Scottish independence referendum results thread (Sept 18, 2014)

[Cassius]

84,59% is a very disappointing turnout given that 97% of eligible voters registered and the high level of commitment to vote expressed in the polls, some Yes supporters likely got scared in the end and stayed home.

Indeed, that's really depressing. I was really thinking that whatever the result, we'd get an amazing turnout level.  It seems that the No didn't really overperform, but the Yes underperformed massively.

An 85% turnout is one not to be sniffed at (in my opinion), given that turnout for elections to the Scottish Parliament hovers at only 50% or so. Indeed, as I recall, no election to the Westminster Parliament has ever had a turnout of more than about 83%. So its actually pretty impressive that the turnout has been this high.

[Cassius]

Salmond is resigning.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ2ywczFcME

However, that suggests that Salmond might have actually believed that 'Yes' would win.

Anyway, people should not feel sad that this had failed (unless, of course, they're diehard Scottish nationalists). After all, now we can avoid what would have been an extremely messy constitutional settlement; one marked by calls from many English voters to be as brutal to the Scots as humanly possible. It would, most likely, have been a highly bitter and intense affair, one for which comparatively little planning had actually been done. Not to mention that I'm of the mind that the mythical 'progressive light on the hill' that an independent Scotland was made out to be would have dissappeared like the morning dew amidst angry debates about constitutional affairs, as well as due to what I can only imagine to be lingering bad blood between unionists and nationalists (given the way the campaign panned out).