Duck Dynasty Season 7 premiered last night, November 19, on A&E TV, with a 1-hour episode.
Willie Robertson takes a business trip to Scotland to expand his duck call business bringing the entire family along so they can reconnect with their Scottish roots.
But when Willie organizes a bus tour to trace his family heritage, he discovers much more than he expected. Meanwhile, Jase Robertson brings a group of people to the Highland Games and winds up participating, while Jep and Jessica try to sneak away for a romantic getaway, only to find themselves with Uncle Si in tow.
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Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has announced his resignation after voters rejected independence in the recent referendum.
Alex Salmond will also resign as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), which he has led for a total of 20 years.
Scottish voters backed the country staying in the UK by 2,001,926 votes to 1,617,989 in Thursday’s referendum.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II has said Scotland’s vote to stay in the Union was “a result that all of us throughout the United Kingdom will respect”.
She added: “Knowing the people of Scotland as I do, I have no doubt that Scots, like others throughout the United Kingdom, are able to express strongly-held opinions before coming together again in a spirit of mutual respect and support.”
Dozens of rival Union and independence supporters have gathered in George Square, in the centre of Glasgow, where they are being separated by police. Officers on horseback are also at the scene.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said there were about 100 people in each of the two groups, and although there had been some “minor disorder” it had been dealt with quickly, with no arrests so far. The square is closed to traffic with local diversions in place.
The square had hosted a party by “Yes” supporters ahead of the referendum.
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has announced his resignation after voters rejected independence (photo AP)
UK’s PM David Cameron said the three main Westminster parties would now deliver their campaign pledge to boost the powers of Scotland’s devolved parliament.
Alex Salmond, 59, is Scotland’s longest-serving first minister, having held the post since the SNP won power at the Scottish Parliament in May 2007.
Speaking from his official residence at Bute House in Edinburgh, the first minister told journalists: “For me as leader my time is nearly over, but for Scotland the campaign continues and the dream shall never die.
“I am immensely proud of the campaign that Yes Scotland fought and particularly of the 1.6 million voters who rallied to that cause.”
Alex Salmond said he would resign as SNP leader at the party’s conference in November, before standing down as first minister when the party elects its next leader in a membership ballot.
He said there were a “number of eminently qualified and very suitable candidates” to replace him.
Nicola Sturgeon, the current deputy first minister and deputy SNP leader, is seen as a clear frontrunner.
Alex Salmond, who will stay on as MSP for Aberdeenshire East, added: “It has been the privilege of my life to serve Scotland as first minister.
“But, as I said often during the referendum campaign, this is not about me or the SNP. It is much more important than that.
“The position is this. We lost the referendum vote but can still carry the political initiative. More importantly Scotland can still emerge as the real winner.”
Nicola Sturgeon said she could “think of no greater privilege than to seek to lead the party I joined when I was just 16,” but said she would not make an announcement today.
She added: “Alex Salmond’s achievements as SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister are second to none. He led the SNP into government and has given our country a renewed self confidence.”
Alex Salmond also used his resignation statement to question David Cameron’s more powers pledge.
“We now have the opportunity to hold Westminster’s feet to the fire on the ‘vow’ that they have made to devolve further meaningful power to Scotland,” he said.
“This places Scotland in a very strong position.
“I spoke to the prime minister today and, although he reiterated his intention to proceed as he has outlined, he would not commit to a second reading vote (in the House of Commons) by 27 March on a Scotland Bill.
“That was a clear promise laid out by Gordon Brown during the campaign.
“The prime minister says such a vote would be meaningless. I suspect he cannot guarantee the support of his party.”
On referendum night, 28 of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas voted in favor of staying in the UK.
Glasgow, Scotland’s largest council area and the third largest city in Britain, voted in favor of independence by 194,779 to 169,347.
The 75% turnout in Glasgow was the lowest in the country, and hoped for breakthroughs in other traditional Labour strongholds such as South Lanarkshire, Inverclyde and across Ayrshire never materialized for the nationalists.
Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, clearly rejected independence by 194,638 to 123,927 votes, while Aberdeen City voted “No” by a margin of more than 20,000 votes.
Across Scotland, 84.6% of registered voters cast their ballot in the referendum – a record for a national election.
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Scottish voters decisively rejected independence after voting to stay in the UK.
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’s PM David Cameron said he was delighted the UK would remain together and called for national unity.
The result became a mathematical certainty at 06:08, as the returning officer in Fife announced a comfortable “No” vote.
Shortly afterwards, Alex Salmond said he accepted the defeat and called for national unity.
He said the referendum and the high turnout had been a “triumph for the democratic process” and promised to keep his pledge in the Edinburgh Agreement which paved the way for the referendum to respect the result and work for the benefit of Scotland and the UK.
He told supporters: “The unionist parties made vows late in the campaign to devolve more powers to Scotland.
Scottish voters decisively rejected independence after voting to stay in the UK (photo Bloomberg)
“Scotland will expect these to be honored in rapid course – as a reminder, we have been promised a second reading of a Scotland Bill by March 27 next year.
“Not just the 1.6 million Scots who voted for independence will demand that timetable is followed but all Scots who participated in this referendum will demand that timetable is followed.”
Alex Salmond said he would shortly speak to the prime minister on the results.
He highlighted the “empowerment” of first-time voters, including 16 and 17-year-olds.
And the First Minister said: “Whatever else we can say about this referendum campaign, we have touched sections of the community who have never before been touched by politics, these sections of the community have touched us and touched the political process.
“I don’t think that will ever be allowed to go back to business as usual in politics again.”
In a rallying call to his supporters, Alex Salmond urged the “Yes” voters to reflect on how far they had come.
“I don’t think any of us, whenever we entered politics, would have thought such a thing to be either credible or possible,” he said.
“Over the last few weeks we have seen a scare and a fear of enormous proportions – not a scaremongering directed at the Scottish people but the scare and the fear at the heart of the Westminster establishment as they realize the mass movement of people that was going forward in Scotland.
“Today of all days as we bring Scotland together, let us not dwell on the distance we have fallen short, let us dwell on the distance we have travelled and have confidence the movement is abroad in Scotland that will take this nation forward and we shall go forward as one nation.”
This margin of victory for the Better Together campaign – 55% to 45% – was greater by about 3% than that anticipated by the final opinion polls. The winning total needed was 1,852,828.
Speaking in Downing Street, David Cameron said the result was decisive.
He said: “Now the debate has been settled for a generation, or as Alex Salmond has said: <<Perhaps for a lifetime>>.
“So their can be no disputes, no re-runs, we have heard the will of the Scottish people.”
David Cameron said the three main unionist parties at Westminster would now follow through with their pledge to deliver more powers to the Scottish Parliament.
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Scotland has unveiled its blueprint for independence, ahead of next September’s referendum.
The 670-page document promises to “build a more democratic, more prosperous, fairer society”.
On September 18, Scots voters will be asked the yes/no question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
The document, launched by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, pledged to tailor economic policy to Scottish businesses and industry.
Alex Salmond said independence would allow Scotland to harness its vast potential as a country.
The first minister went on: “Ultimately at the heart of this debate there’s only one question – do we, the people who live and work in Scotland, believe that we are the best people to take the big decisions about our future?”
The white paper also pledged to extend child care and scrap controversial UK government housing welfare changes, described by critics as the “bedroom tax”, should the Scottish National Party (SNP) be elected as the first government of an independent Scotland in the event of a “Yes” vote.
The document, Scotland’s future: Your guide to an independent Scotland, also said it would be in Scotland’s interest to keep the pound, but that would also benefit the rest of the UK, while the Bank of England would continue to be the “lender of last resort”.
Scotland has unveiled its blueprint for independence, ahead of next September’s referendum
The SNP document pledges included:
- 30 hours of childcare per week in term time for all 3 and 4-year-olds, as well as vulnerable 2-year-olds.
- Trident nuclear weapons, currently based on the Clyde, removed within the first parliament.
- Housing benefit reforms, described by critics as the “bedroom tax” to be abolished in first year of an independent Scottish parliament.
- No rise in basic rate of tax.
The Scottish government described the white paper as a “landmark document”, with the case for economic growth and fairness at its heart.
The SNP has argued Scotland’s finances are healthier than those of the UK, providing a strong foundation to put the focus of the referendum campaign on Scotland’s future.
The Scottish government’s critics said the white paper would be judged on whether it tackled concerns over issues like financial challenges.
For the UK government, Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said there were huge question marks over some of the policies already revealed by the SNP.
Alistair Carmichael said it was “highly unlikely” the Scottish government’s plan to keep the pound and retain the services of the Bank of England as part of a “currency union” with the rest of the UK would work, and said the SNP must set out a “Plan B”.
The Scottish government’s critics have also questioned its plan to get rid of Trident nuclear weapons – currently based on the Clyde – while being a member of NATO.
And they have said other SNP promises, on issues like pensions and welfare, are uncosted.
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