)
The Scots have voted. And the vote is in favor of staying with the United Kingdom. This finally ends the suspense and drama built over the months preceding the referendum. And it was not just the English press that were reporting and analysing every move of the voters from the region but even media outlets across the world who saw it as a test of England's ability to keep its flock together.
Andrew Black, the political reporter for BBC Scotland says that the focus will now be on how power will be devolved from Westminister to the Scottish Parliament. A new draft of the “Scotland Act” law will be published on Jan 25, 2015 on which the House of Commons will vote on. Black adds that because of the UK general election in May 2015, the new law will not be passed until after the new government is formed.
Robin Oakely, a former political editor for The Times, the BBC and CNN, writes that Conservative MPs are demanding that the number of Scottish MPs in Westminister be reduced and to end the West Lothian issue—the practice of allowing Scottish MPs to vote on English-only matters, but preventing English MPs from having a say on devolved Scottish issues.
Black writes that a recent YouGov poll showed that 62% believed the Scottish MPs should not be allowed to vote on English-related issues.
Next is the issue of funding: The Labour Party, The Conservative Party and The Liberal Democrats all differ on how much income tax-raising powers the Scottish government should receive. The Scottish Parliament is currently funded by a block grant based on the Barnett Formula which adjusts funds among Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the basis of population. Scotland gets majority of the funding’s share. Should this continue? Black writes.
He adds that the Scottish National Party’s leader Alex Salmond “is expected to fight for a ‘devo max’ - essentially far-reaching devolution - package of powers, likely to include total control over income tax, corporation tax, and air passenger duty, and extensive control over welfare.”
Bridget Kendall, the BBC’s Diplomatic Correspondent writes that many global governments welcomed the ‘No’ vote as they feared this “might encourage other separatist movements,” while also making the UK a weak partner. She also states that there might be another referendum in 2017 if the British Conservative Party comes to power. “Has the uncertainty thrown up by this Scottish referendum increased or reduced the likelihood of the UK voting to leave the EU in three years' time?” she asks.
The Scottish ‘No’ vote also saved David Cameron from certain political death, writes The Guardian’s chief political correspondent, Nick Watt. He adds that the challenge now for Cameron is “to negotiate his way round a series of minefields” to deliver the ‘devo max’ package of devolved powers to the Scottish Parliament.
And to cap it all, Justin Wolfers writes in The New York Times that the Scotland 'No' vote is a loss for pollsters and win for the betting industry. He reports that while both predicted that the No campaign will win, the pollsters underestimated the margin of victory while the bettors rated the chances of a No vote at around 80 percent, an estimate that remained remarkably stable over the past week, fluctuating by only a few points.
