Democracy and constitutional change the winner in Scottish vote
Scotland has truly spoken. A record turnout of nearly 85 per cent attests to that. However, although the vote against independence and the breaking up of the United Kingdom prevailed comfortably, it does not reflect the ultimate significance of a campaign that took a dramatic turn towards the end.
Scotland has truly spoken. A record turnout of nearly 85 per cent attests to that. However, although the vote against independence and the breaking up of the United Kingdom prevailed comfortably, it does not reflect the ultimate significance of a campaign that took a dramatic turn towards the end. It has already had profound constitutional implications for devolution of central power that go beyond Scotland's borders to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The campaign was transformed in its final days by publication of a single opinion poll that showed the "Yes" vote had taken a narrow lead, reversing a 22-point margin a month earlier and giving momentum to the separatist Scottish National Party.
This made it clear that the country faced a very real choice and that, for complacent "No" voters, staying at home on polling day was no longer an option.
Politically, the effect was galvanising. The three main British political parties, the Conservatives, their Liberal Democrat junior partners in government and the opposition Labour Party, united in a belated response to the Scots' yearning for greater autonomy, promising more devolution, including greater powers over taxation, spending and welfare. This called into question Prime Minister David Cameron's decision not to put more devolution on the ballot paper as an alternative to "Yes" or "No".
The poll also prompted Cameron's Scottish predecessor, Gordon Brown, to come out of retirement and step into the "No" campaign, declaring: "The choice is between irreversible separation, or voting for a stronger Scottish parliament."
Cameron has acknowledged that the result will mean constitutional change for all of Britain, beginning with draft laws granting Scotland new powers to be published by January. "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," he said.