Burnham’s ‘Deeper Devolution’ Plan Wins Praise From the SNP Leader Who Wants to Break Up Britain

News | By Matt, Editor

Andy Burnham took his plan for “deeper devolution” to Glasgow on Friday. The warmest welcome came from the man who wants to take Scotland out of the UK altogether.

John Swinney, the SNP First Minister, said he would work with the Prime Minister “to devolve more powers from Westminster to Scotland”. Six weeks earlier, his party signed a pact with Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin declaring that “Westminster’s time is coming to an end”. (The National; Holyrood)

Key facts

• On Friday 30 October, Mr Burnham chaired the first National Economic Council meeting to include the leaders of the nations, in Glasgow.
• John Swinney and Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth of Plaid Cymru attended. Northern Ireland sent officials only.
• Mr Burnham offered to devolve innovation funding and more employment support for young people in Scotland and Wales, and urged a “model of deeper devolution”.
• No 10 said a “policy sprint led by No10 North” would follow. It said this “would not include a second independence referendum”.
• On 14 September, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin signed a memorandum calling on the UK Government to “prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change”.

What Burnham offered

In his remarks, Mr Burnham said he wanted the nations to “move at the same pace together” and that “growth can’t wait”. He described a “positive offer” and a “model of deeper devolution in Scotland and Wales”, aimed at “good growth in every postcode”. (GOV.UK; BBC News)

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The specific offers were modest: devolving innovation funding for reindustrialisation, and further devolution of employment support for young people. No new powers were agreed on Friday. Chancellor John Healey, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, Hamish Falconer and Michael Shanks were among the UK ministers there. (BBC News) Mr Healey and Mr Alexander are among the 23 Cabinet ministers whose careers we checked: none of them has founded a business. The same day, a poll gave Labour its biggest lead in more than two years, though other polls showed a smaller gap.

Burnham Swinney readout

“The Prime Minister met with the First Minister of Scotland in Glasgow following a meeting of the National Economic Council today (Friday 30 October).

“The Prime Minister and First Minister agreed the meeting at the NEC had been extremely positive. They…

— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) October 30, 2026

Swinney’s welcome

Mr Swinney said: “While the Prime Minister and I disagree on independence, we do agree that Westminster does not work for people in Scotland.” He said he would “work constructively and collaboratively with him to devolve more powers from Westminster to Scotland”, as long as they improved wages, jobs and living costs. (The National; Scottish Government)

He called it a “welcome start” on “devolving by default”. He said he had written to Mr Burnham with suggestions, but would not say what they were.

BREAKING: John Swinney has pledged to work with Andy Burnham on plans to 'devolve further powers' from Westminster to Scotland.

The First Minister said the two governments will jointly develop proposals for further devolution, while welcoming a commitment that Holyrood will not… pic.twitter.com/ngRa33MWLF

— The National (@ScotNational) October 30, 2026

Mr ap Iorwerth said further devolution within Wales was “a matter for the Senedd and only the Senedd”. He also backed a closer relationship with the EU. (BBC News)

Scottish and Welsh First Ministers John Swinney and Rhun ap Iowerth have reacted following a summit on devolution with Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Glasgow.

Sky's @joncraig has the latest.https://t.co/HsivGwUbxi

📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/hl91zYhkqw

— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 30, 2026

The pact to end Westminster

On 14 September in Cardiff, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin signed a memorandum of understanding. It said “Westminster’s time is coming to an end” and “constitutional change is coming”. It said the “future of our nations belongs in the European Union”. And it called on the British Government “to prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change”. (Holyrood; The Guardian)

Two of the three parties that signed that pact were at Mr Burnham’s table on Friday.

“Not the last Prime Minister”

In Motherwell on 16 October, Mr Burnham said he did not want to be “the last PM of the UK”. He said Scotland was the most devolved part of the UK but still one of the most centralised places in Europe, and invited the Scottish Government to work with him on a new model. (BBC News; Holyrood)

At PMQs in September, he first said a second referendum would be considered if there were “clear consensus”, before calling it “off limits”. No 10 now says it is “off the table”. (BBN)

Former SNP MP Angus MacNeil was unimpressed from the other side. He called the results “devolution crumbs for SNP hierarchy to be excited about”.

Burnham driving the agenda with Swinney 🙈

Rosebank & no independence action either but more devolution crumbs for SNP hierarchy to be excited about . https://t.co/kSCM5TJFLB

— Angus B MacNeil 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@AngusBMacNeil) October 31, 2026

Our view

This section is opinion.

Devolution was sold as the settlement that would end the push for independence. Instead it has handed the nationalists a parliament, a budget and a platform to campaign from. Each new power is banked, and the demand for the next one follows.

Mr Burnham insists he wants to save the Union. Yet the people cheering his plan loudest are those who have signed a pact to end it. Mr Swinney said it plainly: they disagree on independence, but agree Westminster “does not work”. That is not a meeting of minds. It is a nationalist getting a Labour Prime Minister to make his argument for him. For more on the identity fight, see our report on England and the Union.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom should be making the case for the United Kingdom, not running “policy sprints” for parties that want it gone. And while he does so, the SNP keeps asking for more of the North Sea’s money.

FAQ

What is the National Economic Council?

It is a body chaired by the Prime Minister to drive economic growth. Friday’s meeting in Glasgow was the first to include the leaders of the nations.

Did Burnham agree to new powers for Scotland?

No powers were agreed on Friday. He offered to devolve innovation funding and youth employment support, and set up a “policy sprint” to work on proposals.

Is a second independence referendum on the table?

No 10 says not. Its readout said the process “would not include a second independence referendum”.

Sources

• BBC News, 30 October 2026: ‘No nation left behind’, says Burnham
• GOV.UK: PM remarks at the National Economic Council, 30 October 2026
• The National, 30 October 2026: Swinney pledges to work with Burnham
• Scottish Government, 30 October 2026: FM will work with PM on further devolution
• Holyrood: the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin memorandum in full
• The Guardian, 14 September 2026: Westminster’s time is coming to an end
• BBC News, 16 October 2026: Burnham invites Swinney to work on deeper devolution
• Posts on X by Guido Fawkes, The National, Sky News and Angus MacNeil, 30–31 October 2026 (embedded above)
• Main image: Andy Burnham and John Swinney in Glasgow, 23 July 2026. Photo: Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, OGL v3, via Wikimedia Commons