Scottish referendum: Voters to reject independence

As a Scot who voted "Yes" I must admit I am disappointed with this result - but also not in the least surprised, this is pretty consistent with the polls.

However, thinking about it a bit more (even if it is 6am) - I'm actually pretty pleased with both the turnout and that 45% of people voted "Yes" - a few years ago that would have seemed crazy.

In some ways this reminds me of the devolution referendum of 1979 - while the result then was also a "No" it raised the topic as a realistic alternative so when there was another devolution referendum a generation later it passed easily so now we do have an independent Scottish Government which has a fair amount of power within Scotland (although no powers over things like foreign affairs and defence).

I suspect that, just as in '79, the UK is in for a lot of political upheaval over the next decade and I suspect that now that independence has been introduced as something to be seriously considered that in a generation or so it might also look more sensible than it did at first.

My immediate concern is that I hope that everyone can put the differences introduced by the campaign behind them.

If half of the country is unhappy with the current circumstances, it's probably pretty difficult to call this a victory for the UK. It's more like an exposure of just how divided things really are.

Some interesting facts about this vote:

* 16 & 17 year olds were allowed to vote in this referendum, although they aren't normally able to vote in British elections.

* Turnout was extremely high, 80-90%.

* Anyone who lived in Scotland past a certain date (I believe) could vote, even people who were English or otherwise not-Scottish. Makes sense, in a way - if you live there it's your country too.

* The opinion polling always had "No" in the lead up until the very end, but there was some suspicion that the polls were inaccurate. I guess not!

As an expatriate Scot, hopefully this results in some additional devolved powers for the Scottish government.

Scotland's secession would have reduced the Labour vote in Britain by so much that the UKIP or (heaven forfend) even genuinely nativist parties might have had a chance at governing the natives. It is no wonder that the BBC and every other ruling elite in England were dead set against it.

This election has been a nice display of democratic ethos by the UK. It is very possible that everybody won here both Scotland in particular and the UK as a whole.

Nice infographic by the guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2014/sep/...

It looks like good things will come out of this regardless of the result.

Good for Scotland

Mel Gibson is probably crying right now.