FEATURE AFTER REJECTING INDEPENDENCE, SCOTS COUNT COST OF REFERENDUM
BY BEN NIMMO, DPA
Scots may have voted overwhelmingly against independence, but the consequences of the referendum are likely to reverberate for years to come.
The counting of votes is over in Scotland's referendum on independence -now the country will have to calculate the costs.
According to the Scottish government, organizing the poll cost some 13.7 million pounds (17.3 million euros), with millions more being spent by campaigners.
But the political and personal costs have been much higher, and could take far longer to assess.
"The debate has created some deep divisions in our country. It has been a campaign that has energized and divided," Alistair Darling, former British chancellor and leader of the pro-union Better Together campaign, said after the result was confirmed.
It is a comment that many on the streets have echoed.
"It's made people interested in politics again. They've suddenly got the feeling that their vote can make a difference," one Yes campaigner, who only gave his name as Gary, told dpa.
The figures would reflect that. According to official statistics, 97 per cent of the electorate registered to vote. Turnout was 84.5 per cent. That number was 63.8 per cent in the general election of 2010.
In the country of 5 million, thousands of electoral workers in more than 2,600 polling stations tallied some 3.5 million ballots after elections that ran from 7 am to 10 pm, in a grand show of democracy.
In the days before the vote, it was the major topic of conversation across the country, and across a wide spectrum of age groups.
The referendum was "a triumph for the democratic process and for participation in politics," said Alex Salmond, leader of the Yes campaign, as he conceded defeat.
But the campaign was deeply divisive. Canvassers on both sides spoke of occasional intimidation and threats, although police said that very few incidents had been reported.
People on both sides said that the issue had exposed divisions between Scots and English, rich and poor, town and country.
"It's divided families; it's divided friends," said one No campaigner. "It's polarized people and caused a lot of ill-feeling, and that's not going to go away."
It is impossible to predict how long that polarization will last, but it is unlikely to be a swift process.
"We're going to have a job of work to get things healed afterwards," Liberal Democrat politician Michael Moore acknowledged in a BBC interview after the result.
The political cost, too, is high. In the final weeks of campaigning, the British government proposed legislation granting more powers to the Scottish authorities. Early Friday, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that draft legislation to that effect would be published by January.
"It is inconceivable that we would just sit and tolerate the status quo," Moore said.
And on both sides of the divide, the leaders are clear: After this referendum, things will never be the same again, for Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "The country has been changed forever."
Source : Sapa-dpa /gm
Date : 19 Sep 2014 11:09
