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After Losing Scottish Independence Vote, Alex Salmond Will Resign After Losing Scottish Independence Vote, Alex Salmond Will Resign
(about 4 hours later)
EDINBURGH — Alex Salmond, who led Scotland’s failed bid for independence, announced on Friday that he would step down as first minister and as leader of the Scottish National Party later this year. The announcement came the day after voters decisively endorsed continued union with Britain. EDINBURGH — Alex Salmond, who led Scotland’s failed bid for independence, announced on Friday that he would step down as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party later this year.
Mr. Salmond was by far the most prominent casualty of his party’s defeat after an independence campaign that sent shock waves through Britain’s political elite, energized Scottish politics as rarely before and appeared to open the way for a looser, more federal Britain. The unexpected announcement came the day after voters spurned the vision of Scottish sovereignty that had propelled his political career for decades, and voted decisively in a referendum to continue Scotand’s 307-year-old union with Britain. Mr. Salmond was by far the most prominent casualty of the defeat.
With results tallied by early Friday from all 32 voting districts, the “no” campaign won 55.3 percent of the vote. The margin of victory was greater than nearly all pre-election polls had forecast. The independence campaign that he led sent shock waves through Britain’s political elite, energized Scottish politics as rarely before and appeared to open the way for a looser, more federal Britain. After starting far behind in the polls, the independence campaign appeared to close the gap in the increasingly suspenseful final weeks, and in some surveys it even seemed to take a slight lead.
“Today the point is this,” Mr. Salmond said in a statement hours later. “The real guardians of progress are not the politicians at Westminster, or even at Holyrood, but the energized activism of tens of thousands of people who I predict will refuse meekly to go back into the political shadows.” Holyrood is the area of Edinburgh where the Scottish Parliament has its headquarters. But when the ballots from all 32 voting districts were tallied early Friday, the “no” campaign had won 55.3 percent of the vote.
“For me right now, therefore, there is a decision as to who is best placed to lead this process forward politically,” Mr. Salmond said. "I believe that in this new, exciting situation, redolent with possibility, party, Parliament and country would benefit from new leadership.” Referring to the seats of the British and Scottish Parliaments, Mr. Salmond said in a statement, “Today the point is this: The real guardians of progress are not the politicians at Westminster, or even at Holyrood, but the energized activism of tens of thousands of people who I predict will refuse meekly to go back into the political shadows.”
He said that he would not stand for re-election as leader at his party’s annual conference in November, and that he would stand down as first minister “to allow the new leader to be elected by due parliamentary process.” “For me right now, therefore, there is a decision as to who is best placed to lead this process forward politically,” he continued. “I believe that in this new exciting situation, redolent with possibility, party, Parliament and country would benefit from new leadership.”
But Mr. Salmond seemed to suggest that the campaign for a sovereign Scotland was far from over. “The position is this: We lost the referendum vote, but can still carry the political initiative,” he said. "More importantly, Scotland can still emerge as the real winner.” Therefore, Mr. Salmond said, he will not stand for re-election as leader at his party’s annual conference in November, and then will resign as first minister “to allow the new leader to be elected by due parliamentary process.”
His decision to step down, after earlier suggestions that he would stay on whatever the outcome of Thursday’s referendum, reflected the deep disappointment within the vocal, enthusiastic pro-independence movement on Friday. Mr. Salmond’s followers had seen an opportunity to make a centuries-old nationalist dream a reality, and the momentum they built in the referendum campaign forced the three main British parties into panicked promises that they would grant substantial new power to the Scottish Parliament. “We lost the referendum vote, but can still carry the political initiative,” he said. “More importantly, Scotland can still emerge as the real winner.”
The voters’ decision spared the British prime minister, David Cameron, a shattering defeat that would have raised questions about his ability to continue in office and would have diminished his nation’s standing in the world. His decision to resign reflected the deep disappointment on Friday within the vocal, enthusiastic pro-independence movement, which saw the referendum as a rare opportunity to make a centuries-old nationalist dream a reality.
Before announcing his plans to resign, Mr. Salmond insisted that the 1.6 million people who voted for independence on Thursday showed the depth of yearning for the political powers promised to Scotland by British political leaders to stave off disunion. At a news conference in Edinburgh, Mr. Salmond, who was ebullient, feisty and sometimes pugnacious during the campaign, seemed to turn wistful. “For me as leader, my time is nearly over,” he told reporters, “but for Scotland the campaign continues, and the dream shall never die.”
“Scotland will expect these to be honored in rapid course,” said Mr. Salmond, while promising to work to heal the divisions the referendum created. Mr. Salmond did not identify a successor, but political analysts said his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, who played a central role in the campaign, was likely to be a strong contender.
The campaign to keep Scotland within the United Kingdom secured just over two million votes, providing what Mr. Cameron took as a mandate for broader changes affecting all four components of the United Kingdom — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. British political leaders promised on Friday to heal the wounds opened by the referendum and begin work on sweeping changes to give new decision-making powers to Scotland and other parts of the country — changes that the three main British political parties promised in the panicky last days before the referendum, though they have yet to agree on specifics.
“The people of Scotland have spoken, and it is a clear result,” Mr. Cameron said outside 10 Downing Street in London after Mr. Salmond conceded defeat just after dawn. “They have kept our country of four nations together. As I said during the campaign, it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to an end.” Negotiations on those changes are likely to be tortuous, and not just between London and the Scots.
Mary Pitcaithly, the chief counting officer for the referendum, said final figures showed the pro-independence camp securing 1,617,989 votes while their opponents got 2,001,926. “The old union we know is dead,” said Carwyn Jones, the first minister of Wales. “We need to forge a new one. But no more committees, no more messing about, no more panicky deals — it’s time to sit together, all of us as four nations, and work this through.” Northern Ireland is the fourth component of the United Kingdom, along with England, Scotland and Wales.
The campaign injected a rare fervor and passion into Scottish politics, as independence was debated in bars and coffee shops, kitchens and offices, and produced a turnout that exceeded 90 percent in some districts. Across Scotland, 84.6 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. Among the outstanding issues is whether England should continue to be ruled solely by the national Parliament in Westminster, which includes Scottish, Irish and Welsh members, or be given some form of regional government as well, akin to those in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
But while the outcome was decisive, it brought a sense of new uncertainty over what would follow. In Edinburgh, Mr. Salmond said earlier in the day that the 1.6 million votes cast for separation showed the depth of the desire for greater decision-making powers in Scotland. “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,” he said.
The vote preserved a union molded in 1707, but it left Mr. Cameron facing anger among some lawmakers in his Conservative Party over the promises of greater Scottish autonomy that he and other party leaders made in the final days before the vote, when it appeared that the independence campaign might win. Some lawmakers called for similar autonomy for England itself, and even the creation of a separate English Parliament. For Prime Minister David Cameron, whose job would have been on the line had the Scots voted to break away, the referendum results were an evident relief, though one tempered with an awareness that it may have won by his late promise of new powers for Scotland, which already controls health and education within its borders.
The outcome headed off the huge economic, political and military imponderables that would have followed a vote for independence. But was unlikely to deter Scottish nationalists from trying again. Mr. Cameron said Friday morning that there could be “no disputes, no reruns,” and that the referendum had settled the independence debate “for a generation.”
Mr. Salmond called for reconciliation after a vibrant exercise in democracy that had episodes of harshness and even intimidation. But he seemed to couple his call for unity with a signal that the broader campaign for sovereignty, which he has fought for decades, was not over. Queen Elizabeth II, who is precluded from intervening in politics, urged Scots on Friday to seek unity and work together in the wake of the vote. “For many in Scotland and elsewhere today, there will be strong feelings and contrasting emotions – among family, friends and neighbors,” she said in a statement from her Scottish castle at Balmoral. “Now, as we move forward, we should remember that, despite the range of views that have been expressed, we have in common an enduring love of Scotland, which is one of the things that helps to unite us all.”
“Today of all days, as we bring Scotland together,” Mr. Salmond said early in the day, “let us not dwell on the distance we have fallen short. Let us dwell on the distance we have traveled and have confidence the movement is abroad in Scotland that will take this nation forward.” All told, 2,001,926 “no” votes were cast in the referendum, compared with 1,617,989 “yes” votes, according to Mary Pitcaithly, the chief counting officer. Nearly 85 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.
President Obama had made little secret of his desire that the United Kingdom remain intact. Indeed, Britain has long prided itself on a so-called special relationship with the United States, and Britain’s allies had been concerned, among other things, about Mr. Salmond’s vow to evict British nuclear submarine bases from Scotland, threatening London’s role in Western defenses. With its appeal for a fresh start, the “yes” campaign seemed to capture the imagination of a large section of Scottish electorate that was bitterly disillusioned with London politics. By contrast, the “no” side stressed the economic risks of a breakaway, and was accused of running a negative campaign.
In a statement on Friday, Mr. Obama welcomed the outcome of the referendum. “We have no closer ally than the United Kingdom, and we look forward to continuing our strong and special relationship with all the people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as we address the challenges facing the world today,” the statement said. On Friday the result was welcomed by the Confederation of British Industry, a leading business lobby group. “This is a momentous day for our United Kingdom, and this result will be greeted by a collective sigh of relief across the business community,” said John Cridland, the organization’s director general.
As the result emerged on Friday, both NATO and the European Union members said they welcomed the voters’ choice, clearly relieved that the decision averted the enormous upheaval that would have flowed from secession, including its potential to set a precedent across Europe for would-be separatists. The outcome was no less welcome in Washington, where President Obama had made little secret of his desire that Britain remain intact, not least because of Mr. Salmond’s promise to evict British nuclear submarine bases from an independent Scotland.
In Madrid, the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, who is confronting an independence campaign in Catalonia, called the Scottish vote “the most favorable option for everyone.” “We have no closer ally than the United Kingdom, and we look forward to continuing our strong and special relationship with all the people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as we address the challenges facing the world today,” Mr. Obama said in a statement.
But Artur Mas, the head of Catalonia’s regional government, said that far from weakening the secessionist ambitions of Catalonia, Scotland’s referendum “opens the way for us because what happened there is that they voted,” regardless of the result. The NATO alliance and the European Commission, the executive body of the 28-nation European Union, also welcomed the rejection of a referendum that had already encouraged separatists in other parts of Europe, including the Catalonia region of Spain.
In a televised news conference, Mr. Mas said Scotland had provided “a great lesson in democracy,” and urged Mr. Rajoy to follow Mr. Cameron’s example rather than continue to veto any Catalan vote. “To think you can shut up a Catalan society that wants to vote isn’t going to work in a democracy of the 21st century,” Mr. Mas said. In Madrid, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called the Scottish vote “the most favorable option for everyone — for themselves, for all of Britain and for the rest of Europe.”
Mr. Mas was speaking just hours before Catalonia’s regional Parliament was expected to approve a law that would allow him to schedule an independence vote in Catalonia on Nov. 9 that Madrid has already declared illegal. Mr. Rajoy’s government said on Friday that it expected Spain’s constitutional court to soon strike down any Catalan attempt to hold a vote in violation of Spain’s constitution. But Artur Mas, the head of Catalonia’s regional government, drew a different interpretation, saying that Scotland had provided “a great lesson in democracy” and urging Mr. Rajoy to follow Mr. Cameron’s example and permit a similar referendum there.
While the Scottish campaign had divided business leaders in Britain over the likely economic repercussions of independence, the outcome was welcomed by the Confederation of British Industry, a leading employers’ group. “This is a momentous day for our United Kingdom and this result will be greeted by a collective sigh of relief across the business community,” said John Cridland, the organization’s director general. “To think you can shut up a Catalan society that wants to vote isn’t going to work in a democracy of the 21st century,” Mr. Mas said in Barcelona.
Mr. Cameron said new laws would be published by January to fulfill promises of greater powers for the Scottish Parliament relating to taxation, public finances and welfare. He spoke of a “new and fair settlement” that would affect all four components of the United Kingdom.
“We now have a chance — a great opportunity — to change the way the British people are governed, and change it for the better,” he said. As for the promises of greater powers for Scotland, he said: “We will ensure that they are honored in full.”
“We have heard the voice of Scotland and now the millions of voices of England must be heard,” Mr. Cameron said.
Before dawn, after a night of counting that showed a steady trend in favor of maintaining the union, Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party, effectively conceded defeat for the “yes” campaign.
“Like thousands of others across the country I’ve put my heart and soul into this campaign and there is a real sense of disappointment that we’ve fallen narrowly short of securing a ‘yes’ vote,” Ms. Sturgeon told BBC television as the votes showed strengthening support for the “no” campaign.
Shortly after Ms. Sturgeon’s comments, Edinburgh, the seat of Scotland’s Parliament, reported a huge gain for the “no” camp, with more than 194,000 voters rejecting independence, compared with almost 124,000 in favor. Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, had voted in favor of secession by a smaller margin.
Alistair Darling, who had led the “no” campaign, told supporters that the vote had reaffirmed the bonds underpinning the United Kingdom. “We have taken on the arguments and we have won,” he said.