Tuesday that the two would have to \u201cagree to disagree\u201d on the question of Scottish independence.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Burnham has said his government will focus on pursuing \u201cpractical measures to help people live well\u201d across \u201cevery postcode\u201d in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not focused on point scoring or discussing constitutional changes like referendums,\u201d said Burnham, in a statement shared by the UK government.<\/p>\n<p>In his Thursday meeting with Swinney, Burnham raised his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/29\/burnham-pledges-devolution-and-discipline-if-he-becomes-uk-prime-minister\">plans for \u201cdevolution\u201d<\/a> to increase more local autonomy and power, which he believes can revive struggling economies.<\/p>\n<p>Downing Street said Burnham welcomed Swinney\u2019s \u201cwillingness to engage in that process\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Later on Thursday, Burnham was also due to meet with Wales First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth, before attending the opening of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Visiting Scotland, Burnham says a new referendum would detract from efforts to grow the economy. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has closed the door on a new vote for Scottish independence, saying such a referendum is off limits. Burnham, who became premier on July 20, made the remarks during a meeting with Scotland\u2019s First Minister &#8230; <a title=\"UK\u2019s Burnham tells Scotland new independence vote is off limits\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/23\/uks-burnham-tells-scotland-new-independence-vote-is-off-limits\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about UK\u2019s Burnham tells Scotland new independence vote is off limits\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}