Days after he pledges MORE devolution, PM-in-waiting delivers a devastating blow to Swinney's mission to break up Britain

By HANNAH RODGER, SCOTTISH CHIEF REPORTER Published: 18:40, 4 July 2026 | Updated: 18:44, 4 July 2026 Andy Burnham has ruled out any possibility of a second independence referendum in Scotland, the Mail on Sunday can reveal. The Prime Minister-in-waiting told Scottish Labour MPs he was ‘not willing to consider’ giving the SNP the chance to rip Scotland out of the Union during a meeting last week. Mr Burnham, who is widely expected to succeed Keir Starmer as Britain’s next leader, spoke to the group of around 25 of Labour’s 36 Scottish MPs on Wednesday afternoon in Westminster. Sources at the meeting told the MoS that Sir Keir Starmer’s heir apparent was firm in his opposition to another constitutional vote, despite his recent support for further devolution. One attendee said: ‘Andy was crystal clear that it is not something he is going to be considering.’ Several opposition parties and even some within Labour have questioned whether Burnham’s support of more power to regions of England would apply to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and could even extend to offering the Nationalists the chance at breaking up the UK. But the MP for Makerfield is said to have dismissed any suggestions of such a vote during his first meeting with Scottish Labour MPs. Another attendee at the session said: ‘The meeting was good, very well attended. Andy talked about wanting a new culture within the party and in Westminster. He came across well and had enthusiasm and energy that has been lacking for some time. Andy Burnham told Scottish Labour MPs he isn't considering a second independence referendum  ‘He made the point that he’s not a fan of referendums, isn’t going to be granting one and it’s not something he is willing to consider.’ Every Prime Minister since the 2014 referendum has declined to grant the Scottish Government a section 30 order which would give the necessary powers to stage another poll. First Minister John Swinney staged a debate on the matter within weeks of the Holyrood election, and confirmed at the end of May he would be requesting the order from Westminster. Burnham has already mentioned his ambitions for creating a ‘Number 10 North’ in an effort to move power out of London and into the North of England. The former mayor of Greater Manchester has also said he would give mayors more powers. In a Q&A session on Friday night, taking place on social media platform Reddit, Mr Burnham was asked how he wanted his relationship with devolved governments to work, how that would ‘interact with’ his devolution plans. 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.’ The form this new relationship takes, his devolution plans and how it would work are yet to be set out by the likely new Prime Minister but have already been criticised by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. She said it appeared as though Mr Burnham ‘doesn’t know what to do so he wants to pass the problem to someone else’ by devolving powers to regions in England and to other parts of the UK. Scottish Toy reader Russell Findlay said Scots would be ‘instinctively alarmed’ by the idea of handing any more power to the SNP ‘given their astonishing record of failure’. Mr Burnham has also said he wants ‘to extend devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by taking power deeper down’, indicating he would want to decentralise powers way from devolved partiaments and into communities instead. Writing in the Scotsman last week, Mr Burnham set out his ‘pitch to Scotland’ and said he would bring about the ‘biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen’. He said Number 10 North would ‘be the nerve centre of a rewired Britain’, adding: ‘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 Ivan McKee said he had ‘no idea what he means’ and accused Mr Burnham of using ‘catchy lines’ to attract attention while providing no details to Holyrood. In 2020, in the midst of debates on having another EU referendum, Mr Burnham indicated his aversion to referenda and said: ‘You just can’t keep having referendum after referendum’. He had previously backed calls for a second EU vote, leading to claims he was indecisive and a ‘flip-flopper’ on key issues. And in 2015, when Mr Burnham previously ran for leader of the Labour party, he said he would stand against nationalism when asked about Scottish independence. He said: ‘The party I lead will take the fight to nationalism wherever it is found. This is because I have never believed that politics based on borders and division helps the lot of working people.’ Mr Burham could become the Prime Minister as early as July 17 if there are no other Labour MPs willing to challenge him in a contest. While some party sources have said they support Mr Burnham’s leadership bid, they have also indictaed they’d welcome a contest to allow the public to hear more about the likely new Prime Minister’s ideas and views. The Makerfield MP’s office has been contacted for comment. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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