EDINBURGH, Scotland — With most votes counted in Scotland's historic independence referendum, results show those in favour of keeping the 307-year union with England are on the edge of victory.
Pro-union supporters celebrate as Scottish independence referendum results are announced at a “Better Together” event in Glasgow Sept 19. Scotland appeared set to reject independence on Friday with most voting areas declared and the crucial Glasgow region having given its result. (AFP photo)
With 29 of 32 regional electoral centres reporting, the No side had about 54% of the vote to about 46% for the Yes side. Those against independence received a massive boost by strongly taking Edinburgh, the capital, and Aberdeen, the nation's oil centre.
The average turnout was 86% - a record high for any Scottish election. The BBC has already called the referendum for the No camp.
The Yes camp appeared resigned to defeat. Saying she was "personally bitterly disappointed" with the results, Deputy Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon told BBC that Scottish nationalists "need to pick ourselves up and move on."
"The evidence that the No side is going to win is beginning to stack up," John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University told Bloomberg News. The result in Glasgow "adds further weight that the No side has won the referendum and won it pretty comfortably," he said.
The pound surged as counting continued of the last ballots cast across Scotland yesterday. After wins for the No side, support for independence in the cities of Dundee and Glasgow narrowed the overall gap.
"It does look like we have secured a No vote," Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, a Liberal Democrat and the most senior Scot in the U.K. government, told Sky News as the first results trickled in. "But a No vote is also for change, it's our responsibility to get on with that."
The pound climbed to a two-year high against the euro and appreciated against all 31 of its major peers. The pound traded up 0.7% at $1.6511 at 4:30am London time.