Andy Burnham delivers a devastating blow to SNP’s mission to break up Britain just days after  pledging MORE devolution

Andy Burnham has ruled out a second independence referendum in Scotland, the Mail on Sunday has revealed.

The future Prime Minister told Scottish Labor MPs at a meeting last week that he was ‘not willing to consider’ giving the SNP the chance to take Scotland out of the Union.

Mr Burnham, who is expected to replace Keir Starmer as Britain’s next leader, spoke to a group of about 25 of Labour’s 36 Scottish MPs at Westminster on Wednesday afternoon.

Sources at the meeting told the MoS that Sir Keir Starmer’s heir apparent remains firm in his stance against another constitutional vote, despite his recent support for greater devolution.

One participant said: ‘Andy was very clear that this wasn’t something he would consider.’

Some opposition parties, and even some within the Labor Party, have questioned whether Burnham’s support for greater powers for parts of England would apply to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and could even extend to offering the Nationalists the chance to break up the United Kingdom.

But the Makerfield MP is said to have rejected any suggestion of such a vote in his first meeting with Scottish Labor MPs.

Another participant who attended the session said: ‘The meeting was good, participation was quite good. Andy talked about wanting a new culture within the party and at Westminster. He performed well and had the enthusiasm and energy that has been missing for a while.

‘It went very well.

‘He emphasized that he was not in favor of a referendum, that he would not hold one, and that it was not something he wanted to consider.’

Every Prime Minister since the 2014 referendum has refused to make a section 30 order, which would have given the Scottish Government the necessary powers to hold a new poll.

First Minister John Swinney launched a debate on the issue just weeks after the Holyrood election and confirmed he would seek orders from Westminster at the end of May.

Burnham has previously spoken of his aim to create a ‘Number 10 North’ to move power from London to the North of England. The former mayor of Greater Manchester also said he would give mayors more power.

In a Q&A session on social media platform Reddit on Friday night, Mr Burnham was asked how he wanted his relationship with devolved governments to work and how this would ‘interact’ with devolution plans.

Mr Burnham replied: ‘I would like it to be as collaborative and pragmatic as possible. I want the same proposal to strengthen existing places across the UK. ‘I will be speaking soon to the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to agree a positive way of working towards this goal.’

The form this new relationship will take, plans for devolution and how it will work have not yet been determined by the prospective new Prime Minister, but have already been criticized by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch.

He said he thought Mr Burnham ‘didn’t know what to do so he wanted to pass the problem on to someone else by delegating powers to the English regions and other parts of the UK’.

Scottish Toy reader Russell Findlay said Scots would be ‘instinctively alarmed’ by the idea of ​​giving the SNP more powers ‘given their staggering record of failure’.

Mr Burnham also said he wanted to ‘extend devolution by taking power deeper into Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’, saying he wanted to distribute power to communities rather than devolved parties.

Writing in the Scotsman last week, Mr Burnham gave his ‘Scotland pitch’ and said he would deliver ‘the greatest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen’.

He said Number 10 North would be the ‘nerve center of a restructured Britain’, adding: ‘In Scotland this means supporting energy, shipbuilding, manufacturing and utilities. This means giving local leaders the power and resources to connect communities, support young people and revitalize high streets.’

SNP MSP Ivan McKee said he had ‘no idea what he meant’ and accused Mr Burnham of using ‘catchy lines’ to draw attention to Holyrood without giving any details.

In 2020, amid debate about holding a new EU referendum, Mr Burnham expressed his distaste for the referendum, saying: ‘You can’t keep having referendum after referendum.’

He has previously backed calls for a second EU vote, leading to claims that he is indecisive and “flip-flopping” on key issues.

When Mr Burnham previously stood for Labor leader in 2015, he said he would oppose nationalism when asked about Scottish independence.

The party I lead will carry the struggle for nationalism wherever it is found. Because I never believed that politics based on borders and division would benefit many working people.’

Mr Burham could become Prime Minister as early as July 17 if there are no other Labor MPs willing to challenge him in a contest. While some party sources said they supported Mr Burnham’s leadership bid, they also said they would welcome a competition that would allow the public to learn more about the new Prime Minister’s ideas and views.

The Makerfield MP’s office has been contacted for comment.