Scotland votes 'no' to independence, 55% in favour of union

With 31 out of Scotland’s 32 authorities having declared, the pro-independence movement had secured 45% of votes and stood 10 points behind the ‘no’ campaign, a considerably bigger margin than the polls had anticipated.

Edinburgh returned a resounding victory for those in favour of keeping Scotland in Britain, with 61% voting ‘no’, while ‘no’ won by a similar margin in Aberdeenshire, securing 60.4% of the votes and in Argyll and Bute, where it clinched 58.5% of the preferences.

There were, however, notable successes for the pro-independence campaign, which succeeded in Glasgow by 53% to 47%, won 54% in West Dunbartonshire and landed a convincing 57% win in Dundee.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted his congratulations to former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling and congratulated him on a "well-fought campaign".

"If there isn't a yes vote tonight, we will be deeply disappointed but I have also been exhilarated by this campaign," said Scottish National Party (SNP) deputy leader Nicola Stugeon as she conceded defeat.

However convincing, the result could present the prime minister and the government with delicate issues to solve, particularly after Downing Street agreed to increase the Scottish parliament’s powers while protecting its spending, in a bid to fend off a late surge from the ‘yes’ campaign.

The Queen and Cameron are both expected to make statements on Friday commenting on the results of the referendum, while SNP leader Alex Salmond is expected to push ahead for a significant shift in power from Westminster to Holyrood.

"Our referendum was an agreed and consented process. Scotland has decided 'no' at this stage to become and independent country and I accept that verdict," said Salmond.

"I think the process by which we have made our decision as a nation reflects enormous credit upon Scotland. A turnout of 86% is one of the highest of the democratic world, in any election or any referendum in history."

The markets reacted almost immediately to the results, with the pound soaring to reach a two-year high against the euro in Asian trading hours, with a further rally expected when trading opens in London, while the FTSE 100 was expected to open over 1% higher.

“Sterling had a quite sell-off in recent weeks. There will be a relief rally,” said Howard Archer, chief European & UK Economist at IHS Economics.

"The UK economy, most businesses and the markets will likely all heave a huge sigh of relief that the Scots have rejected independence – and by a slightly larger margin than the recent polls had suggested.

“There would likely have been serious adverse near-term repercussions for the economy both south of the border and particularly in Scotland from a yes vote.”

The two campaigns had been 14 points apart in August, before the pro-independence campaign successfully began to bridge the gap, closing it to two points according to an ICM poll for the Guardian, while a YouGov survey 10 days before the vote had even put the ‘yes’ movement in the lead.

The result temporarily wiped off more than £2bn off the value of Scotland’s top seven companies, while the pound was in free fall as the result stunned the City.

Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, described the result as a “sigh of relief” for the European Union.

“Europe can breathe a sigh of relief. A problem avoided. The EU does not have to deal with a possibly contentious case of divorce within its ranks and does not have to ponder a membership application from a country just breaking away from one of its key members,” he said.

“As relations between Edinburgh and London will remain an intra-UK affair, the EU and its other member states will have little interest in how the UK devolves powers to Scotland and the extent to which it also grants more autonomy to its other regions.”