Scotland votes “No”
Scotland has voted to stay in the United Kingdom after voters decisively rejected independence.
With 31 out of the country’s 32 council areas having declared after Thursday’s vote, the ‘No’ side has an unassailable lead of 1,914,187 votes to 1,539,920.
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond called for unity and the unionist parties to deliver on more powers.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he was delighted the UK would remain together and called for national unity.
In other developments:
- Mr Cameron said Lord Smith of Kelvin would oversee the process of more powers for the Scottish Parliament. Draft laws on new powers will be published by January
- The PM also promised a resolution to the West Lothian question which allows Scottish MPs to vote on English issues.
- The pound hit a two-year high against the euro and a two-week high against the US dollar, as Scotland voted against independence.
- Scotland rejected independence by 55% to 45%.
Shortly afterwards, Mr Salmond said he accepted the defeat and called for national unity.
Source: BBC- Scotland votes “No”
