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Scottish referendum: Scotland votes no to independence | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Scotland has voted to stay in the United Kingdom after voters decisively rejected independence. | |
With 30 out of the country's 32 council areas having declared after Thursday's vote, the "No" side has an unassailable lead of 1,877,252 votes to 1,512,688. | |
The winning total needed was 1,852,828. Nationally, the margin of victory is about 55% to 45%. | |
The vote is the culmination of a two-year campaign. Talks will now begin on devolving more powers to Scotland. | |
Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has said he accepts his defeat. | |
But the leader of the pro-independence campaign said the 1.6m votes cast for the 'Yes' campaign represented a substantial vote for Scottish independence at some time in the future. | |
He called on the main unionist parties to make good on their promises on greater powers being devolved to the Scottish Parliament. | |
This margin of victory for the Better Together campaign is greater than that anticipated by the final opinion polls. | |
Glasgow, Scotland's largest council area and the third largest city in Britain, voted in favour of independence by 194,779 to 169,347, with Dundee, West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire also voting "Yes". | Glasgow, Scotland's largest council area and the third largest city in Britain, voted in favour of independence by 194,779 to 169,347, with Dundee, West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire also voting "Yes". |
But Edinburgh, the nation's capital, rejected independence by 194,638 to 123,927, while Aberdeen City voted "No" by a margin of more than 20,000 votes. There have also been big wins for the pro-UK campaign in many other areas. | |
Mr Salmond's deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, said in an earlier concession statement that there was a "real sense of disappointment that we have fallen narrowly short of securing a 'Yes' vote". | |
She told the BBC the projected result was "a deep personal and political disappointment" but said "the country has been changed forever". | |
Ms Sturgeon said she would work with "anyone in any way" to secure more powers for Scotland. | |
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "I've spoken to Alistair Darling (head of the pro-UK Better Together campaign) - and congratulated him on a well-fought campaign." | Prime Minister David Cameron said: "I've spoken to Alistair Darling (head of the pro-UK Better Together campaign) - and congratulated him on a well-fought campaign." |
Mr Cameron is expected to respond to Scotland's decision in a live televised address following the final result. | Mr Cameron is expected to respond to Scotland's decision in a live televised address following the final result. |