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United Kingdom remains united

55pc say no to independence of Scotland in historic referendum

AFP, Edinburgh
Scots yesterday rejected independence in a referendum that left the centuries-old United Kingdom intact but headed for a major shake-up that will give more autonomy to both Scotland and England.
Queen Elizabeth II called for "mutual respect" among Scots following a highly divisive campaign. The queen appealed for Scots on both sides to set aside their differences, saying: "Despite the range of views that have been expressed, we have in common an enduring love of Scotland."
Despite a surge in Scottish nationalist support in the final fortnight of the campaign, the anti-independence "No" camp secured a clear margin of 55.30 percent of the vote against 44.70 percent for the separatist "Yes” side.
After a campaign that inspired other break-away movements, especially in
Spain's Catalonia, and opened a Pandora's box of demands for more autonomy across the United Kingdom, turnout was 84.6 percent - the highest ever for an election in Britain.
"No" campaigners across Scotland cheered, hugged and
danced as the results came in the early morning.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "delighted" and added: "Now the debate has been settled for a generation.'
US President Barack Obama said he hoped to continue his country's “strong and special relationship with all the people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
Scottish leader Alex Salmond conceded defeat and said he would be stepping down from his post and from the leadership of his Scottish National Party (SNP) in November.
"For me as leader, my time is nearly over. But for Scotland the campaign continues
and the dream shall never die," he said at a press conference in Edinburgh.
Many "Yes" activists had watched the result in tears, although Salmond urged them to take heart from the huge number - 1.6 million - who backed independence.
“I don’t think any of us, whenever we entered politics, would have thought such a thing to be either credible or possible," he told supporters in Edinburgh.
The result reassured many in the rest of Britain worried about the possibility of an impending break-up, including investors on the financial markets who pushed the pound to a two-year high against the euro as European stock markets rallied.
The CBI lobby group said the result would be greeted by a "collective sigh of relief across the business community", while the Scotch Whisky Association urged "politicians of all parties to work to bring our country together".
There was also relief in many European capitals, where a "Yes” vote would have given unwanted encouragement to separatist movements from Flanders in Belgium to Catalonia in Spain.
A "Yes" vote would have brought to an abrupt end a union between Scotland and England stretching back to 1707. But while the UK survived, it could soon look very different.
The British government must now deliver on promises made in the heat of the campaign to give more powers over tax, spending and welfare to the devolved government in Edinburgh.
Cameron stood by the pledge yesterday, under which "Scotland gains almost everything except for full independence", said Emily St Denny, a politics professor at Stirling University.
The prime minister also promised a shake-up of the constitutional order with more local control for other parts of the UK, heading off demands from Conservatives and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) for England to be given more powers.
"Just as Scotland will vote separately in the Scottish parliament on their issues of tax, spending and welfare, so too England, as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, should be able to vote on these issues," he said.
Tony Travers, professor of politics at the London School of Economics (LSE), told AFP that Cameron's comments were pointing towards "a more federal version of Britain,"
Emily St Denny, a politics professor at Stirling University, said the effect was that "Scotland gains almost everything except for full independence".
"The context is difficult because English and Welsh lawmakers are unhappy with the promises made to Scotland," she said.
Scotland's largest city Glasgow was among some big wins for the "Yes" campaign, but the margin was not enough to mitigate a flood of "No" votes across the country.
The indication was that better-off and rural areas had voted "No" while urban centres and poorer parts voted “Yes".