Scotland vote alters British state

Many Scots appeared sleepy at work, university, or school on Friday. Either they'd been fretting all night in front of the TV or in the pub, or they'd gotten up very early to witness the announcement of the result. At around 5:30 in the morning it was clear that Scotland will not be independent. While 55 percent of Scots agreed to remain in the United Kingdom, 45 percent voted in favor of the nationalists, who wanted to reestablish Scotland as an independent state after 307 years. One aged lady should be especially happy. The Queen, sources from the royal palace reported, also spent most of the night watching TV- at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The monarch has not yet commented publicly, but her prime minister did - in London, shortly after 7 am.

Prime Minister David Cameron spoke with relief in front of his official residence on Downing Street, saying that his "beloved United Kingdom" had not been broken up on this historic night. He expressed respect for the Scots on their fair vote and campaign, but then went on the offensive, announcing a reform of the whole state of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "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. "Political leaders on all sides of the debate now bear a heavy responsibility to come together and work constructively to advance the interests of people in Scotland, as well as those in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, for each and every citizen of our United Kingdom." During the election campaign, the Prime Minister made last-minute promises of autonomy to the Scots in order to weaken the growing appeal of the separatists.

London announces reforms

The gamble paid off in the end, but now Cameron must deliver, against the resistance of his own Conservative Party. He also wants to meet demands from Wales and England for separate regional parliaments. The idea is to create a kind of federalism yet unknown to the UK. "So, 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 and all this must take place in tandem with, and at the same pace as, the settlement for Scotland," Cameron said. "All this should go quickly. The corresponding bills are to be presented as soon as January. A task force has already been established."

In May 2015 a new parliament will be elected in Great Britain. The state reforms that follow the Scottish referendum will be a major theme, predicts Kirstein Rummery, professor at Stirling University in Scotland. But Rummery found Cameron's urgency problematic. In an interview with the BBC, she warned that a large packet of laws will be adopted in only a few months or even weeks, and that gives little opportunity to include the public in the process. All will be negotiated and decided amongst the politicians themselves. The truly remarkable thing about the referendum in Scotland was the engagement of the public. Voter turnout was 84.5 percent, the highest in Scottish history.

An administrative reform like the one Cameron is proposing requires agreement not only in the House of Commons, but also in the House of Lords, the upper house of the UK parliament, which, experts say, is by no means certain.

Reconciliation

The defeated supporters of Scottish independence, who had campaigned and fought for over two years are, of course, disappointed. The head of the Scottish Nationalist Party and First Minister Alex Salmond called on his followers to now stand with their opponents, for Scotland. He had already attached his new motto, "One Scotland", to his podium. "I accept the verdict of the people and I call on all of Scotland to follow suit in accepting the democratic verdict of the people of Scotland," Salmond said to great applause in Edinburgh. The leader of the victorious "No" campaign, the Scottish Labour politician Alistair Darling, also called for reconciliation. "The silent majority has spoken tonight," Darling said in Glasgow. Scotland will change and get more rights, Darling promised.

Salmond switched from campaigner to statesman this morning. "We have touched sections of the community who have never before been touched by politics, these sections of the community have touched us and touched the political process," said Salmond. He added that he couldn't imagine that, after this, politics would continue as usual. Salmond has now already telephoned the British prime minister and agreed negotiations on the promised concessions from London. His political life goal, the independence of Scotland, is no longer reachable for now, he conceded. "Now the debate has been settled for a generation, or perhaps for a lifetime," he told his followers. But he will not resign as first minister.

Scotland will go forward as a nation

After the split in the election campaign, Salmond will now work towards reconciliation. "Let us not dwell on the distance we have fallen short. Let us dwell on the distance we have traveled and have confidence that a movement is abroad in Scotland that will take this nation forward, and we shall go forward as one nation," he said. Darling has the same objective, saying Scotland could be proud of the exemplary, democratic outcome of the unique historical referendum. He found the mobilization and interest among 16- and 17-year-old Scots who were allowed to vote for the first time particularly noteworthy.

Police reported that, except for a few drunken pub visitors who fought verbal battles with their political opponents in Glasgow, calm reigned across the country. An Anglican priest in Edinburgh called on his compatriots to make conciliatory gestures, suggesting that the winners should take selfies with the losers and publish them on social networks. On the Royal Mile, which leads up to Edinburgh Castle, Friday began like any other day. The souvenir shops are open and the cafés are preparing for the influx of tourists, even in foggy and humid weather. A business owner who offers kilts and kitsch, said that the referendum had been good no matter what. Although she voted yes, all the hype had been good advertising for Scotland and brought more visitors and tourists.