Andy Burnham rules out second Scottish independence referendum

The probable next prime minister said during a meeting with the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party this week that he was “not willing to consider” giving the SNP another vote, in a story first reported by the Mail on Sunday.

Mr Burnham, expected to take over from Sir Keir Starmer as PM in the next couple of weeks, made the commitment at a meeting of Scottish Labour MPs on Wednesday.

A source at the meeting told The Scotsman: “He was very clear. He said he doesn’t support the use of referendums on any subject.

“He said they are always divisive and he won’t be looking at using that option. He said he is more about unifying.”

It comes after Mr Burnham gave a speech last week where he said he would extend devolution throughout the UK.

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Every Prime Minister since the 2014 referendum has refused to give the Scottish Government the power to hold a second vote.

SNP First Minister John Swinney held a debate on indyref2 just weeks into the new term and said he would be requesting a Section 30 order to allow Holyrood to hold a vote on the subject.

Mr Burnham said on Monday he would give local areas in Scotland more powers, saying that areas like Dundee feel “as distant from Holyrood” as they do from Westminster.

In a question and answer session on the social media platform Reddit on Friday, the PM-in-waiting was asked how he wanted his relationship with devolved governments to work.

Mr Burnham replied: “I would like it to be as collaborative and pragmatic as possible.

“I want the same offer to power up places to be available in all parts of the UK. I will speak soon to First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to agree a positive way of working to this end.”

Read more: Andy Burnham promises more powers for local areas ‘pitch to Scotland’

Local government is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, so it is unclear how Mr Burnham wishes to give local authorities more power north of the border.

He could override Holyrood, although this could provoke a constitutional battle with the SNP and would also seemingly go against his pro-devolution stance.

Writing in The Scotsman last week, the Makerfield MP set out his “pitch to Scotland”.

He said it would bring about the “biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen”.

He said Number 10 North - his plans for the PM to have an office in the north of England - would “be the nerve centre of a rewired Britain”.

He added: “In Scotland, that means backing energy, shipbuilding, manufacturing and public services.

“It means giving local leaders the power and resources to connect communities, back young people and revive high streets.”

SNP MSP David Linden said: “Yet again we have a Westminster politician disrespecting Scottish democracy before they have even started measuring the curtains in Downing Street.

“Andy Burnham has promised to break with the past and he must be true to that - Scotland voted for a referendum, Scotland voted for more powers to be in our hands. Those promises must be met.

“The disastrous Brexit, the tax on Scotland's energy which is costing thousands of jobs and the hike on national insurance which is strangling Scotland’s economy - that is the cost of Westminster.

“Westminster policies have wiped billions of pounds from Scotland’s economy, and causing unemployment and the cost of living to soar, it’s clear Scotland needs the full powers of independence so we can build a stronger economy and a better future.”