Scotland turns thumbs down on independence, rejecting the idea that the country should sever its centuries-old relationship with its neighbors to the south.
Yesterday’s vote was supposed to be a squeaker, with many young people anticipated to opt for a separate Scotland. But after the 3.6 million votes were tallied, 55 percent of Scots voted to remain wedded to partners England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A record 85 percent of eligible voters over the age of 16 turned out for the historic vote.
The major vote demarcation is a tale of two cities. Unionist stronghold Glasgow voted resoundingly for independence, while Scotland’s capital Edinburgh supported the country’s fealty to the United Kingdom.
Opinion polls before the election showed a dead heat leading into yesterday’s election, prompting even Queen Elizabeth to get in on the act. She and Prime Minister David Cameron made passionate appeals to Scotland to remain within the United Kingdom.
The vote has Cameron promising to loosen the reins somewhat. He says he will push for a new constitutional settlement that would give Scotland more power and also give greater control to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Cameron said this week, “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.”
The call for Scottish independence has been heard around the world, no more so than in Spain, where Catalonia is launching the next phase of its attempt to break away.
Today, the Catalan parliament is expected to approve a law allowing a referendum on independence to be put before the voters on November 9, 2014
Spain’s central government says it will challenge the Catalan law in the constitutional court, which will automatically suspend the November vote, if the high court agrees with Madrid.
Last week, hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets of Barcelona to demand a vote on independence.