Scotland’s No vote and the crisis of the British nation state - World Socialist Web Site
▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/09/19/scot-s20.html
Scotland’s No vote and the crisis of the British nation state
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (UK)
20 September 2014
Independence for Scotland was defeated in Thursday’s referendum by 55.3 percent to 44.7 percent on an 84.6 percent turnout.
There was an initial sense of relief in ruling circles, given that at one point, according to opinion polls, the Yes campaign looked set to secure a majority—threatening the imminent dissolution of the 307-year union between Scotland, England and Wales. Such a prospect had been likened to a new “Lehman’s moment”—a reference to the bank failure that triggered the 2008 financial crash. There were fears too that a Yes victory would have weakened Britain’s ruling elite on all fronts, prompting warnings by politicians, economists, corporate executives and military figures.