Well, by 5am this morning, we knew that Scotland had voted no to independence, and there was a huge sigh of relief from the No camp, and a huge groan of disappointment from the Yes camp.
The final result after all 32 council areas had declared was…
On a personal note, I had been of mixed emotions throughout this referendum campaign. Part of me was sad at the thought of breaking up the UK, especially as it was starting to feel more like a bitter divorce than an amicable separation, but part of me was excited at the prospect of Scotland becoming an independent country and all the associated things that would change with it, such as the changes to the media in Scotland. Upon seeing that the result was going to be no, I was still of mixed emotions. Relief was there, but there was a lot more disappointment. I would have loved to see how Scotland would have developed as an independent nation.
But putting my disappointment aside, we now have a situation where we know there is a large movement for change, 45% of those who voted prove that, and that kind of support for change can’t be denied or ignored. So maybe we’ll start to see a move towards a more federal UK. Maybe we’ll see Yorkshire, Cornwall, Wessex and other areas become autonomous regions within the UK as a whole.
But one thing we won’t see will be Alex Salmond as Scottish First Minister for much longer. He decided that today’s result was the end for him, as the First Minister of a devolved Scotland, and as leader of the SNP, the Scottish Nationalist Party. He will stand down in November, when a new leader of the SNP is elected, and therefore, a new Scottish First Minister. Nicola Sturgeon, current Deputy First Minister, is the obvious favourite.
One thing this referendum has undoubtedly done, is to release the devolution genie from the bottle for parts of England, as well as reinvigiorate it for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It will not be business as usual, ever again. The idea of a parliament for England has been put forward, and some have linked the idea to House of Lords reform. Now, to be honest, any one of these issues on their own is enough to stall a government or cause ructions in the Palace of Westminster. But to try to put all this together, before the next election, sounds like a bridge too far. It sounds like a rushed job, rather than what is needed, which is time to go through the options and decide what works best.
Overall, yes, this is the beginning of big change within the UK, but will it be the right change that is needed, or a rushed change that could do more damage than good? Only time will tell.
The tight timetable outlined by David Cameron is clearly a deliberate ploy. It was obvious that Ed Miliband would not agree to it, and Cameron could then cast him as the villain who derailed Devolution for Scotland. Whether he will take the bait, and whether it will permanently damage Labour in Scotland, remains to be seen.
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