Scotland votes 'NO' to independence in historic referendum
Glasgow, Scotland (CNN) -- Scotland will remain part
of the United Kingdom -- along with England, Wales and Northern Ireland
-- following a historic referendum vote.
By 55% to 45%, a majority of voters rejected the possibility of Scotland breaking away and becoming an independent nation.
UK Prime Minister David
Cameron welcomed Scotland's decision in a televised statement outside 10
Downing Street, saying it was a clear result.
"Like millions of other people, I am delighted," he said.
Cameron said he would
have been heartbroken to see the United Kingdom broken up -- but paid
tribute to the efforts of both sides in the campaign.
"We hear you," he said to
those who voted for independence, adding this was an opportunity to
change the way people in the United Kingdom are governed, and "change it
for the better."
His government has delivered on devolution in the past and will deliver on it again, Cameron said.
A "new and fair settlement" will be created for Scotland and for the other countries of the United Kingdom, he said.
Scottish First Minister
Alex Salmond accepted defeat in an earlier televised statement -- and
urged the rest of the pro-independence camp to do the same.
He thanked Scotland "for
1.6 million votes for Scottish independence" and said the turnout --
which electoral officials said was 84.6% from an electorate of more than
4.2 million -- was one of the highest in the democratic world for any
such vote.
Sigh of relief
The final result in the referendum was 1,617,989 votes in favor of independence from the United Kingdom to 2,001,926 against.
This means the pro-union
camp won by a margin of 55.25% of the vote to 44.65% -- a much wider
gap than opinion polls in the final days leading up to the vote had
suggested.
The result means the
main political parties in Westminster -- and many people across the
United Kingdom and Scotland -- can breathe a collective sigh of relief
that the threat of a breakup of a centuries-old union is over. However,
many on the "Yes" side will be bitterly disappointed.
The referendum was
closely watched around the world, particularly in nations like Spain,
whose Catalonia province is home to a vocal independence movement.
The outcome will likely
please President Barack Obama, who said that while the decision was down
to the Scots, it was in the interest of the United States to have the
United Kingdom remain a "strong, robust, united, and an effective
partner."
NATO Secretary General
Anders Fogh Rasmussen also welcomed the news that the United Kingdom, a
key member of the defense bloc, would remain united.
Darling: 'Unity over division'
Salmond, who heads the
governing Scottish National Party, hailed the political engagement seen
in Scotland during the campaign and appealed for unity going forward.
"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 traveled and have
confidence that a movement is abroad in Scotland that will take this
nation forward, and we shall go forward as one nation."
Salmond has previously
said that if the "Yes" campaign lost the referendum there would not be
another vote on independence in a generation.
Labour lawmaker Alistair
Darling, who led the pro-union campaign in the Scottish referendum,
hailed the result Friday but said that the message that the people of
Scotland want change must be heard.
"The people of Scotland
have spoken," he said."We have chosen unity over division and positive
change rather than needless separation.
"Today is a momentous
result for Scotland and also for the United Kingdom as a whole -- by
confirming our place within the union we reaffirm all that we have in
common and the bonds that tie us together. Let them never be broken."
He gave a commitment
that the political changes promised by the Westminster parties --
involving the devolution of more powers to Scotland -- would be kept.
Darling also called for
the country to unify after debate that "has created some fairly deep
divisions in our country," and a campaign "that has both energized but
at times divided" the Scottish people.
"Those divisions now need to be addressed and that requires leadership," he said, promising to play his part.
Clegg: Radical package of powers
Deputy Prime Minister
Nick Clegg, whose Liberal Democrats are in a coalition government with
Cameron's Conservatives, said he was "absolutely delighted" by the
result.
"In a dangerous and
uncertain world I have no doubt we are stronger, safer, and more
prosperous together than we ever could be apart.
"But a vote against
independence was clearly not a vote against change and we must now
deliver on time and in full the radical package of newly devolved powers
to Scotland.
"At the same time, this
referendum north of the border has led to demand for constitutional
reform across the United Kingdom as people south of the border also want
more control and freedom in their own hands rather than power being
hoarded in Westminster."
The first councils to
declare all went to the "No" campaign, as did the capital, Edinburgh,
which voted overwhelmingly to stay in the union with 123,927 for "Yes"
and 194,628 "No" votes. Argyll and Bute and Aberdeenshire also voted
"No."
Glasgow delivered a
solid win for the independence camp with 194,779 votes for "Yes," and
169,347 for "No," but the lead was not big enough to overturn the "No"
camp's overall majority.
Political fallout
Scotland has had a
devolved government since 1999, meaning many, but not all, decisions are
made at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh.
As opinion polls showed
the lead held by the "no" vote shrinking fast in the days leading up to
the referendum, the leaders of all three main parties in Westminster
responded with the promise to give major new powers over tax, spending
and social welfare to Scotland if it stuck with the United Kingdom.
Now the party leaders face the challenge of pushing those changes through a possibly rebellious Parliament on a tight timetable.
The process of handing
over those new powers will start from Friday, Cameron said in a speech
in Aberdeen earlier this week, with draft legislation expected as soon
as January. "This is a timetable that is now agreed by all the main
political parties and set in stone and I am prepared to work with all
the main parties to deliver this during 2015," he said.
Although Scotland has
chosen to stick with the union -- staving off potential calls for his
resignation -- Cameron will still face political fallout over the vote.
Critics have accused him
of complacency during the long months of campaigning when Salmond's
"Yes Scotland" campaign was laying the groundwork for its late surge.
Cameron's longtime Labour rival, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is
credited by many with bringing the vital energy that eventually carried a
lackluster "No" campaign to victory.
Critics have also
accused Cameron and the other main party leaders of giving away too much
in a last-ditch effort to keep Scottish voters on board.
It remains to be seen how the promise to give greater powers also to England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be borne out.
Cameron will also likely
face difficult questions over his own leadership in the run-up to a
general election due to take place next May.
CNN's Nic Robertson reported from Glasgow,
Laura Smith-Spark reported and wrote in London and Euan McKirdy in Hong
Kong. CNN's Richard Allen Greene, Lindsay Isaac and Andrew Carey
contributed to this report.
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