Scottish, N. Irish, Welsh leaders assert right to 'self-determination'

The leaders of the main Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh parties on Monday declared their right to "self-determination" in a joint agreement signed at a rare meeting in the Welsh capital Cardiff.

"Our nations have the right to self-determination. No Westminster government has the right to block democracy or undermine the principle that our people will decide their own future," they said in a memorandum of understanding referring to the UK-wide parliament in London.

All three parties -- the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru in Wales and the pro-Irish unity Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland -- want to break away from the UK but have different positions on how and when this might take place.