Scotland Votes No in Referendum

9/18/2014

Scottish citizens voted yesterday in a historic referendum to answer the question, "Should Scotland be an independent country?" This morning it was officially announced that Scotland will remain part of the United Kingdom. 

The "No" side won with 2,001,926 votes to 1,617,989 "Yes" votes, a margin of about 55% for No to 45% for Yes, though the Yes vote prevailed in Edinburgh, the nation's capital.  

UK Prime Minister David Cameron assured those who had been in favor of independence that the three main unionist parties at Westminster would follow through with their pledge of more powers for the Scottish Parliament, an effort that will be led by Lord Smith of Kelvin.

Cameron discussed possible implications for other nations in the United Kingdom: "In Wales there are proposals to give the Welsh Government and Assembly more powers and I want Wales to be at the heart of the debate on how to make the United Kingdom work for all our nations," he said.

He also spoke of Northern Ireland: "We must work to ensure that the devolved institutions function effectively."

Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond expressed confidence in the democratic process, referring to the referendum and high turnout as a triumph, though Scottish independence was not ultimately gained. 

Alistair Darling, who led the Better Together campaign said the result had "reaffirmed all that we have in common and the bonds that tie us together," but did not deny the large faction of voters who had sought independence: "Every political party must listen to their cry for change, which could be echoed in every part of our United Kingdom but had this opportunity to express itself in Scotland."

Photo courtesy of Lawrence OP.