Scots not free, vote to stay within UK
20 Sept 2014 5:53 AM IST
Supporters of the United Kingdom have won 54 per cent of the vote, according to Reuters calculations, and that share could climb. The independence camp conceded that it had come up short. First Minister and leader of Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), Alex Salmond, resigned on Friday after his pet project received a bodyblow in a closely-fought battle that.
‘Like thousands of others across the country I’ve put my heart and soul into this campaign and there is a real sense of disappointment that we’ve fallen narrowly short of securing a yes vote,’ SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon said.
‘It looks as if it’s not quite been enough and that’s deeply disappointing,’ Sturgeon told mediapersons on Friday. Sterling rose sharply while unionist campaigners clapped, cheered and poured drinks as results were announced. Though the nationalists won Scotland’s biggest city— Glasgow — they failed to meet expectations in a clutch of other constituencies.The campaign for independence had galvanized this country of 5.3 million but also divided friends and families from the remote Scottish islands of the Atlantic to the tough city estates of Glasgow.
Breaking apart the United Kingdom has worried allies, investors and the entire British elite whose leaders rushed late in the campaign to check what opinion polls showed was a surge in support for independence. Seeking to tap into a cocktail of historical rivalry, opposing political tastes and a perception that London has mismanaged Scotland; nationalists say Scots, not London, should rule Scotland to build a wealthier and fairer country.
Scots were asked to answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the question: ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ Voters lined up at polling stations across Scotland to vote with 4.28 million voters, or 97 per cent of the electorate, registered to vote. Turnout hit a record high.
Unionists had warned independence would usher in financial, economic and political uncertainty and diminish the UK’s standing in the world. They have warned that Scotland would not keep the pound as part of a formal currency union.
‘Like thousands of others across the country I’ve put my heart and soul into this campaign and there is a real sense of disappointment that we’ve fallen narrowly short of securing a yes vote,’ SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon said.
‘It looks as if it’s not quite been enough and that’s deeply disappointing,’ Sturgeon told mediapersons on Friday. Sterling rose sharply while unionist campaigners clapped, cheered and poured drinks as results were announced. Though the nationalists won Scotland’s biggest city— Glasgow — they failed to meet expectations in a clutch of other constituencies.The campaign for independence had galvanized this country of 5.3 million but also divided friends and families from the remote Scottish islands of the Atlantic to the tough city estates of Glasgow.
Breaking apart the United Kingdom has worried allies, investors and the entire British elite whose leaders rushed late in the campaign to check what opinion polls showed was a surge in support for independence. Seeking to tap into a cocktail of historical rivalry, opposing political tastes and a perception that London has mismanaged Scotland; nationalists say Scots, not London, should rule Scotland to build a wealthier and fairer country.
Scots were asked to answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the question: ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ Voters lined up at polling stations across Scotland to vote with 4.28 million voters, or 97 per cent of the electorate, registered to vote. Turnout hit a record high.
Unionists had warned independence would usher in financial, economic and political uncertainty and diminish the UK’s standing in the world. They have warned that Scotland would not keep the pound as part of a formal currency union.
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