A LABOUR minister has said he “wouldn’t link the two” when challenged on whether rerunning the Brexit debate should allow Scotland to have a second independence referendum.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris told Sky News that the Prime Minister’s willingness to have Britain rejoin the European Union was “different” from the Scottish constitutional question.
Asked about Andy Burnham’s comments that the UK “could go all the way” and return to the trading bloc , Norris said: “We’ve had a very, very good conference and I think the peak and the highlight of that was the Prime Minister’s speech and I don’t think that that’s a coincidence, I think that’s because he’s gripping long-term problems and being honest with the British public.
"I wouldn't link the two." Justice Secretary Alex Norris tells @helenlewis reconsidering EU relationships should not be the same as reconsidering Scottish independence. https://t.co/yC3YyA4pPy 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube https://t.co/UhXHFCpFQf
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 4, 2026
“Our relationship with the EU is critical, they’re our largest trading partner. We’ve made some very important strides in the next couple of years.”
Asked whether there could be another EU referendum, Norris said: “That is a long, long way away from what we’re talking about.”
He added: “What Andy was very clear about was, he wants to be honest with the public that where we’re getting to isn’t enough yet and he wants to go further in our nation’s interest, particularly in our economic interests and he will set out, around the summit later in the year what some of those options could look like, but I wouldn’t run to any one of those at this point.
“Let that process play out and all of it will be seen through the prism of what’s best for the British people.”
Asked by Sky News’s Helen Lewis, whether “that reopens the question of 2014”, Norris said: “I wouldn’t link the two things. One of those questions is about our forward-looking engagement with our European partners to get the best for the country.
“That’s different to the question of the Union, you’ve seen again what the Prime Minister’s said about that, very strongly that we believe in the Union and that we will safeguard it, but I wouldn’t link the two particularly.”
Lewis said: “So what I’m hearing is no to another independence referendum, no matter if the SNP keep getting elected, no matter if it looks like there’s a majority in the country for independence. You’re not interested in reopening that particular question.”
Norris replied: “I recall it being said that that was a generational debate on that day and the answer was the answer.”
Speaking on the same programme, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was “right that they're opening up the Brexit question again and I hope Andy Burnham nails his colors to the mast of rejoining the EU”.
But she hit out at the “glaring contradiction in Labour's position between Brexit and Scottish independence”, adding: “People in a democracy do have the right to change their mind, and I hope people change their minds on Brexit.
“But if you believe that, you cannot say to the people of Scotland that you never, ever again have the chance to consider the independence question, particularly when parties supporting independence and another referendum keep winning elections in Scotland. So there's a bit of a contradiction there that I'm sure will play out.”
