Scotland spurned independence in a historic referendum yesterday, saving a union dating back over 300 years but ushering in a period of intense bargaining over Prime Minister David Cameron’s pre-vote pledges to give Scots more say over their own affairs.
A vote for the union is a relief for millions of Britons including Cameron, whose job was on the line, as well as allies across the world who were horrified at the prospect of the United Kingdom’s separation.
Unionists cheered, kissed and drank wine and beer in Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city where secessionists were in a majority, while nationalist leader Alex Salmond conceded defeat and hours later told reporters he would resign.
Opponents of independence won 55 per cent of the vote while separatists won 45 per cent with all 3.6 million votes – a record 85 per cent turnout – counted. But leaders from across the United Kingdom said the union must change if it is to endure.
Speaking in front of an image of a giant white on blue Scottish flag, Salmond combined a pledge to respect the result with a warning to British politicians in London that they must respect their last minute promises of more powers for Scotland. Scots would be “incandescent” if they saw London politicians dragging their feet on their promises, he said.
Salmond warns British politicians they must respect their last minute promises
“There are 1.6 million people who made a choice for independence,” he told a news conference. “I think the 1.6 million people will speak and speak loud if there is a retreat from the commitments made.”
Salmond said he would not run again as leader of the Scottish National Party when his term ends in November and would resign as Scottish First Minister then too.
“For me as leader my time is nearly over but for Scotland the campaign continues and the dream will never die,” he told journalists in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital which supported the United Kingdom.
The vote prevents 59-year-old Salmond from winning his dream of an independent Scotland, a goal for which he has worked with a mix of shrewd calculation and nationalist passion for his entire adult life.
Cameron said the question of Scottish independence had been settled for a generation.
“There can be no disputes, no re-runs, we have heard the settled will of the Scottish people,” he said outside his official London residence in Downing Street.
The campaign for independence had electrified the country of 5.3 million but also divided the passions of friends and families from the remote Scottish islands of the Atlantic to the tough city estates of Glasgow.
Queen Elizabeth, who is at her Scottish castle in Balmoral, issued a rare statement expressing confidence that Scots would be able to come together again after the deep divisions of the referendum campaign. She said: “Knowing the people of Scotland as I do, I have no doubt that Scots... are able to express strongly-held opinions before coming together again in a spirit of mutual respect and support, to work constructively for the future of Scotland and indeed all parts of this country.”