Burnham accused of being 'dangerously naive' about the SNP's 'agitation' for Scottish independence

Scotland's First Minister said that Mr Burnham's comments in the Commons on Wednesday showed the PM had made an "acceptatnce of the fact that majority support for independence in Scotland means a referendum should take place."

Writing to the PM he said: "You have rightly identified that there must be a discussion about where power lies across these islands.

"By concluding a clear, understandable mechanism, both sides of the constitutional debate can move forward constructively in the full knowledge of an agreed process by which the Scottish people can exercise their democratic right at a time of their choosing.

"Now that you have agreed the principle that Scotland should have a referendum when it is likely that people would vote for independence, it is important for us to meet to discuss how we turn that principle into an agreed legal mechanism, as exists in Northern Ireland."

The letter comes after the PM, answering a question to SNP MP Chris Law about the referendum potential in Northern Ireland as set out in the Good Friday Agreement, said: "on that question of a border poll, it is to be considered by the Northern Ireland Secretary when there is a clear consensus in the country - when public opinion has changed to the point where the call has to be considered. I would say that it is exactly the same situation in Scotland.”

He added: "“I am not aware that there is a majority of public support for another referendum and until that changes there won’t be one.”

But his comments sparked concern among many Scottish Labour MPs - and today were branded "dangerously naive" by Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay.

Mr Findlay told LBC: "Andy Burnham "has pulled the pin on a constitutional hand grenade which John Swinney has now thrown back at him. The ex-Manchester mayor is dangerously naive about the SNP's relentless agitation to break up the UK.

"It was inevitable that John Swinney would pounce on Burnham's naive comparison between Scotland and Northern Ireland. Opening the door to another divisive referendum is further evidence that Labour can't be trusted to defend the Union."

While a number of Scottish Labour MPs expressed concern about the PM's remarks to No10 yesterday - one who welcomed the shift in position was Brian Leishman MP.

Speaking to LBC he said: "moves the conversation on, and it really needs to be moved on because Scotland has been preoccupied by the constitutional question for far too long.

"People are fed up. They're bored by the same old never-ending arguments. I want Scottish Labour to change. Let us show a path to how the country can move forward and perhaps have another referendum. That's really the democratic thing for us to do."

He added: "I think the Good Friday Agreement is a unique set of circumstances born out of a unique situation that the Northern Irish people have been involved in for decades. So I don't think it is exactly the same as society in Scotland.

"I do believe though that a democratic route to showing a second independence referendum is the right thing to do. I think the key word in that is democratic.

"The SNP have won five terms now in office. I realise that there's a wider Yes movement to consider, it's not just on the SNP, but the democratic thing for us to do is for Scottish Labour to engage in the conversation.

"And there's a little bit of self-interest in that as well, because Scottish Labour for so long haven't spoken to roughly 50% of the Scottish population.

"If we ever want to be an electoral force in Scotland and actually offer a transformative Scottish Labour government in Holyrood, then we've got to try and speak to the entire country. We cannot focus solely on those that believe Scotland should be part of the United Kingdom alone. We've got to have that wider conversation."

Reform UK Scotland leader, Malcolm Offord, who was at one time a Tory minister in the Scotland Office, said he did not see any change of UK government position in Mr Burnham's comments.

"There's been a bit of a furore on this as if Andy Burnham has changed the long-standing position of the UK. I don't see there being any change in that position.

"It's very clear the union is a voluntary union, and if any part wants to leave with a majority backing that, that will be honoured.

"And that was why we had the referendum in 2014, and in that referendum, two million Scots voted to remain in the UK and only 1.6 million voted to leave.

"Since then, voting for the SNP has gone down from 1.6 million in 2014 to 1.3 million in Holyrood 2021, down to less than a million now in Holyrood 2026. So we're a million miles away from the majority of Scottish people wanting to have a referendum.

"And if you take the fact that there's 4.3 million voters, as I said before, two million voted to stay in the union, at a very minimum, you would need to see at least two million voters wanting to leave the UK before you can say that there is compelling and demonstrable evidence for a new referendum.

"It's just not a priority for people. They're more concerned about the cost of living, how to pay their bills."

Downing Street has insisted there had been no change in the Prime Minister’s position and that another referendum on Scottish independence was off the table. His press secretary said his comments had been intended only to note the lack of any clear consensus in favour of a referendum in any part of the UK.