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scottish referendum
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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As the polls have closed, counting is under way in the referendum to decide whether Scotland should stay in the UK or become an independent country.
Counting will be carried out through the night, with individual results announced for each of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas.
The final national result is expected after 06:30 BST on September 19.
A YouGov on-the-day poll published shortly after polls closed suggested “No” was on 54% and “Yes” on 46%.
The survey questioned 1,828 people after they voted, together with the postal votes of 800 people, although is not a traditional exit poll.
Turnout is widely predicted to top the 83.9% recorded in the 1950 general election – the highest in the UK since the introduction of universal suffrage in 1918.
Blair McDougall, director of the pro-Union Better Together campaign, said he believed a “No” vote would be revealed over the course of the night.
Counting is under way in the referendum to decide whether Scotland should stay in the UK or become an independent country
A “Yes” vote in the ballot would end the 307-year-old union between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
A record turnout is anticipated, with 4,283,392 people – 97% of the electorate – having registered to vote.
As soon as Scotland’s 2,608 polling places closed, work began to transport hundreds of ballot boxes to counting centers in each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
The bulk of the local results are expected to come between 03:00 and 05:00 BST on September 19.
These will include votes cast from the 789,024 postal vote applications, which was the largest volume of registration for postal votes ever in Scotland.
Once the results from all the local authority areas are known, chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly will declare the result of the referendum at the Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh.
However, running totals – which can be made from the first declaration onwards – may indicate a result earlier in the morning.
Opinion polls released before the vote suggested the referendum was too close to call, although most had the “No” campaign – which backs staying in the UK – holding a slight lead.
For the first time, 16 and 17-year-olds all across Scotland were able vote.
Many councils have reported busy polling stations were busy throughout the day, with some seeing queues both ahead of the polls opening and throughout the morning.
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The Scottish independence referendum will take place on Thursday, 18 September, 2014.
Who can vote?
Most people over the age of 16 who live in Scotland will be entitled to vote. As with other UK elections, to get a vote you will need to register in advance. Unlike other UK elections, 16 and 17 year olds will be able to vote in the referendum.
What will the question be?
The referendum question will be: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” and voters will choose yes or no. Whichever option has the most votes will win the referendum, regardless of how many people turn out to vote.
The Scottish independence referendum will take place on 18 September, 2014
What’s the process?
Constitutional arrangements are the responsibility of the UK Parliament. However, powers have been transferred to allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for the referendum. This happened in the Referendum Agreement, which was signed by UK’s PM David Cameron and Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond on October 15 2012. As a result of this, the legislation that will allow the referendum to happen is currently making its way through the Scottish Parliament.
Why is this happening now?
This is happening now because the Scottish National Party, who campaign for Scotland to be independent, won a majority at the last Scottish Parliament election.
What happens if there is a Yes vote?
If a majority of those who vote want Scotland to be independent then Scotland would become an independent country after a process of negotiations. Following the negotiations Scotland would leave the United Kingdom and become a new and separate state.
What happens if there is a No vote?
If a majority of those who vote want to stay part of the UK, Scotland would remain a part of the United Kingdom, with its own devolved Parliament. The UK and Scottish governments would continue to make the changes to the powers of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish government that were agreed by the 2 parliaments in the Scotland Act 2012.
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Voting in the Scottish independence referendum is under way.
People are voting on whether Scotland should stay in the UK or become an independent nation.
Voters will answer “Yes” or “No” to the referendum question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
With 4,285,323 people – 97% of the electorate – registered to vote, a historically high turnout is expected.
Votes will be cast at 2,608 polling places across the country until 22:00 on Thursday, September 18. The result is expected early on Friday morning.
Ballot papers will be counted in each of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas.
These will include votes cast from the 789,024 postal vote applications, which was the largest volume of registration for postal votes ever in Scotland.
After votes have been tallied, the counting officer in each area will communicate the result to the chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly in Edinburgh.
With her approval they will then make a declaration of the result.
People are voting on whether Scotland should stay in the UK or become an independent nation
Once the results from all 32 local authority areas are known, Mary Pitcaithly will declare the result of the referendum at the Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh.
Mary Pitcaithly has said she will announce the result at “breakfast time” on Friday.
The result is most likely to be between 06:30 and 07:30, according to Elections Scotland.
That is because the final Scottish declarations in the 2010 UK parliamentary elections and the 2011 Scottish parliamentary elections declaration were made at those times respectively.
However, running totals – which can be made from the first declaration onwards – may indicate a result earlier in the morning.
The bulk of these are expected to come in between 03:00 and 06:00.
Because of the expected high turnout, counting officers have put measures in place to reduce the risk of queuing at polling stations.
The remote nature of some Scottish regions also means bad weather could delay the receipt of ballot boxes at counting centers, in turn delaying the national result.
Helicopters and boats are being used to transport ballot boxes to counts in areas such as Argyll and Bute.
Elections Scotland said recounts will only be allowed at a local level on the basis of concerns about process, not the closeness of a result.
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