BBC News Special

:00:13. > :00:17.You are watching BBC News live in Holyrood on the day

:00:18. > :00:26.So Scotland has voted No to independence.

:00:27. > :00:28.The First Minister Alex Salmond has admitted defeat calling on all

:00:29. > :00:34.David Cameron said he was delighted and the debate was now settled

:00:35. > :00:39.He insisted the promises for Scotland will be delivered "in full"

:00:40. > :00:43.and promised a bigger say for ALL parts of the UK saying millions of

:00:44. > :00:50.Alistair Darling said it was a momentous day for Scotland `

:00:51. > :01:04.But he also said there is a need to listen to the "cry for change".

:01:05. > :01:07.What an amazing day and what an amazing night

:01:08. > :01:12.Here are the 32 council areas that became the battleground.

:01:13. > :01:14.Let me take you through what happened hour`by`hour, so the first

:01:15. > :01:19.councils to come in at 1.00am, just after, Clackmannanshire and Orkney.

:01:20. > :01:23.Already, the No camp are starting to take a lead, a small one,

:01:24. > :01:28.Then we have island councils ` Shetland, Eileanan Siar ` and again

:01:29. > :01:31.the No camp, just slightly ahead, still waiting for the first council

:01:32. > :01:37.Between 3.00am and 4.00am we had Inverclyde and Dundee.

:01:38. > :01:41.Dundee did say Yes and you can see the Yes camp

:01:42. > :01:51.Falkirk and Stirling, between 4.00am and 4.30am saw the Noes go into a

:01:52. > :01:59.Between 4.30am and 5.00am we got the result from the biggest council

:02:00. > :02:03.in Scotland, from Glasgow, a huge number of votes, which took

:02:04. > :02:09.the tallies all the way down this balcony to here, but not far enough

:02:10. > :02:14.to put the Yeses in the lead, the Noes, were still in the lead.

:02:15. > :02:18.So between 5.00am and 6.00am, when South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire

:02:19. > :02:22.came in, the BBC was able to forecast the result would be No.

:02:23. > :02:26.And at 6.10am, Fife Council declared.

:02:27. > :02:30.And the Noes crossed the winning line. Fife is a big council

:02:31. > :02:35.and this took them past the winning line, the Yeses had no hope of

:02:36. > :02:42.winning and to add insult to injury, Moray and the Highlands voted No.

:02:43. > :02:47.So the final result in terms of numbers of votes, we can see now.

:02:48. > :03:02.No go past two million votes ` 2,001,926.

:03:03. > :03:07.The number of voters who rejected the idea of Scotland leaving the UK.

:03:08. > :03:20.Jeremy Vine with how the night unfolded, so that stream of No

:03:21. > :03:26.announcements saw Alex Salmond concede defeat. For the First

:03:27. > :03:33.Minister this independence campaign has gone on much longer than the two

:03:34. > :03:45.years in which the referendum was announced. Andrew Kerr reports.

:03:46. > :03:51.This young lad became a young man with a plan. Alex Salmond signed up

:03:52. > :03:54.to the Scottish National Party at St Andrew's University, a student with

:03:55. > :03:59.a keen sense of Scottish history. He became a man with a key role in

:04:00. > :04:07.Scotland's modern story. A rising star in the party, he ended up being

:04:08. > :04:16.expelled for being part of the 79 Group, a left`wing faction. It

:04:17. > :04:22.didn't take long to bounce back. Mr Salmond was on his way to

:04:23. > :04:25.Westminster. In 1988, Nigel Lawson's Budget was interrupted. I big to

:04:26. > :04:31.move that Mr Salmond be suspended from the service of the House. The

:04:32. > :04:41.stunt paved the way for a successful leadership bid in 1990. Years of

:04:42. > :04:51.managing the party then followed. Scottish politics came to the fore.

:04:52. > :04:58.Political rivals joined sides. A good result for Alex Salmond.

:04:59. > :05:02.Something is changing in Scotland. Two years later, he led the SNP into

:05:03. > :05:07.the first Scottish Parliament elections. The voters didn't buy a

:05:08. > :05:12.penny for Scotland, disappointment for the SNP. After a lacklustre

:05:13. > :05:20.time, the leader stepped down in 2000. I will miss the job. I really

:05:21. > :05:26.can't begin to explain how much I enjoy this aspect and how much I

:05:27. > :05:33.enjoy politics. It wasn't for long. The men in grey kilts came to take

:05:34. > :05:38.John Swinney away and in an Aberdeen hotel in 2004, Mr Salmond announced

:05:39. > :05:43.he was standing again. Today, I'm launching my candidacy to be the

:05:44. > :05:47.First Minister of Scotland. He had an inkling that Labour were in

:05:48. > :05:55.decline, that there would be a chance in 2007. Mr Salmond was back

:05:56. > :06:05.in the game. Alex Salmond MP ` 75.76% of the vote. There was a

:06:06. > :06:12.chance, fast forward to May 2007 and a win by one seat, Mr Salmond

:06:13. > :06:18.addressed the party faithful. I heard a rumour. I think we won the

:06:19. > :06:24.election! The trials and tribulations of being in power then

:06:25. > :06:28.followed. The release of the Lockerbie bomber caused

:06:29. > :06:33.international outrage. The national conversation that sewed the seeds of

:06:34. > :06:38.the future referendum ` Scotland liked what it saw and gave the SNP

:06:39. > :06:46.another chance in 2011. A stunning success. The crowning glory at the

:06:47. > :06:50.time for the master strategist. This is not just a victory for a single

:06:51. > :06:55.political party, it is a victory for a society of people and a nation. A

:06:56. > :07:00.majority Government meant a referendum. The Edinburgh agreement

:07:01. > :07:04.sealed the deal. London and Edinburgh would abide by the result.

:07:05. > :07:08.The very substantial gain that Scotland now has is that we have an

:07:09. > :07:15.agreed process to hold this referendum. I'm honoured to announce

:07:16. > :07:20.that on Thursday 18th September, 2014, we will hold Scotland's

:07:21. > :07:24.referendum, a historic day. The people will decide Scotland's

:07:25. > :07:28.future. A dream come true or too much too soon? Now, with the

:07:29. > :07:33.authority of his Scottish Government behind him, he campaigned hard for

:07:34. > :07:36.independence. This referendum is about the future of Scotland and the

:07:37. > :07:42.future of Scotland should be in the hands of the people of Scotland. The

:07:43. > :07:45.proverbial Marmite politician ` love him or loathe him, or respect his

:07:46. > :07:50.achievements. Little did that young man with a plan know that he would

:07:51. > :08:00.set a date of destiny for the people of Scotland.

:08:01. > :08:03.A fascinating portrait of Alex Salmond there.

:08:04. > :08:14.Let's cross over to Aberdeen, where we can speak to Joanna Gosling.

:08:15. > :08:25.Everybody that you speak to hear has a strong queue one way or the other.

:08:26. > :08:28.The turnout here was 87%. That reflects the turnout across

:08:29. > :08:32.Scotland. It is an extraordinary level of engagement. Let's take a

:08:33. > :08:42.look at one of the local papers, which does tell the story. Here in

:08:43. > :08:50.Aberdeen, the No phot was just ahead of the average No phot across the

:08:51. > :08:56.population, 60% voted No. Let's talk to two people who have strong

:08:57. > :09:04.feelings either way. Rees, you are from Glasgow. Tell us why you feel

:09:05. > :09:11.it should have been a Yes. I just felt Scotland should have been able

:09:12. > :09:21.to stand on its own two feet. The No voters one, and I will not be

:09:22. > :09:24.better. There was concern during the campaign that whatever happens it

:09:25. > :09:29.showed how divided this nation potentially was. That is correct.

:09:30. > :09:40.Hopefully, we will come together again. The majority of the vote

:09:41. > :09:46.wanted No. Hopefully we can move on from this and be a better nation

:09:47. > :09:51.together. Why did you vote No? I think the change would have been far

:09:52. > :09:56.too much. I am a proud Scot, proud to be British and I think Scotland

:09:57. > :10:01.as a nation as it is without any change, I like it. When Gordon Brown

:10:02. > :10:09.came in at the end and said the patriotically to do was to vote No,

:10:10. > :10:13.did that affect you? There was a message at certain stages that the

:10:14. > :10:19.proud Scot would say Yes. I think Gordon Brown did a fantastic job in

:10:20. > :10:22.those last couple of days, getting the message across about staying

:10:23. > :10:29.together. As a country, the UK is much stronger together. Were you

:10:30. > :10:37.thinking that your head or your heart? I just thought it would be

:10:38. > :10:44.queued for Scotland to have a change. This will change things, no

:10:45. > :10:50.matter what. It will change the country as a whole. I think it would

:10:51. > :10:54.have been better if Scotland got it, but it didn't and that is it.

:10:55. > :11:00.Hopefully, we can move on and both sides can come together to see

:11:01. > :11:05.Scotland stand up and be counted. You are a young voter. In terms of

:11:06. > :11:18.engaging year in politics, what has the effect been? I didn't really

:11:19. > :11:22.bother about politics up until now. It just shows you how big this was

:11:23. > :11:28.to the whole of Scotland, how much it meant to the people. What will

:11:29. > :11:35.friends and family be talking about now? Has been the subject of

:11:36. > :11:41.discussion? Friends, family, work colleagues, that divide has been

:11:42. > :11:44.interesting. Now it is over, the next thing is to figure out what

:11:45. > :11:51.happens next to make the changes that are required to give the extra

:11:52. > :11:57.powers to Scotland. Thank you both very much. Everybody that you talk

:11:58. > :12:05.to here has a strong feeling. 55% voted No.

:12:06. > :12:12.The ramifications are enormous for the entire country. Let's head to

:12:13. > :12:17.Westminster. Good afternoon, Matthew.

:12:18. > :12:22.As soon as the result came in, the question turned to what next? The

:12:23. > :12:26.Prime Minister was quick to fill that gap. He was in Downing Street

:12:27. > :12:30.early this morning talking about laying out a fair settlement for

:12:31. > :12:35.people in Scotland and a fairer settlement for the rest of the UK.

:12:36. > :12:42.That is crucial because it involves huge constitutional change. Let's

:12:43. > :12:47.talk to Liam Fox. You said already today that change is unavoidable.

:12:48. > :12:54.What change do you foresee? There are three elements. First, what

:12:55. > :12:58.powers will be devolved additionally the Scotland? You have a debate

:12:59. > :13:04.about whether just the Housing Benefit orders go right away up to

:13:05. > :13:09.immigration policy? The second question is, how do we deal with the

:13:10. > :13:14.English question? It is clear that you can't get the settlement for

:13:15. > :13:19.Scotland that doesn't deal with the English question. It is outrageous

:13:20. > :13:23.that you have Scottish MPs who can vote on health and education in

:13:24. > :13:27.their own constituencies, but they can in any other English

:13:28. > :13:39.constituency. The third is what will the financial settlement be like.

:13:40. > :13:45.You spoke about... Do you share the concerns that you heard earlier

:13:46. > :13:49.expressed by Owen Patterson, he was talking about rash promises being

:13:50. > :13:53.made in the final days that undermine the union? I spoke to a

:13:54. > :13:58.number of voters in Glasgow yesterday who said that they would

:13:59. > :14:03.have voted for independence except that the offer had been made that

:14:04. > :14:08.offered them greater devolution. I would guess we will find out from

:14:09. > :14:13.the political academics exactly what that influence was. Whatever it is,

:14:14. > :14:18.that is what the position is that we find ourselves in now. What powers

:14:19. > :14:24.will now be devolved and how does it best fit in the wider settlement? We

:14:25. > :14:29.are now talking for the first time properly about a UK wide

:14:30. > :14:34.settlement. The previous devolution settlement was lopsided. It gave

:14:35. > :14:38.Scotland changes at the expense of England but the English question was

:14:39. > :14:46.never really dealt with by politicians. There is this Barnett

:14:47. > :14:50.formula that allocates funding, it is about ?1600 more per head in

:14:51. > :14:52.Scotland than it is in England. There is some unhappiness expressed

:14:53. > :14:58.that the three leaders lock themselves into that. Does it need

:14:59. > :15:03.to be looked at again? There is the block grant, then there is the

:15:04. > :15:06.Barnett formula. It does get very complicated. I think we need to look

:15:07. > :15:18.at funding across the United Kingdom. I think we need to look at

:15:19. > :15:23.Battersea hire deals with genuine social deprivation. I don't mind if

:15:24. > :15:26.Scotland gets more money if it is on the basis of need. What my

:15:27. > :15:32.colleagues object to is that money is given on the basis of

:15:33. > :15:37.nationality, irrespective of need. If he can get a better way of

:15:38. > :15:42.distributing money across the better fits the picture of need, that would

:15:43. > :15:46.be an advantage. Coming back to the constitutional changes and the rest

:15:47. > :15:52.of the UK, how difficult will it be to get cross`party agreement and

:15:53. > :15:59.what happens if that is not what is arrived at by February, which is

:16:00. > :16:04.incredibly quick? The Prime Minister wants to give those powers to

:16:05. > :16:10.Scotland and make progress on the rest of the UK, as well. If the

:16:11. > :16:13.other parties decide to stop progress over party political

:16:14. > :16:31.reasons, I think that would be quite obvious. Is their self`interest from

:16:32. > :16:36.the Conservatives about the amount of Labour MPs? It may be to the

:16:37. > :16:40.advantage of the Conservatives, but that is what will need to happen.

:16:41. > :16:47.The Labour Party seem to want to maintain a position just so that

:16:48. > :16:53.they can get electoral advantage. Can I press you slightly on that, if

:16:54. > :16:56.you can't get agreement by February, doesn't mean the various changes for

:16:57. > :17:04.Scotland that have been promised across`the`board grind to a halt? I

:17:05. > :17:09.think that we need to simply say to everybody involved, everybody will

:17:10. > :17:15.have to give and take on this. If we do want to get crossed UK

:17:16. > :17:19.settlements, then everybody will have to be reasonable and fair.

:17:20. > :17:24.Ultimately, the electorate will be able to judge if they believe that

:17:25. > :17:29.politicians have acted in the national interest or not. Liam Fox,

:17:30. > :17:36.thank you for taking time to speak to us. Plenty of reaction raging

:17:37. > :17:41.around Westminster, but this is a campaign that has been fought in

:17:42. > :17:47.Scotland's, here in Westminster, and also online. Anita McVeigh has been

:17:48. > :17:55.looking at what has been going on over social media.

:17:56. > :18:07.At its peak, the hash tag about the independence referendum was

:18:08. > :18:11.appearing ?2500 per minute. Looking at this map, you can get the sense

:18:12. > :18:17.of the spread of interest over what has been happening in Scotland. They

:18:18. > :18:20.have identified the places in the world where people have been

:18:21. > :19:19.tweeting about the referendum and the result is, of course.

:19:20. > :19:28.That of course is reflecting on the huge domestic ramifications and

:19:29. > :19:33.abroad of this vote. To keep joining in the conversation with us here.

:19:34. > :19:53.Details are below. Let us just catch up with the

:19:54. > :20:00.weather. This is the Indian summer I have been reading about!

:20:01. > :20:07.All the action is really further south, some really powerful

:20:08. > :20:11.thunderstorms. Some of us were woken up last night by the thunder and

:20:12. > :20:21.lightning. There has been some torrential rain, causing issues in

:20:22. > :20:28.some places. These storms are heading northwards, but losing some

:20:29. > :20:32.of their power. It is relatively dry further north, but cloudy. Some

:20:33. > :20:38.dampness heading into the North West of Scotland. Along the eastern

:20:39. > :20:44.coastal areas, Edinburgh included, it is grey and murky and rather

:20:45. > :20:50.cool. In the South, we will see the showers get going again, with some

:20:51. > :20:55.thunderstorms, as a result of the high temperatures. That is a recipe

:20:56. > :20:59.for thunderstorms breaking out, as they will to impart some southern

:21:00. > :21:05.England, and they could turn quite nasty as we head into the night in

:21:06. > :21:16.the southern counties, and eastern England. It will be Maggie and humid

:21:17. > :21:18.in the south. In the far north`west of Scotland, temperatures would dip

:21:19. > :21:24.down to single figures under clearing skies. Tomorrow, welcome

:21:25. > :21:30.sunshine for Scotland and Northern Ireland. For England and we are, a

:21:31. > :21:41.cloudy start. The overnight storms will hang on for a time. They will

:21:42. > :21:47.not be as potent as they have been. The North.

:21:48. > :21:55.As this front pushes its way southwards, if introduces much

:21:56. > :22:00.clearer air. The sun will come out and that will make all the

:22:01. > :22:05.difference. A much, much better second`half of the weekend. The

:22:06. > :22:11.high`pressure hills in and it will be a nice day on Sunday, showers

:22:12. > :22:15.very isolated. All of us will be dry with some sunshine. Temperature is

:22:16. > :22:21.not as high as they have been in the South, about where we should be at

:22:22. > :22:25.this time of year. The sun up this weekend, the showers will ease, the

:22:26. > :22:26.cloud will lift and it will turn fresher and we will see some

:22:27. > :23:19.sunshine by Sunday. Scotland stays:

:23:20. > :23:21.its voters say no to independence and choose to remain part

:23:22. > :23:25.of the United Kingdom. The margin of victory is wider than

:23:26. > :23:27.some had predicted ` 55% of voters rejected independence.

:23:28. > :23:32.David Cameron is delighted. We now have a chance,

:23:33. > :23:37.a great opportunity, to change the way the British people are governed

:23:38. > :23:43.and change it for the better. Disappointment in the yes camp,

:23:44. > :23:46.but Alex Salmond says he accepts The Unionist parties made vows

:23:47. > :23:53.late in the campaign Scotland will expect these

:23:54. > :24:02.to be honoured. I'm Gavin Esler in Holyrood on the

:24:03. > :24:08.day Scotland decided its destiny. As Scotland now looks to the future,

:24:09. > :24:19.we'll have all the reaction to I am live in Westminster for more

:24:20. > :24:20.reaction and analysis from politicians of all shades throughout

:24:21. > :24:21.this afternoon. As Scotland now looks to the future,

:24:22. > :24:24.we'll have all the reaction to the referendum result and what it

:24:25. > :24:50.means for the UK as a whole. Hello and welcome to the Holyrood

:24:51. > :24:52.parliament here in Edinburgh. The people of Scotland have spoken,

:24:53. > :24:55.and the answer is no. By a wider margin than many people

:24:56. > :24:58.had predicted, Scotland has voted to Early this morning, the head

:24:59. > :25:01.of the Yes campaign, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond,

:25:02. > :25:04.admitted defeat, calling on all David Cameron says the debate is now

:25:05. > :25:09.settled for a generation, but has promised a new and fair devolution

:25:10. > :25:12.settlement for all parts of the UK. With all councils now declared,

:25:13. > :25:17.the No campaign took 55% of the More than 3.5 million people

:25:18. > :25:28.voted on this historic occasion. Only four council areas voted yes,

:25:29. > :25:32.though that included Scotland's largest city Glasgow,

:25:33. > :25:35.and a Yes win in Dundee. 28 council areas voted no `

:25:36. > :25:39.here are some of them, including Edinburgh, Fife and Alex Salmond's

:25:40. > :25:42.own constituency of Aberdeenshire. This afternoon, we'll have all the

:25:43. > :25:45.reaction to the referendum results and will discuss the political

:25:46. > :25:48.consequences here in Scotland and in the rest of the UK, where there are

:25:49. > :25:52.now calls for more power to be given by Westminster to other parts

:25:53. > :25:57.of the country. Our first report is from our Political Correspondent

:25:58. > :26:10.Iain Watson on the results. This is the moment it became

:26:11. > :26:17.official. Scotland had said no to independence. Yes ` the number of

:26:18. > :26:30.votes, 1 million, 617th thousand 989. No, the number of votes, 2

:26:31. > :26:34.million, 1926. Even before the final result was formally declared, it had

:26:35. > :26:40.become obvious on Alex Salmond's face. But the referendum wasn't just

:26:41. > :26:44.about the politicians. Millions of people had invested their hopes,

:26:45. > :26:48.dreams, fears and nightmares, in a campaign which had become intense

:26:49. > :26:54.over the past two weeks, and had lasted for the past two years.

:26:55. > :26:58.Somewhere it later, that is appointed, many, quite simply

:26:59. > :27:02.exhausted. Whatever his heartfelt, Alex Salmond put a brave face on the

:27:03. > :27:06.result when he arrived in the Scottish capital. Thank you to

:27:07. > :27:12.Scotland for 1.6 million votes for Scottish independence. But he told

:27:13. > :27:17.his supporters to reconcile themselves to defeat. Accent that

:27:18. > :27:21.verdict of the people, and I call on all of Scotland to follow suit in

:27:22. > :27:27.accepting the Democratic verdict of the people of Scotland.

:27:28. > :27:32.When he became Scotland's first ever First Minister 15 years ago, the

:27:33. > :27:35.late Donald Dewar believed a devolved Scottish parliament would

:27:36. > :27:40.consign the SNP's ambitions to history. It did not quite work out

:27:41. > :27:44.like that. Four out of ten voters here in Scotland have voted for

:27:45. > :27:47.independence. But senior figures in today's Labour Party are stressing

:27:48. > :27:53.that a No vote doesn't mean no change. The leader of the Better

:27:54. > :27:57.Together campaign said he would listen to the campaigns of those who

:27:58. > :28:02.haven't voted for him. As we celebrate, let us also listen. More

:28:03. > :28:07.than 85% of the Scottish population has voted, people who were

:28:08. > :28:13.disengaged from politics have turned out in large numbers. And the Prime

:28:14. > :28:16.Minister promised more devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern

:28:17. > :28:20.Ireland, and make clear he felt the question of independence had been

:28:21. > :28:24.decisively answered. Now, the debate has been settled for a generation.

:28:25. > :28:31.Or, as Alex Salmond has said, perhaps for a lifetime. So there can

:28:32. > :28:35.be no disputes, no reruns, we have heard the settled will of the

:28:36. > :28:39.Scottish people. The first result set the tone of the night. The Yes

:28:40. > :28:43.campaign had been hoping for success in Clackmannanshire in Central

:28:44. > :28:55.Scotland, but the majority of voters he rejected independence. No call on

:28:56. > :28:57.19,000... 19,036. The Yes campaigners were given a boost,

:28:58. > :29:05.which seemed became a consolation prize. Most voters in Scotland's

:29:06. > :29:07.biggest city, Glasgow, opted for an independent Scotland. Jaaskelainen

:29:08. > :29:27.194,000. No: 169,300 and 47. They shouted yes, but they have

:29:28. > :29:30.spent the campaign saying no. At the celebrations, it became clear most

:29:31. > :29:35.voters had embraced the union, and decided to keep the UK United.

:29:36. > :29:40.I am joined by John Swinney, Scotland's finance minister. The

:29:41. > :29:44.miseries and is from your point of view and the result. You fought a

:29:45. > :29:49.heck of a campaign. I you proud? Yell No very much so. Looking at

:29:50. > :29:53.this even a few weeks back, we were over 20 points adrift in the opinion

:29:54. > :29:59.polls. We got them very, very close. We got one opinion poll to

:30:00. > :30:03.51`49 in our favour, with the settling on 52`48. Ultimately, we

:30:04. > :30:09.got a result which I think we can be proud of. We got 1.6 million

:30:10. > :30:12.citizens to vote positively for independence to secure Scotland's

:30:13. > :30:16.huge in Scotland's hands. It wasn't enough to get us over the line, I

:30:17. > :30:19.readily accept, and I was a disappointment indeed. But it was a

:30:20. > :30:22.triumph of democracy, because so many of our people voted yesterday,

:30:23. > :30:26.and that isn't good to celebrate. Can we took a bit about where we go

:30:27. > :30:29.from here? The Prime Minister has said this is the settled will of the

:30:30. > :30:32.Scottish people, at least for a generation or many years. View may

:30:33. > :30:35.dispute that, but that is what David Cameron said. To what extent are you

:30:36. > :30:42.going to be part of the discussions at a party, as to where devolution

:30:43. > :30:45.moves now? We have made it quite clear this morning in response to

:30:46. > :30:48.what the Prime Minister has said that the Scottish Government and SNP

:30:49. > :30:53.will be participants in the process of securing those additional powers.

:30:54. > :30:56.That is important, because we had a referendum yesterday which engaged

:30:57. > :31:01.the public enormously and, although we got 1.6 million voters, we did

:31:02. > :31:05.not get enough to win. 2 million voters voted for no, but they voted

:31:06. > :31:12.for additional powers, because that was what was offered by the other UK

:31:13. > :31:19.parties. Devo max, or some definition of that? They voted for

:31:20. > :31:22.some new powers, that was promised to the voters of Scotland. I spoke

:31:23. > :31:27.to people in the latter stages of the campaign who were thinking of

:31:28. > :31:30.voting Yes, but they opted to clearly vote No in the referendum to

:31:31. > :31:34.secure those additional powers, so it is absolutely vital for everybody

:31:35. > :31:39.involved, those who voted Yes and those who voted No, that we secure

:31:40. > :31:43.those powers, and crucially, we secure those powers as they were

:31:44. > :31:46.promised, as a swift, speedy transfer of responsibilities, which

:31:47. > :31:50.is exactly the basis on which they were promised by the other parties.

:31:51. > :31:53.Willie Scottish National Party play a constructive part in the

:31:54. > :31:57.discussions, or will you sit back and hear what Westminster have to

:31:58. > :32:03.say, and say that is good enough not enough? We have welcomed the point

:32:04. > :32:08.of Roberts `` the appointment of Robert Smith. We know him well, and

:32:09. > :32:10.we invited him to chair the Commonwealth Games organisation

:32:11. > :32:14.committee, at which he did a fabulous job. We know him well, and

:32:15. > :32:19.we're happy to participate in the process. I stress that the

:32:20. > :32:22.importance of this is to satisfy the aspirations of both sides of the

:32:23. > :32:27.debate, and this is a day where we should be moving together, we should

:32:28. > :32:32.be moving on from the referendum and recognising that we have all voted

:32:33. > :32:35.to strengthen our Parliament just behind us here, and to strengthen

:32:36. > :32:39.that with significant powers that could tackle the issues that people

:32:40. > :32:41.were concerned about in the referendum.

:32:42. > :32:46.Do you have any sense that Alex Salmond is contemplating his future,

:32:47. > :32:50.that he might think now is the time, perhaps, to move on? Alex Salmond

:32:51. > :32:52.has been at the heart of building the Scottish National Party to what

:32:53. > :32:57.it is today, the force of government in Scotland.

:32:58. > :33:00.We have another 18 months of our mandate from the people of Scotland

:33:01. > :33:04.to undertake in this term, and Alex has been at the heart of that, and I

:33:05. > :33:07.think you will be at the heart of it moving forward. He also has under

:33:08. > :33:12.his belt significant achievements. There were times in my political

:33:13. > :33:16.life where I think we would have stretched it if we thought we could

:33:17. > :33:19.get 1.6 million people to both independence, and we did that

:33:20. > :33:23.yesterday, and Alex Salmond at that. Thank you much for joining us.

:33:24. > :33:25.Well, as we said, more than 3.5 million people voted.

:33:26. > :33:28.An unprecedented turnout of just under 85 percent, the highest

:33:29. > :33:31.So how are the people of Scotland feeling today?

:33:32. > :33:34.Our Scotland correspondent James Cook has been out and

:33:35. > :33:45.A grey dawn of Edinburgh, a black day for supporters of independence.

:33:46. > :33:49.They had come here for a victory party, but it's never got started,

:33:50. > :33:54.and instead, results from across the country left them in despair,

:33:55. > :33:59.dismay, and disbelief. Scotland has thrown away a real opportunity here.

:34:00. > :34:02.A chance in a lifetime, and they've thrown it away. I don't think people

:34:03. > :34:07.have thought this through. I think they have just been scared by Better

:34:08. > :34:10.Together's scares, and haven't seen the opportunity. I don't know when

:34:11. > :34:13.we are going to get the next gen. This is a really bad day for

:34:14. > :34:16.Scotland. Through the tears, there is anger

:34:17. > :34:21.here as well, with many blaming the media, in particular, the BBC, for

:34:22. > :34:24.the result. It was always one`sided. How can

:34:25. > :34:28.people possibly make up their mind if they only get one side of the

:34:29. > :34:32.story? It is disgusting. I am absolutely disgusted with the

:34:33. > :34:35.British state and the media. Absolutely disgusted. Their

:34:36. > :34:38.opponents dismay is overdone, suggesting that Scotland will now

:34:39. > :34:43.have the best of both worlds, more for Edinburgh within the United

:34:44. > :34:47.Kingdom. I think delight and relief will stop I stayed up all night, or

:34:48. > :34:50.at least till three o'clock in the morning to watch. It was very

:34:51. > :34:55.exciting, but there were obviously issues we have to sort out, and

:34:56. > :34:58.hopefully we can work together. Even Alex Salmond is probably secretly

:34:59. > :35:02.quite happy that he is getting all these powers. So, a good result all

:35:03. > :35:05.round, I think. This result has opened wounds which

:35:06. > :35:09.will take time to heal, and while one question has been answered,

:35:10. > :35:11.another remains. What is the settled will of the people in this restless,

:35:12. > :35:22.divided Scotland? And that is, is a good question bash

:35:23. > :35:25.what is the settled will of the people of Scotland? Our assistant

:35:26. > :35:31.political editor is in Glasgow, perhaps with some answers. Norman.

:35:32. > :35:34.Thank you very much. Life is pretty much returning to normal here in

:35:35. > :35:38.Glasgow. I guess people paying heed to the message that they've got to

:35:39. > :35:42.move on, they've got to put the sort of bitterness of the campaign behind

:35:43. > :35:47.them, but this is a city that voted Yes, one of the few places in

:35:48. > :35:51.Scotland. I have corralled some of those who took part in the vote,

:35:52. > :35:56.Craig, Julianne and Adam. Craig, what did you vote, and what is your

:35:57. > :36:01.take on the outcome? I voted Yes, and I'm be is the disappointed with

:36:02. > :36:05.the outcome, but I'm optimistic now that Westminster will deliver on its

:36:06. > :36:09.about, and we will get more powers. And is this really settled for a

:36:10. > :36:12.generation? I think this really depends on what happens next with

:36:13. > :36:16.Westminster. I think if they deliver on the bow, it will be settled, and

:36:17. > :36:21.if not, I think we will be back doing this again in pretty short

:36:22. > :36:26.order. Why did you do and why? I voted No, and that was because I

:36:27. > :36:30.believe in Scottish and British. My dad is American, and I have family

:36:31. > :36:35.everywhere, and I think that I didn't want to be separated from

:36:36. > :36:38.them. United we stand, divided we fall, that type of thing, so I think

:36:39. > :36:42.I made the right decision, and I'm happy with that. We've surprised

:36:43. > :36:45.with the scale of the win, because all the polls seem to suggest it was

:36:46. > :36:50.going to be really close. In the end, it wasn't so close. That's the

:36:51. > :36:53.thing, when I was looking a few days ago at the YouGov polls, I was

:36:54. > :36:58.pretty scared in case yes work going to get it, and then there was a

:36:59. > :37:02.miraculous turnaround, which is good in my favour, obviously, and a lot

:37:03. > :37:07.of others. I think it is a great thing. Adam, what did you do, and

:37:08. > :37:10.took me through your thinking. I voted Yes, said that because I

:37:11. > :37:13.believe that this country could do a heck of a lot more if the powers

:37:14. > :37:20.belong to the people that vote here. In 2010, the SNP won a

:37:21. > :37:24.landslide. I was too young to vote. People were happy up and down the

:37:25. > :37:30.country. Even in this referendum, so many people have said to themselves

:37:31. > :37:34.that they like this government, they are just not fully ready for it. I

:37:35. > :37:38.believe the moment, this country can do anything with independence. Let

:37:39. > :37:41.me ask you the question I asked great. The fingers is still

:37:42. > :37:46.something to be resolved? Vertically, I think it will not

:37:47. > :37:50.happen again for another 20, 30 years, but if you ask anyone in the

:37:51. > :37:54.street, this is not settle for a long time. You will probably see,

:37:55. > :37:57.George Square is jumping with people celebrating around it, so I think it

:37:58. > :38:04.is going to take a couple of years to settle people politically. ``

:38:05. > :38:08.politically, I think it's a subtle. Thank you for your views. The views

:38:09. > :38:10.of some people in Glasgow. You get the sense that there was some

:38:11. > :38:15.bitterness in the campaign, but my sense is there is a view now that

:38:16. > :38:18.that does happen to be set to one side, and people, whatever their

:38:19. > :38:25.views, by and large are getting on with life and moving on.

:38:26. > :38:31.If it had been yes, the business of dividing the UK would have started

:38:32. > :38:35.this morning, with Scotland taking full powers over tax, pensions,

:38:36. > :38:42.public borrowing, international relations, defence and intelligence.

:38:43. > :38:46.Scotland could even have changed its own time zone.

:38:47. > :38:52.And most of the powers that were to be assumed by Holyrood for the time

:38:53. > :38:57.What it doesn't mean, though, is a return to the status quo.

:38:58. > :39:00.In the final weeks of the campaign, Better Together promised substantial

:39:01. > :39:06.change, and the SNP will certainly hold them to that commitment.

:39:07. > :39:10.So, here are two powers which look set to be further

:39:11. > :39:14.At the moment, the Scottish government can vary the level

:39:15. > :39:19.of income tax by up to 3p, though it has never used these powers.

:39:20. > :39:22.And under the 2012 Scotland Act, they'll have further scope to

:39:23. > :39:27.But faced with the threat of independence,

:39:28. > :39:31.the three main Westminster parties agreed to go even further.

:39:32. > :39:34.The Tories and the Lib Dems want to give Holyrood complete control

:39:35. > :39:38.in the setting of personal income`tax rates, with negotiations

:39:39. > :39:45.We might also see more powers over VAT, on air`transport duty,

:39:46. > :39:51.perhaps also the power to change inheritance tax and capital gains.

:39:52. > :39:56.What about that other power, over here, Social Security and benefits?

:39:57. > :39:59.Labour would like to fully devolve housing`benefits policy,

:40:00. > :40:03.Alex Salmond promised that with independence

:40:04. > :40:06.the Scottish government would scrap the so`called bedroom tax, and that

:40:07. > :40:11.may still be the case, if the Scottish government can fund it.

:40:12. > :40:14.Nicola Sturgeon said this morning they want more on welfare,

:40:15. > :40:20.So it seems likely they will push for more than has

:40:21. > :40:25.So, when is all this going to happen?

:40:26. > :40:27.We can show you Gordon Brown's timeline here.

:40:28. > :40:35.Negotiation through October, a white paper by the end of November.

:40:36. > :40:40.Draft legislation appearing here, somewhere near the end of January.

:40:41. > :40:43.A second reading of the bill before the end of this Parliament,

:40:44. > :40:47.which does look a tight deadline in mind of the dissent now brewing

:40:48. > :40:52.Some Tory backbenchers want a federal UK,

:40:53. > :41:00.The beginnings of what could be a huge constitutional wrangle.

:41:01. > :41:02.And, let me leave you with one last thought.

:41:03. > :41:06.It's this date at the end of the timeline, 2017, and the Tories'

:41:07. > :41:12.What happens if the UK votes to leave?

:41:13. > :41:15.The pro`Europe lobby in Scotland says that would renew calls for

:41:16. > :41:21.In other words, the union might look the same right

:41:22. > :41:38.Indeed it is. A lot of the action will continue to

:41:39. > :41:43.be here in Edinburgh, but there is plenty going on in Westminster, the

:41:44. > :41:49.leaders of the three big parties try to figure out the way ahead.

:41:50. > :41:55.It has been a busy day from just after 7am, when the Prime Minister

:41:56. > :42:01.was addressing the media. We will speak to Sadiq Khan in a moment, but

:42:02. > :42:10.first, Boris Johnson. What do you make of the result? I am absolutely

:42:11. > :42:16.thrilled that the country I grew up in is entire and intact. This

:42:17. > :42:19.morning and this afternoon, it is wonderful, because there was a time

:42:20. > :42:25.it looked like it might be a lot closer than it turned out to be.

:42:26. > :42:29.What we need to do now is everybody to call off, simmer down, and then

:42:30. > :42:35.try to sort out some of these promises that have been made to

:42:36. > :42:40.Scotland, but in a way that is totally fair to England, London and

:42:41. > :42:45.the rest of the country. I am sure that can be done, but what you

:42:46. > :42:50.cannot do... It is interesting you say we need to simmer down first.

:42:51. > :42:53.Peter Hennesey said the same thing, and his fear was that we were

:42:54. > :42:59.rushing straight into the next stage. The constitution needs an

:43:00. > :43:07.element of calmness and planning. Do you think there is too much of a

:43:08. > :43:10.rush? The timetable does not need to be unnecessarily protracted, the

:43:11. > :43:18.issues are clear, there is no time like the present if you are going to

:43:19. > :43:24.make good on the promises. But what you cannot do, I think, is come up

:43:25. > :43:30.with a solution that has loads of Scottish MPs hanging around, still

:43:31. > :43:34.nominally representing Scotland, but not able to vote on any matters that

:43:35. > :43:40.affect Scotland, but only on things that affect England, which is not

:43:41. > :43:44.there area of representation. That is a problem that has to be sorted

:43:45. > :43:48.out, and my feeling is that the Labour Party is running away from

:43:49. > :43:51.trying to address that, because they know it would have bad consequences

:43:52. > :44:00.for their representation in Westminster. They are trying to kick

:44:01. > :44:04.this off. That will not work. He said there was a reckoning to be

:44:05. > :44:11.had, is that the reckoning you are talking about, exactly that question

:44:12. > :44:17.you raise? That is right, we need to work out how to make sense of the

:44:18. > :44:21.promises that have been made to the Scots, the financial promises, the

:44:22. > :44:25.perpetuation of the Barnett formula, in such a way that does not

:44:26. > :44:28.disadvantage the rest of the country, and that does not make a

:44:29. > :44:33.nonsense of democracy at Westminster. I am not necessarily

:44:34. > :44:38.saying it cannot be done, but we need to do it in a careful way. The

:44:39. > :44:44.difficulty, though, and it is obvious, because politicians have

:44:45. > :44:48.grappled with this problem, the Prime Minister has linked the two

:44:49. > :44:54.things very much together, more powers for the Scottish Parliament,

:44:55. > :44:59.and some sort of agreement about what happens in the rest of the UK.

:45:00. > :45:07.Is that sensible? What happens if they can't get agreement on the

:45:08. > :45:10.second part? If they cannot get agreement on the second part, I

:45:11. > :45:14.assumed the first part does not proceed either. What the Prime

:45:15. > :45:23.Minister said is that the two things go together. That is right. The

:45:24. > :45:27.Barnett formula is all very well, but even Lord Barnett himself said

:45:28. > :45:32.it was no longer equitable that he would want it `` no longer

:45:33. > :45:38.equitable, he would want it changed.

:45:39. > :45:49.This needs looking at. It is interesting what you said at the

:45:50. > :45:52.start of the answer. You said the first part will not go ahead if the

:45:53. > :45:56.second part does not, because that is what Alex Salmond had said

:45:57. > :45:59.towards the tail end of the campaign, after these extra powers

:46:00. > :46:07.were talked about, that it will simply never happen. You are saying

:46:08. > :46:10.potentially the same thing. I think that the Prime Minister was right in

:46:11. > :46:18.what he said this morning, which is that the two things have to go in

:46:19. > :46:23.tandem. You cannot have further devolution, further awards of

:46:24. > :46:30.powers, fiscal devolution to Scotland, without looking at the

:46:31. > :46:33.implications of that for our Parliament at Westminster. You

:46:34. > :46:42.cannot have Scottish MPs sitting in judgement over budgets for England

:46:43. > :46:48.when they no longer... When budgetary questions have been wholly

:46:49. > :46:53.devolved to Scotland. We will leave it there.

:46:54. > :47:01.Let's pick up with that fundamental point that we heard from the London

:47:02. > :47:06.mayor with Sadiq Khan. Boris Johnson saying two or three times in that

:47:07. > :47:10.interview that, fundamentally, that has to be addressed, the Scottish

:47:11. > :47:14.MPs who would effectively be making decisions about English matters. The

:47:15. > :47:25.three leaders of the mainstream parties before the referendum agreed

:47:26. > :47:30.on the devo max options. Within an hour of the results being officially

:47:31. > :47:32.announced, the Prime Minister gave a petty and partisan response without

:47:33. > :47:37.consulting the other party leaders,... It is the elite again

:47:38. > :47:42.imposing on the public their solutions to the challenges raised

:47:43. > :47:47.by the public. The campaign in Scotland has been fantastic,

:47:48. > :47:51.infectious, record turnout, and we are in danger of learning the wrong

:47:52. > :47:56.lessons from David Cameron and Boris Johnson. You would have a situation

:47:57. > :48:02.where more powers were given to Scotland, the Scottish Parliament,

:48:03. > :48:05.and no change to what happens here in England, and you think that is

:48:06. > :48:12.fair? That is not what I am saying. We need to devolve power to England

:48:13. > :48:18.and change the way this place works. There is anti`Westminster mood all

:48:19. > :48:24.around the UK. That means a people's convention, where people

:48:25. > :48:26.lead, and we need to start now. We need to make sure more powers

:48:27. > :48:32.devolved to cities and regions in England. We need to change the way

:48:33. > :48:42.Westminster works, including the second chamber, including codified

:48:43. > :48:47.in `` prettifying the constitution. You talk in generalities there.

:48:48. > :48:53.Let's turn to the specifics of the question, the West Lothian question,

:48:54. > :48:57.that has been raised here, the focus is on it, what are you saying should

:48:58. > :49:02.be done? You need to keep the integrity of the UK. That means

:49:03. > :49:05.looking at how we devolve more powers to English MPs, English

:49:06. > :49:10.regions, town halls, cities and other parts of England. Also in

:49:11. > :49:15.Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland, there is demand for more

:49:16. > :49:19.powers, more responsibility, budgets, accountability. I wonder if

:49:20. > :49:24.you have sidestepped this, because it would be difficult for you to

:49:25. > :49:28.Govan if you won a general election when 41 of the MPs from Scotland

:49:29. > :49:34.were not allowed to take part in a vote on English decisions. I wonder

:49:35. > :49:40.if that is the root cause of your resistance. The decision of the

:49:41. > :49:46.promise to Scotland was made by the leaders of the work done by the

:49:47. > :49:53.three main parties. Within an hour of the results being officially

:49:54. > :50:00.announced, David Cameron announced a fait accompli,... Frank Field said

:50:01. > :50:04.earlier, unless the leadership changed its position, you were in

:50:05. > :50:10.danger of losing a lot of seats at the general election. What he wants

:50:11. > :50:15.to do is to see a leader of a political party being consensual,

:50:16. > :50:21.getting people involved, learning the right lessons about the

:50:22. > :50:26.disillusionment around the country. Trade unions, faith groups, citizens

:50:27. > :50:33.signing a constitution, rather than elite politicians in Westminster.

:50:34. > :50:41.First Boris Johnson, density can't, what chance they will get some sort

:50:42. > :50:46.of agreement on the constitutional matters for the rest of the UK by

:50:47. > :50:51.the February timeline that the Prime Minister outlined? Listening to

:50:52. > :50:55.that, you have to think this does not bode well for that kind of

:50:56. > :50:59.timetable, the kind of ambitious proposals they are trying to get to

:51:00. > :51:02.the bottom of. We have gone rapidly from the three main Westminster

:51:03. > :51:09.parties working together towards the no vote, and they are now bickering

:51:10. > :51:13.and fighting over what happens next. We have no agreement yet across the

:51:14. > :51:19.parties. Firstly about what powers the Scottish parliament will get, we

:51:20. > :51:22.have proposals from Gordon Brown, which has infuriated English

:51:23. > :51:26.Conservatives, who say they have not even been consulted over any of

:51:27. > :51:31.this, these generous promises, they have not been asked about them, and

:51:32. > :51:37.it has left England in a poor position. David Cameron is mindful,

:51:38. > :51:40.he has got UKIP snapping at his heels, he and Nigel Farage will be

:51:41. > :51:44.fighting to prove they are the voice of England in the coming month. No

:51:45. > :51:49.agreement about how English devolution might look. We know that

:51:50. > :51:52.the Labour Party are looking at devolution to the cities, the

:51:53. > :51:56.Liberal Democrats might look at regional government. They seem to be

:51:57. > :51:59.ruling out an English parliament, but then we have talked of English

:52:00. > :52:06.days in the parliament here at Westminster. No agreement. Sadiq

:52:07. > :52:11.Khan throwing in the House of Lords, as if they do not have enough on

:52:12. > :52:14.their plate, wrestling with the West Lothian question, which has been

:52:15. > :52:21.rumbling around for decades. The idea that this could be sorted out

:52:22. > :52:26.by Burns night seems farcical. Plenty more from me in the coming

:52:27. > :52:32.minute. Welcome back, if you have just

:52:33. > :52:38.joined us, to Hollywood. When we talked during the campaign, there

:52:39. > :52:39.was a point when it seemed as if the tide was flowing in the way of the

:52:40. > :52:49.yes campaign. What turned it back? I think a couple of things. One was

:52:50. > :52:53.the alarm created not just among the politicians but among the public

:52:54. > :53:01.that this might just happen, and that created a chance for people to

:53:02. > :53:04.reconsider the decision perhaps devote Yes. I think the second part

:53:05. > :53:09.was when all the companies with no axe to grind, the markets as well,

:53:10. > :53:12.they reacted, and you can see on your screens the visual

:53:13. > :53:16.representation of the reaction to the polls, so the combination of

:53:17. > :53:21.those two things I think just forced people to stand upright and

:53:22. > :53:25.reconsider their decision. Where do you go from here? There is a very

:53:26. > :53:29.ambitious timetable, and it is against the backdrop of the May 2015

:53:30. > :53:33.general election as well, so the politics don't just suddenly stops

:53:34. > :53:37.the arty leaders can get together. What is actually doable, do you

:53:38. > :53:41.think? I think we aren't a unique position. We have got all political

:53:42. > :53:46.parties in Scotland, for the first time in the same room. I think that,

:53:47. > :53:49.combined with the creative energy from this referendum will allow us

:53:50. > :53:54.to come up with really good solutions. We have to meet technical

:53:55. > :53:57.work, for myself, I asked Ming Campbell to write a report three

:53:58. > :54:01.years ago, published two years ago. Labour and the Tories have done the

:54:02. > :54:04.same, and I'm sure the SNP have been doing work inside government about

:54:05. > :54:08.what is feasible and practical. I think that technical work having

:54:09. > :54:11.been done, we can quickly move to the political solution that is

:54:12. > :54:14.necessary in order to create a sustainable solution for Scotland.

:54:15. > :54:19.But, as you argue during this campaign, Scotland is not isolated

:54:20. > :54:23.from the rest of the United Kingdom, and there are political pressures on

:54:24. > :54:27.MPs up and down England, including some from UKIP, people who wants to

:54:28. > :54:31.be MPs. So the idea that perhaps you're going to solve the West

:54:32. > :54:34.Lothian question, you're going to figure out what Scottish MPs' role

:54:35. > :54:38.that Westminster, and so on, in a few months, is going to be very

:54:39. > :54:41.tricky, and perhaps impossible? I think this is fantastic, that there

:54:42. > :54:44.is no doubt that Britain will never be the same again. We're going to

:54:45. > :54:48.have ripple reverberating right across the UK. I'm hoping we can see

:54:49. > :54:52.that federal solution that the Liberal Democrats have argued for

:54:53. > :54:55.four long time, and Gordon Brown, and even Michael Forsyth is talking

:54:56. > :54:58.about that. Who would have believed that whenever the happening? I think

:54:59. > :55:02.that shows we're going to get change. The real difference here is,

:55:03. > :55:05.you don't have to do everything at exact with the same time. We can go

:55:06. > :55:08.at our own pace when we are ready. Scotland is ready to move forward.

:55:09. > :55:11.The discussion has been started, triggered by this referendum about

:55:12. > :55:17.all those things, all those aspects in England. We have heard from

:55:18. > :55:20.Wales. They want more as well. The creative energy created by this

:55:21. > :55:23.massive turnout, I think change Britain for good. That is a good

:55:24. > :55:27.thing. Thank you very much. As you may have

:55:28. > :55:30.noticed, the weather in Scotland are somewhat changeable, particularly at

:55:31. > :55:33.this time of year. The skies are extremely great. John Hammond will

:55:34. > :55:38.tell me whether I should put my coat back on all whether I can leave it

:55:39. > :55:42.off. John. Qubits to hand, for sure! Yes, a

:55:43. > :55:45.changeable sort of day. Even more changeable further south across the

:55:46. > :55:50.UK. We have seen some violent thunderstorms earlier on today. That

:55:51. > :55:54.clutch of storms has been moving northward through parts of Wales,

:55:55. > :56:00.the Midlands, into northern England. Potentially some more developing

:56:01. > :56:04.later on in the South. Mostly grey and cool. This evening, some nasties

:56:05. > :56:07.dons again developing across southern counties, pushing into part

:56:08. > :56:11.of the Midlands and East Anglia. And Iggy position of these blogs

:56:12. > :56:15.literally. It gives you a sense of the potential for nasty storms. Met

:56:16. > :56:18.Office warnings in place. Much cooler and fresher across parts of

:56:19. > :56:22.north`west Scotland in particular, where temperatures could dip down

:56:23. > :56:24.into single figures. A completely different day tomorrow across

:56:25. > :56:28.Scotland and Northern Ireland. It will be a nice day, some sunshine.

:56:29. > :56:31.England and Wales Cricket Board plenty of cloud around, some rain

:56:32. > :56:34.across eastern counties, and we could dip down into single figures.

:56:35. > :56:36.A completely different day tomorrow across Scotland and Northern

:56:37. > :56:38.Ireland. It will be a nice day, some sunshine. England and Wales Cricket

:56:39. > :56:41.Board plenty of cloud around, some rain across eastern counties, and

:56:42. > :56:43.because as we are going to see today. Still quite muddy in the

:56:44. > :56:46.south. Fresher in the North with some sunshine, and that fresher air

:56:47. > :56:55.will reach all of us as we go through the weekend.

:56:56. > :57:00.Hello, and good afternoon from Holyrood. This is BBC Newsline in

:57:01. > :57:09.Holyrood on the day Scotland decided. The main elements so far:

:57:10. > :57:12.Scotland's voters reject independence, choosing to remain

:57:13. > :57:17.part of the United Kingdom. The margin of victory is wider than

:57:18. > :57:23.some had predicted. 55% of voters say No. David Cameron is delighted.

:57:24. > :57:26.We now have a chance, a great opportunity, to change the way the

:57:27. > :57:32.British people are governed and change it for the better.

:57:33. > :57:36.Disappointment in the Yes camp. Alex Salmond accepts the will of the

:57:37. > :57:42.people, but will hold Westminster to its campaign pledge.

:57:43. > :57:48.Those parties made vows late in the campaign to devolve more powers to

:57:49. > :57:53.Scotland. Scotland will expect these to be honoured.

:57:54. > :57:56.As Scotland now looks to the future, we will have all the reaction to the

:57:57. > :58:03.result, and what it means for the UK as a whole.

:58:04. > :58:11.Now, for a summary of the rest of the news today, let's go to Tim.

:58:12. > :58:14.Thank you very much indeed. Forensics officers are still

:58:15. > :58:19.searching the house of the Latvian builder wanted in connection with

:58:20. > :58:23.the disappearance of 14`year`olds Alice Gross in west London. He was

:58:24. > :58:28.sentenced to seven years in 1998 for murdering his wife, and last seen a

:58:29. > :58:35.week after Alice vanished. Our Home Affairs Committee and how this.

:58:36. > :58:40.They have been searching the home of this man for five days now. He

:58:41. > :58:45.failed to return home two weeks ago, leaving his passport and phone

:58:46. > :58:51.behind. Police have recovered large objects from the flat he shared with

:58:52. > :58:55.his partner. They included a bike. He is a suspect, because on the day

:58:56. > :59:01.Alice went missing, she crossed this bridge in Brentford, West London,

:59:02. > :59:07.and 15 minutes later, so did he. He rode a red Mountain bike. Police

:59:08. > :59:13.believe that pass crossed. In 1998, he was jailed for murdering his

:59:14. > :59:18.wife, and according to reports from Latvia, carrying her body in Wood

:59:19. > :59:22.lands. He was accused, but not charged, with indecently assaulting

:59:23. > :59:26.a 14`year`old girl in 2009. He regularly cycled to a building job

:59:27. > :59:32.along the towpath where Alice went missing. As a Latvian EU citizen, he

:59:33. > :59:37.currently has the right to work here, despite his murder conviction.

:59:38. > :59:41.Only evidence he poses a serious and present risk would allow Britain to

:59:42. > :59:45.prevent his entry. But his emergence as a suspect means the investigation

:59:46. > :59:54.has entered a new phase. Continuing to search for Alice, but also

:59:55. > :59:59.searching for him across Europe. French jets have carried out their

:00:00. > :00:02.first strike against Islamic State militants in Iraq. President

:00:03. > :00:05.Hollande says planes attacked and IS depot in north`east Iraq. He said

:00:06. > :00:11.there would be more raids in the coming days. French action follows

:00:12. > :00:14.more than 170 US air strikes against the jihadist group in Iraq since

:00:15. > :00:18.mid`August. 25 suspected illegal immigrant had

:00:19. > :00:22.been found in the back of a lorry in Dover. Police in Kent say it man was

:00:23. > :00:24.arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration.

:00:25. > :00:28.Ambulance crews are still at the scene.

:00:29. > :00:34.The jocks company GlaxoSmithKline has been fined nearly ?300 million

:00:35. > :00:39.for paying out brides in China. Prosecutors in Beijing claims staff

:00:40. > :00:43.at GSK's Chinese unit systematically bribed doctors and hospital

:00:44. > :00:46.officials to use their products. The company's former head of Chinese

:00:47. > :00:50.operations Mark Reilly has been given a suspended jail sentence.

:00:51. > :00:55.Faxes neckline, which asked for the court hearing to be held in secret,

:00:56. > :00:59.says it fully access to the facts. Britain has pledged to provide 700

:01:00. > :01:03.new hospital beds in Sierra Leone to help fight Ebola. More than 2000

:01:04. > :01:07.people have died in the epidemic so far, and Sierra Leone has the gun a

:01:08. > :01:12.three`day countrywide curfew to limit its spread.

:01:13. > :01:18.UEFA has announced that Wembley Stadium will host the final of Euro

:01:19. > :01:24.2020. The London venue beat off competition from a Munich arena, the

:01:25. > :01:27.only other contender. Euro 2020 will be held in 13 cities, with Wembley

:01:28. > :01:31.also playing host to the tournament's semifinals.

:01:32. > :01:34.That is a summary of the other new so far today. Let's go back to the

:01:35. > :01:39.main story, to Edinburgh, and to Gavin.

:01:40. > :01:44.Thank you very much. Scotland has voted no to independence, and the

:01:45. > :01:47.First Minister Alex Salmond has admitted defeat, calling on all of

:01:48. > :01:50.Scotland to accept the result. David Cameron said he was delighted and

:01:51. > :01:54.the debate was now settled for a generation. He insisted that

:01:55. > :01:58.promises for Scotland will be delivered in full, promising a

:01:59. > :02:01.bigger say for all part of the UK, saying millions of voices in England

:02:02. > :02:05.must now be heard. Alistair Darling said it was the moment is David

:02:06. > :02:09.Scotland and an endorsement for the union. He also said there was a need

:02:10. > :02:12.to listen to the cry for change. Let's go over to Cardiff now and to

:02:13. > :02:15.our colleague there. This cry for change, as it's been heard in

:02:16. > :02:21.Cardiff, and what would it mean for the people of Wales, do you think?

:02:22. > :02:24.Well, people here were listening to David Cameron, certainly, when he

:02:25. > :02:27.spoke at Downing Street this morning, saying he wanted Wales at

:02:28. > :02:33.the centre of a debate over the UK's future constitution. However,

:02:34. > :02:40.that call was not applauded, because many people here are cynical about

:02:41. > :02:45.what exactly would be on offer. According to Labour's First Minister

:02:46. > :02:49.for Wales, the Prime Minister had almost sleepwalk into one disaster,

:02:50. > :02:51.and was in danger of doing so again, entering into sending like a

:02:52. > :02:57.three`month debate over what the future settlement would be. His call

:02:58. > :02:59.is for a constitution conversation, something Ed Miliband has also

:03:00. > :03:04.talked about, which would look at the whole UK, equal partners around

:03:05. > :03:07.the table, discussing how power could go to each and every one.

:03:08. > :03:12.However, Carwyn Jones knows that is not really on the cards at the

:03:13. > :03:15.moment. One of the sticking point, really, is division within the

:03:16. > :03:18.Labour Party, because while everyone was Better Together last week,

:03:19. > :03:22.singing from one hymn sheet, there was a vow made to the people of

:03:23. > :03:25.Scotland and the Barnett Formula would be retained. However, Welsh

:03:26. > :03:29.Labour hear what it's changed, because they claim Wales is

:03:30. > :03:33.underfunded to the June of about ?300 billion per year. This morning,

:03:34. > :03:37.Carwyn Jones not quite admitting defeat on that one, but accepting

:03:38. > :03:40.Scotland's people have made a decision, and now governments are

:03:41. > :03:44.bound by that decision, whoever wins the election in May.

:03:45. > :03:49.Thank you very much for joining us from the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff.

:03:50. > :03:51.Joining me now from Glasgow is Len McDougall, campaign director from

:03:52. > :03:54.Better Together. Congratulations, you fought a tough campaign, and one

:03:55. > :03:58.in the end. Yes, we are delighted. I merrily

:03:59. > :04:03.because, for the people of Scotland, in our view, this means a better

:04:04. > :04:07.life for millions of us, better opportunities and broader horizons

:04:08. > :04:14.for people here in Scotland. Anything for me, I am also happy

:04:15. > :04:19.that there is a message sent to the wider world that actually, you don't

:04:20. > :04:25.need to choose between diversity and division, you don't need to choose

:04:26. > :04:27.between your own self`interest and the shared interest you can have

:04:28. > :04:31.with other people, because I think all of us in this campaign were

:04:32. > :04:35.very, very conscious that the world was watching the decision that

:04:36. > :04:39.Scotland made last night, and we are just delighted that it is No, that

:04:40. > :04:46.it is decisive, and also that there was such an extraordinary turnout to

:04:47. > :04:52.make this decision in Scotland, with, in some places, near 100%. It

:04:53. > :04:54.has been an extraordinary 24 hours. That was indeed an extraordinary

:04:55. > :04:59.turnout. Was there a moment where you had a wobble in the campaign?

:05:00. > :05:03.That poll which put the Yes camp ahead, people were saying, you are

:05:04. > :05:07.not getting the troops out, you are not doing a positive enough message.

:05:08. > :05:12.Was there some rethinking a couple of weeks ago? I think the poll was

:05:13. > :05:16.certainly a really important moment in the campaign, and I think it was

:05:17. > :05:23.important because the two different sides reacted to it in two very

:05:24. > :05:26.different ways. For us, we use it to give our message impetus, to say to

:05:27. > :05:30.people that there was a clear timetable for the powers that we

:05:31. > :05:36.were offering within the United Kingdom to highlight the very real

:05:37. > :05:42.risks and that came to light with the market reaction and reaction of

:05:43. > :05:47.companies, employers, retailers, to the poll, but I think the way that

:05:48. > :05:51.Yes reacted to that poll baffle us on our side of the campaign. Rather

:05:52. > :05:56.than talking about issues or framing the conversation and the debate that

:05:57. > :06:00.people were having, they started to hold street parties and celebrations

:06:01. > :06:05.and Alex Salmond was behaving like it was going to be a correlation, so

:06:06. > :06:10.I think it was important. `` a coronation. While those numbers were

:06:11. > :06:16.happening in the public polls, we ourselves were talking to 100,000

:06:17. > :06:21.people a day at one point, in that period of the campaign. We just did

:06:22. > :06:25.not feel that that movement that there wasn't some of those polls was

:06:26. > :06:31.happening on the ground, but I know that the pollsters will examine what

:06:32. > :06:35.they found over the course of this campaign. But for us, as we say, I

:06:36. > :06:37.think the poll was an important moment, because it helps to really

:06:38. > :06:43.crystallise and clarify the decision for voters, and I think last night,

:06:44. > :06:46.that worked for us and went our way. Thank you very much for joining us.

:06:47. > :06:51.Blair McDougall from Better Together.

:06:52. > :06:55.A lot of events going on in Westminster, a lot of opinions

:06:56. > :06:58.there. Let's talk to Matthew again. Thank you once again. Let's take a

:06:59. > :07:02.look at some of those constitutional issues that have been thrown up,

:07:03. > :07:05.especially when we heard from the Prime Minister at the start of the

:07:06. > :07:10.day in Downing Street. Let's talk to a professor of government at Kings

:07:11. > :07:14.College London who is here with me again. Thank you for your time. How

:07:15. > :07:18.surprised I use that we're making these significant constitutional

:07:19. > :07:23.changes, the way we are over the last seven or eight days? The

:07:24. > :07:26.Scottish referendum rate is a huge number of constitutional issues, but

:07:27. > :07:30.this is not the way to resolve them, to make up the constitution on

:07:31. > :07:33.the hoof, a promise to the Scots here, something for the English

:07:34. > :07:37.there. A constitution needs a lot of thought. It is not just for

:07:38. > :07:46.Christmas, it is for life. Giving it is being made up on the hoof?

:07:47. > :07:49.Apparently, Gordon Brown, he said that the person to whom the

:07:50. > :07:51.constitution has been outsourced were not discussed in Cabinet, and

:07:52. > :07:56.they were not discussed by MPs. It is worth numbering that the majority

:07:57. > :08:00.of MPs representing this constituencies. Now we have

:08:01. > :08:04.proposals being thrown around without real consideration. This is

:08:05. > :08:08.not how to do it. You describe it to me as a Pandora's box. Once you open

:08:09. > :08:15.the lid, which is what you think has been done, what comes out? Well?

:08:16. > :08:23.Well, the Scottish referendum was intended to end the debate. It has

:08:24. > :08:27.the debate, because it is about how this will be delivered. It is

:08:28. > :08:31.beginning a debating which was previously quiet. Now, John Redwood

:08:32. > :08:35.has asked, who speaks for England? What is England going to have when

:08:36. > :08:40.Scotland gets its goodies, perhaps Wales and Northern Ireland as well?

:08:41. > :08:43.Is it clear where we end up down this path two I believe we ought to

:08:44. > :08:47.end up in the proper constitution which tells us how we should do

:08:48. > :08:50.constitutional change. Perhaps before that, we should have a

:08:51. > :08:53.constitutional convention, and it is worth remembering that 2015 is the

:08:54. > :09:02.800 anniversary of Magna Carta. Perhaps that is a good time to

:09:03. > :09:08.start. In terms of the pace of this, one commentator described it as the

:09:09. > :09:13.Dangerous Dogs Act for devolution. Are they worried about how quick

:09:14. > :09:18.they are trying to do this? You cannot create a constitution

:09:19. > :09:22.overnight. If you look at the oldest written constitution, the American,

:09:23. > :09:27.that was bought out very carefully by leading politicians, who will

:09:28. > :09:33.also great thinkers, James Maddison, Alexander Hamilton. If you do it

:09:34. > :09:43.like a piece of Elastoplast, it comes unstuck very quickly. Let's go

:09:44. > :09:47.to the city. So much concern and focus on the way the vote was going

:09:48. > :09:57.to go, what has been the reaction so far today? The city got the result

:09:58. > :10:06.it wanted and that it had expected. This is a graph of the Sterling

:10:07. > :10:12.versus the euros. That Spike was the YouGov poll that came out at 10pm

:10:13. > :10:17.and put the no vote in the lead. That is the first Council, which

:10:18. > :10:23.voted no. It has been wearing off, the relief rally, through the day.

:10:24. > :10:27.One piece of news, RBS had contingency plans to move their

:10:28. > :10:30.legal home from north of the border to south, but they can no go in the

:10:31. > :10:36.bin, or at least in the bottom drawer for the foreseeable future.

:10:37. > :10:41.Despite opinion polls last week, the market thought this was an odds`on

:10:42. > :10:47.vote for no. What we have seen today is relief, but not exactly euphoria.

:10:48. > :10:50.Mines are now turning to the complexities you were talking about.

:10:51. > :10:55.Although the existential question has been and said, what about the

:10:56. > :11:00.devolution powers? Bullet make business in the UK more

:11:01. > :11:06.complicated? People's mind are turning to that, not to mention the

:11:07. > :11:10.general election and a possible referendum over the EU. This one is

:11:11. > :11:18.out of the way, now the markets have something else to worry about. I

:11:19. > :11:23.started by speaking to the Harvard professor of economics, who thought

:11:24. > :11:28.that the nervousness would last more long term, because in his view,

:11:29. > :11:31.there would be worried about future investment, because perhaps other

:11:32. > :11:38.countries would look at the situation and think, perhaps they

:11:39. > :11:45.will be back with this independent `` independence question later. I

:11:46. > :11:51.think people think this has been buried now for at least 15 to 20

:11:52. > :11:54.years. There is optimism amongst the business leaders I have spoken to

:11:55. > :12:00.that decisions in the UK that might have been on hold might now go

:12:01. > :12:04.ahead. For the international markets, it is less important

:12:05. > :12:11.possibly where the business is done, whether in Wales, Northern Ireland

:12:12. > :12:14.or Scotland, and how the regulations breakdown, it is less important in

:12:15. > :12:23.the international community than it might be to UK based ones.

:12:24. > :12:28.We will look at what is happening on social media, because this campaign

:12:29. > :12:34.has been fought so much on social media. That in a moment.

:12:35. > :12:39.News from Washington, the first reaction from the White House to the

:12:40. > :12:43.decisive result of last night. The White House says they welcomed the

:12:44. > :12:48.result of the referendum and congratulate the people of Scotland

:12:49. > :12:54.in the democratic exercise that they have carried out, and they go on to

:12:55. > :12:58.say that they have no closer ally than the UK, and they look forward

:12:59. > :13:01.to continuing with that close liaison, faced with some of the

:13:02. > :13:07.international issues that are of the moment. The first thoughts from the

:13:08. > :13:11.White House, we will get more from Washington later.

:13:12. > :13:14.I mentioned social media, there has been so much focus on that through

:13:15. > :13:22.the course of the last few months in the lead up to yesterday.

:13:23. > :13:25.Hello, I'm Annita McVeigh, welcome to the social hub, where we

:13:26. > :13:27.bring you the latest reaction on social media to Scotland's

:13:28. > :13:37.An opportunity to reflect a more humorous response to the campaign.

:13:38. > :13:45.These are some of the images which have appeared on Twitter and

:13:46. > :13:57.Facebook. This one inspired by Braveheart, nearly 800 retweets. It

:13:58. > :14:04.depends whether you are looking at it from the Hollywood perspective or

:14:05. > :14:12.the Hollywood perspective. `` Holyrood perspective. This one says,

:14:13. > :14:19.thank you, Gordon. Saviour of the union. Here is the Queen, this

:14:20. > :14:24.photograph dug out from a previous royal visit. With the caption,

:14:25. > :14:34.update my status, still Queen of Scotland. This photo is doing the

:14:35. > :14:40.rounds on Facebook. It says, Scotland went from being it's

:14:41. > :14:52.compensated to in a relationship. Have a look at this, definitely an

:14:53. > :14:57.and finally. It has gone final, she is happy the union is staying

:14:58. > :15:01.together. The referendum campaign and the result has been inspiring

:15:02. > :15:03.all sorts of creativity. Keep sending us your thoughts, pictures,

:15:04. > :15:05.anything you want to say. You can join in the conversation

:15:06. > :15:20.at bbc.co.uk/haveyoursay That last picture was fabulous, we

:15:21. > :15:22.should add it to what we are about to show.

:15:23. > :15:25.Now, with all the results declared and Scotland rejecting independence,

:15:26. > :15:45.let's look back at the highs and lows of the night.

:15:46. > :15:58.The BBC forecast is that Scotland has voted no to independence.

:15:59. > :16:06.I accept the verdict of the people. I call on all of Scotland to follow

:16:07. > :16:14.suit and accept the democratic verdict of the people of Scotland.

:16:15. > :16:39.We have heard the will of the Scottish people.

:16:40. > :16:46.Just some of the memorable images from the last 24 hours will stop we

:16:47. > :16:53.will be back with Gavin at Holyrood in a moment, because in the hours

:16:54. > :16:56.since we had the declaration, much reaction with Gavin, but we will

:16:57. > :17:00.have plenty more from here at Westminster in the coming minute. We

:17:01. > :17:06.will speak to the Conservative backbencher Verna Jenkin, with some

:17:07. > :17:09.interesting views about how constitutional change should affect

:17:10. > :17:15.England, talking about a federal system, a First Minister for England

:17:16. > :17:21.as well as a Prime Minister for UK affairs. We will speak to him here

:17:22. > :17:23.after 3pm. 20 more reaction coming up in the next few minutes, stay

:17:24. > :17:39.with us on BBC News. I noticed the sun is out there, it

:17:40. > :17:43.might not be for much longer. Stormy skies, that could set the scene,

:17:44. > :17:47.more storms to add to the ones we have seen earlier today. Some

:17:48. > :17:53.violent downpours as we move through the night, into the early hours,

:17:54. > :17:56.into the part of the West Country. They caused some serious problems in

:17:57. > :18:02.places. They have been moving northwards. All the while, the

:18:03. > :18:09.northern half of the UK has been relatively quiet. A lot of clout,

:18:10. > :18:14.grey and misty for some. Some brightness for Northern Ireland.

:18:15. > :18:21.Again, along the north seacoast, it is gloomy, grey and cold. The

:18:22. > :18:28.showers have been drifting north. Some more heavy storms developing.

:18:29. > :18:33.Very hit and miss, but the potential is there in the atmosphere to

:18:34. > :18:36.develop some really nasty storms again as we go through the latter

:18:37. > :18:42.part of the afternoon, into the evening, drifting north, do not take

:18:43. > :18:47.the position of the storms to literary, it just shows you the

:18:48. > :18:52.potential. Another humid, muggy night across southern areas. As the

:18:53. > :18:57.sky clears across the North West of Scotland, it will turn colder. We

:18:58. > :19:02.will have a different day tomorrow. Much writer, sunnier for many parts

:19:03. > :19:06.of Scotland and Northern Ireland. For England and Wales, a lot of

:19:07. > :19:11.clout, the overnight storms drifting into the North Sea. A few more sharp

:19:12. > :19:18.showers, though not as potent as today. Still muggy in the South. A

:19:19. > :19:23.transformation in conditions along the eastern coastal areas. Gloomy

:19:24. > :19:29.and misty for several days now, but at the cold weather front tracks

:19:30. > :19:33.down across the country, clearer and behind it, with low humidity, so

:19:34. > :19:38.welcome sunshine for the eastern coastal areas, at long last. The

:19:39. > :19:43.cold weather front will clear out of the way as we get to Sunday. For

:19:44. > :19:46.most of us, Sunday is looking lovely, with a bit of fair weather

:19:47. > :19:55.clout, plenty of sunshine. The wind will be like. The temperatures are

:19:56. > :20:01.where they should be for this time of year, but the nights will turn

:20:02. > :20:05.cold. It will turn fresher, plenty of sunshine developing later on this

:20:06. > :23:25.weekend. I am back with more detail in half an hour.

:23:26. > :23:35.'s Scotland stays as photos reject independent, choosing to remain part

:23:36. > :23:40.of the United Kingdom. 55% of voters say no, David Cameron is delighted.

:23:41. > :23:44.We now have a chance, a great opportunity, to change the way the

:23:45. > :23:49.British people are governed and change it for the better. Alex

:23:50. > :23:53.Salmond urges the yes camp to stay upbeat, but accepts the will of the

:23:54. > :24:00.people, saying he will hold Westminster to its campaign pledge.

:24:01. > :24:06.Unionist parties made vows late in the campaign to devolve more powers

:24:07. > :24:15.to Scotland. Scotland will expect these to be honoured. They have just

:24:16. > :24:24.been scared by together macro. This is a really bad day for Scotland. I

:24:25. > :24:29.stayed up all night to watch, it was very exciting. But there are issues

:24:30. > :24:33.we have got to sort out and hopefully we can work together. I am

:24:34. > :24:38.Gavin Esler in Hollywood on the day Scotland decided its destiny.

:24:39. > :24:43.Scotland now looks the future, we have all the reaction to the result

:24:44. > :25:01.and it means to the UK as a whole. `` and what it means.

:25:02. > :25:07.Hello and good afternoon from Edinburgh. The people of Scotland

:25:08. > :25:10.have spoken, the answer is no. By the wider margin than many had

:25:11. > :25:16.predicted, Scotland has voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.

:25:17. > :25:18.Early this morning ahead of the Yes campaign, the Scottish First

:25:19. > :25:22.Minister Alex Salmond admitted defeat, calling on all of Scotland

:25:23. > :25:27.to accept the result. David Cameron says the debate is settled for a

:25:28. > :25:30.generation, but he has promised eight new devolution settlement for

:25:31. > :25:40.all parts of the UK. `` promised and new. Turnout was a record 84.6%,

:25:41. > :25:45.more than three and a half million people voted on this historic

:25:46. > :25:51.occasion. Only four council areas voted yes, though it included the

:25:52. > :25:59.largest city, Glasgow. There was a Yes win in Dundee. 28 council areas

:26:00. > :26:02.voted No. Alex Salmond's own constituency Aberdeenshire among

:26:03. > :26:06.them. This afternoon we have all the beer action to the referendum result

:26:07. > :26:11.and discuss the potential consequences in Scotland and the

:26:12. > :26:14.rest of the UK. There are calls for more power to be given to other

:26:15. > :26:22.parts of the country. Our first report is from Iain Watson on the

:26:23. > :26:28.results. This is the moment it became official. Scotland had said

:26:29. > :26:48.no to independence. Yes, the number of votes, 1,617,000, 989. No ` 2

:26:49. > :26:51.million 9126. It had become obvious on Alex Salmond's face what the

:26:52. > :26:57.result was. It was not just about the politicians, millions of people

:26:58. > :27:02.'s interest of their hopes, fears, dreams and nightmares in a campaign

:27:03. > :27:09.that become tense over the past few weeks, but had lasted two years.

:27:10. > :27:14.Many were quite simply exhausted. Whatever his heartfelt, Alex Salmond

:27:15. > :27:18.put a brave face on the result when he arrived in the Scottish capital.

:27:19. > :27:23.Thank you to Scotland for 1.6 million votes for Scottish

:27:24. > :27:27.independence. But he told his supporters to reconcile themselves

:27:28. > :27:32.to defeat. I accept that verdict of the people and I call on all of

:27:33. > :27:39.Scotland to follow suit in accepting the Democratic verdict of the people

:27:40. > :27:46.of Scotland. When he became Scotland's first ever First Minister

:27:47. > :27:52.15 years ago, this man believed the Scottish parliament would consign

:27:53. > :27:59.the MP's ambitions to history. Four out of ten voters in Scotland have

:28:00. > :28:05.voted for independence. Figures in today's Labour Party stressed that

:28:06. > :28:08.No does not mean no change. The leader of the better together

:28:09. > :28:13.campaign said they would listen to the concerns of those who had not

:28:14. > :28:19.voted for them. As we celebrate let us also listen. More than 85% of the

:28:20. > :28:21.Scottish population has voted. People who were disengaged in

:28:22. > :28:26.politics have turned out in large numbers. And the Prime Minister

:28:27. > :28:30.promised more devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern

:28:31. > :28:34.Ireland, but made clear he felt the question of independence had been

:28:35. > :28:38.decisively answered. Now the debate has been settled for a generation.

:28:39. > :28:47.As Alex Salmond has read, perhaps for a lifetime. `` has been settled.

:28:48. > :28:50.We have heard the will of the Scottish people. The first result

:28:51. > :28:53.set the tone of the night, the yes campaign had been hoping for success

:28:54. > :29:04.in Clackmannanshire in central Scotland, but the majority of voters

:29:05. > :29:11.here rejected independence. No, 19,036. The Yes campaigners were

:29:12. > :29:15.given a boost that soon became a consolation prize when most voters

:29:16. > :29:34.in Glasgow, the biggest city, opted for an independent Scotland. Yes,

:29:35. > :29:39.194,000. No, 169,347. They shouted Yes, but had spent the campaign

:29:40. > :29:43.saying no. There were celebrations when it became clear most voters had

:29:44. > :29:51.embraced the union. And decided to keep the UK United will stop as we

:29:52. > :29:54.said, more than three and a half million people voted, an

:29:55. > :30:00.unprecedented turnout of around 85%, the highest for any UK election

:30:01. > :30:02.since 1951. How are the people of Scotland feeling today? James Cook

:30:03. > :30:13.has been out and about finding out. The grey dawn over Edinburgh, a

:30:14. > :30:17.black day for supporters of independence, they had come here for

:30:18. > :30:22.a victory party, but it never got started. Instead results from across

:30:23. > :30:25.the country left them in despair, dismay and disbelief. Scotland has

:30:26. > :30:30.thrown away a real opportunity here. The chance in a lifetime. They have

:30:31. > :30:35.thrown it away. I don't think people have thought this through, they have

:30:36. > :30:38.been scared by better together scares and have not seen the

:30:39. > :30:42.opportunity. I don't know when we will get the next chance, this is a

:30:43. > :30:46.really bad day for Scotland. Through the tears there is anger as well,

:30:47. > :30:51.many blaming the media, in particular the BBC, for the result.

:30:52. > :30:55.It was always one`sided, how can people possibly make up their mind

:30:56. > :30:59.if they only get one side of the story? It is disgusting, I am

:31:00. > :31:04.disgusted with the British state and the media. Their opponents think the

:31:05. > :31:08.dismay is overdone, suggesting Scotland will now have the best of

:31:09. > :31:14.both worlds will stop more powers for Edinburgh within the United

:31:15. > :31:19.Kingdom. I stayed up all night, at least from 3am, to watch. It was

:31:20. > :31:24.very exciting. There are issues we have got to sort out and hopefully

:31:25. > :31:29.we can work together. Even Alex Salmond is secretly quite happy he

:31:30. > :31:34.is getting all of these powers. This fault has opened wounds that will

:31:35. > :31:39.take time to heal and while one question has been answered, another

:31:40. > :31:48.remains: What is the settled will of the people in this restless, divided

:31:49. > :31:56.Scotland? Let's go to the heart of Glasgow and Norman Smith. Norman?

:31:57. > :32:00.Here in Glasgow you sense the waters are beginning to settle after last

:32:01. > :32:06.night's vote, everybody seems to have accepted the result and the

:32:07. > :32:12.political leaders have all agreed that this is now settled for a

:32:13. > :32:17.generation. Maybe even longer. The reason it is settled, it seems, is

:32:18. > :32:24.because there was a very clear silent majority, people who did not

:32:25. > :32:28.come out with posters, put badges on, come and talk to us in the

:32:29. > :32:31.media, who did go to the polls. In the privacy of the polling booth,

:32:32. > :32:38.they expressed their support for the union. That silent majority seemed

:32:39. > :32:43.to have swung it decisively in favour of retaining the union. The

:32:44. > :32:48.other thing that may have led to the really decisive result is the Labour

:32:49. > :32:52.vote, which it appears did not fall apart, as was feared earlier in the

:32:53. > :32:56.campaign, when there was real anxiety the Labour vote might

:32:57. > :33:00.succumb to Alex Salmond's idea that an independent Scotland might be

:33:01. > :33:04.more socially progressive and just. We saw a huge fight back in the

:33:05. > :33:07.latter part of the campaign, Gordon Brown brought to the fore. It seems,

:33:08. > :33:14.when you look at the results, in places like Clackmannanshire, those

:33:15. > :33:19.core, traditional Labour areas, that last gasp effort by the Labour Party

:33:20. > :33:27.appears to have shored up their vote. Those two factors seem to be

:33:28. > :33:34.the key components that have delivered this quite sizeable and

:33:35. > :33:40.decisive win for the No side. That said, though the referendum is over,

:33:41. > :33:44.the aftermath and what follows in terms of devolution, both for

:33:45. > :33:47.Scotland and the rest of the UK, is only just beginning. It may indeed

:33:48. > :33:52.be a very complicated and difficult process. Perhaps not devolving

:33:53. > :33:55.powers to Scotland, but in synchronising that with the

:33:56. > :34:02.devolution of powers to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Because

:34:03. > :34:05.there has been a remarkable lack of preparation putting in place the

:34:06. > :34:10.sort of stepping stones that might lead the way to greater devolution

:34:11. > :34:15.for the rest of the UK. Yet Mr Cameron says he wants the process to

:34:16. > :34:18.go ahead with the same timetable as Scottish devolution, meaning he

:34:19. > :34:25.would want some sort of package to be up there in a White Paper, draft

:34:26. > :34:35.legislation, by January. That is in order to Leitch `` inordinately

:34:36. > :34:39.ambitious. Parliament does not come back until January after Christmas,

:34:40. > :34:43.you are talking about 6`8 weeks to come up with a master plan for the

:34:44. > :34:50.rest of the UK. And on top of that we know constitutional reform is

:34:51. > :34:54.very often the graveyard of innumerable politicians. Think of

:34:55. > :34:58.repeated attempts to carry through house of Lords reform. The

:34:59. > :35:04.alternative vote. You have to say, the process from here on in looks

:35:05. > :35:08.very difficult, very complex and it is hard to see how it is going to be

:35:09. > :35:13.completed on anything like the timetable set out by the Prime

:35:14. > :35:18.Minister. Norman, thank you, we will pick up on that point, the way

:35:19. > :35:24.ahead. Alan Teller, writer and commentator and Yes campaigner. And

:35:25. > :35:28.Sarah, Labour MP on the better together side. We had the Val, the

:35:29. > :35:42.promise from the three party leaders, and a timetable. `` a

:35:43. > :35:47.vowel. All of us want plans for the UK. The huge turnout we had in the

:35:48. > :35:52.vote was a vote for change, while we are committed to devolution for

:35:53. > :35:56.Scotland, it is part of the UK. Much of what we were campaigning for when

:35:57. > :36:00.I talk to colleagues in Liverpool, London, there is an aspiration

:36:01. > :36:03.across the country, Wales, for making devolution embedded and

:36:04. > :36:08.changing and strengthening it. Double devolution is definitely the

:36:09. > :36:12.way ahead. Do you see Scotland as a catalyst for change in the rest of

:36:13. > :36:15.the UK? I was not aware we were campaigning for that at the time, I

:36:16. > :36:20.thought Scottish independence was the issue. We seem to have done

:36:21. > :36:26.others favours along the way. Which is a wonderful altruistic Scottish

:36:27. > :36:33.manner. What I am interested in is not just the devolution of

:36:34. > :36:37.parliament in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, what will Westminster be

:36:38. > :36:43.like? What type of parliament? Who will be in it, what part will

:36:44. > :36:48.Scottish MPs play? What will they discuss? Will it be worth MPs going

:36:49. > :36:53.there four days a week? If they will only discuss foreign affairs,

:36:54. > :36:56.defence etc? It sounds more like Chatham house. A lot to be discussed

:36:57. > :37:02.about what kind of place Westminster will be. There are big ticket

:37:03. > :37:08.issues. One of our arguments was, why leave the rest of the UK and ask

:37:09. > :37:12.for a currency union? Those big macroeconomic issues, the pooling

:37:13. > :37:16.and sharing of resources across the UK, they are fundamental to our

:37:17. > :37:20.future. It is one of the reasons got voted in such huge numbers to stay

:37:21. > :37:24.part of the UK. We are proud of the things we have done in the UK and

:37:25. > :37:29.there is a lot to be proud of, the aid budget, the fact we have worked

:37:30. > :37:33.together to create shared institutions and values. We want the

:37:34. > :37:37.best of both words, our own Parliament, our own sake, on all of

:37:38. > :37:42.the big issues of the day that matter. `` best of both worlds. Is

:37:43. > :37:49.that not perhaps one of the things, I know from some no voters, they

:37:50. > :37:53.resented team Westminster and team Scotland, which might have seemed

:37:54. > :37:58.like a good slogan, but it suggested the 59 MPs that Scotland have at

:37:59. > :38:02.Westminster have no silly and see, when we had Gordon Brown as Prime

:38:03. > :38:09.Minister. Peshmerga have no validity. It is not quite true. ``

:38:10. > :38:13.have no validity. Here we were, given these powers, promised powers

:38:14. > :38:18.in the last week or so of the campaign. We have been discussing

:38:19. > :38:22.Scotland's future, the big paper, for virtually a year and a half,

:38:23. > :38:24.suddenly we get this thrust upon us from three parties who themselves

:38:25. > :38:28.cannot agree on what these powers should be. This has been a big

:38:29. > :38:31.problem for the electorate, they have been promised these powers,

:38:32. > :38:37.they like the sound of them, but have no way of knowing if they will

:38:38. > :38:47.be delivered and what they are. Lord Smith of Kelvin, who has been tasked

:38:48. > :38:51.with trying to... Good man. Everybody seems to agree he is a

:38:52. > :38:55.good man. He has said over the past few weeks we have seen the campaign

:38:56. > :38:57.generated huge amount of political energy in every part of Scotland.

:38:58. > :39:01.They have seen the campaign generated huge amount of political

:39:02. > :39:05.energy in every part of Scotland. There is the main political parties.

:39:06. > :39:09.My role is to create a process through which we can channel that

:39:10. > :39:13.energy into real action. It won't be a drawn`out process and he hopes to

:39:14. > :39:16.provide those unifying recommendations by the 30th of

:39:17. > :39:20.November. He has made a run for his own back.

:39:21. > :39:27.Gordon Brown pushed it onto the agenda and said, here is the

:39:28. > :39:30.timetable, but actually the three main Westminster parties had

:39:31. > :39:35.published comprehensive plans over six months ago, saying how we wanted

:39:36. > :39:41.devolution to develop. We need to pull together some of the

:39:42. > :39:44.differences between us. Powers on welfare, more responsibility on

:39:45. > :39:50.income tax, on top of the additional tax powers we have already agreed,

:39:51. > :39:53.and things like devolving housing benefit, devolving to local

:39:54. > :39:57.authorities. There might be a different kind of team Scotland,

:39:58. > :40:02.which Lord Smith might pull together? Everybody hoped there

:40:03. > :40:07.would be one anyway. That was the packed people had made between

:40:08. > :40:11.themselves, irrespective of how the vote went, Scotland had to bind

:40:12. > :40:17.together. It will be a tricky thing to do. In appointing Lord Smith, he

:40:18. > :40:26.is one guy who is capable, he is bright, personable, and somebody who

:40:27. > :40:33.can get things done on time. From Ed Miliband, he has been saying that he

:40:34. > :40:38.will not sign up to the Prime Minister's plan to get more power to

:40:39. > :40:42.the Scottish Parliament at the same time as getting the powerful English

:40:43. > :40:49.MPs. He says, while accepting the need for reform, he wants a process

:40:50. > :40:53.of debate on the English question to begin before the general election,

:40:54. > :41:01.but he has called for a convention to finalise that later, after the

:41:02. > :41:06.election. It is a big job, modernising Britain, taking it into

:41:07. > :41:12.the 21st`century. We are indifferent of the queue, a massive democratic

:41:13. > :41:15.mandate, it was not as small a margin as people thought, and for

:41:16. > :41:21.all of us, we want to get on with those powers, and the big issue is,

:41:22. > :41:25.how do we use them? A big campaign for more social justice. We need to

:41:26. > :41:30.secure the powers, and start using them. That is the point at which we

:41:31. > :41:34.will hopefully be able to work together and take the team Scotland

:41:35. > :41:40.approach across all parties. With that news coming in from Ed

:41:41. > :41:47.Miliband, let's go back to Matthew in when Spitzer `` in Westminster.

:41:48. > :41:54.We were getting a flavour of the breaking news from Sadiq Khan about

:41:55. > :41:58.15 or 20 minutes ago. Our political correspondent telling us that Ed

:41:59. > :42:02.Miliband is signalling he will not sign up to the Prime Minister's plan

:42:03. > :42:06.to give more powers to the Scottish Parliament at the same time as

:42:07. > :42:11.trying to agree the new powers for English MPs. The Prime Minister at

:42:12. > :42:15.the start of the day signalling that the two things would run in tandem.

:42:16. > :42:23.That is just developing from Ed Miliband. That go back to Downing

:42:24. > :42:28.Street. We are halfway through the day, and dare I say it, it looks

:42:29. > :42:31.like it is starting to unravel. We have gone quickly from the three

:42:32. > :42:35.Westminster parties pulling together, desperate to get the no

:42:36. > :42:39.vote, and now we have reverted to the bickering. David Cameron has

:42:40. > :42:44.been under intense pressure from his own backbenchers and from some

:42:45. > :42:48.normally loyal ministers, upset that so much has been promised to

:42:49. > :42:52.Scotland and they have not been consulted, so he came up with the

:42:53. > :42:56.idea of a twin track approach, more powers for Scotland, but we must

:42:57. > :43:03.look at English votes for English laws. That can be seen as a big trap

:43:04. > :43:07.set for Ed Miliband, a Labour Party have the most number of Scottish

:43:08. > :43:11.MPs, they will not want to take powers away from them. Ed Miliband

:43:12. > :43:16.will not allow this moment to be used for narrow party political

:43:17. > :43:23.advantage. He is suggesting a constitutional convention. The

:43:24. > :43:26.timetable is not exactly speedy, he is talking about this happening in

:43:27. > :43:32.the autumn of 2015, after the general election in May. He is

:43:33. > :43:37.trying to split these things, he says that the Westminster Parliament

:43:38. > :43:39.must deliver on its promise to Scotland, regardless of any other

:43:40. > :43:44.promises that David Cameron may be making to appease his backbenchers.

:43:45. > :43:49.You talked about the potential trap that the Labour Party see, but there

:43:50. > :43:54.are dangers both ways for Ed Miliband. If he is seen by Scottish

:43:55. > :44:00.voters as being a block to the additional powers, perhaps he will

:44:01. > :44:04.be punished at the general election. Yes, he is in a difficult position,

:44:05. > :44:10.because of the mathematics in this. He cannot be seen to be blocking

:44:11. > :44:13.those powers going to Scotland, the Labour Party have not done so well

:44:14. > :44:17.there in recent years, they need to claw back their heartlands in

:44:18. > :44:21.Scotland, but he has to be seen to be talking to the English voters as

:44:22. > :44:29.well, to the millions of Ingush voters that could also propel him

:44:30. > :44:32.into Downing Street, next May. He wants to point out it was never on

:44:33. > :44:37.the cards originally, the promises given to Scotland about getting more

:44:38. > :44:40.powers, that was nothing to do with English votes for English laws, this

:44:41. > :44:45.has been brought up by Tory MPs and by the Prime Minister. He will say

:44:46. > :44:50.these are two separate matters. He is not saying he will ignore the

:44:51. > :44:55.issue, but he wants to defer it until after the next election.

:44:56. > :45:03.Very interesting. Let's continue the conversation. You were hearing what

:45:04. > :45:08.I was saying, Ed Miliband trying to separate these two things. Your

:45:09. > :45:15.immediate thoughts? They do go together. Most MPs in England will

:45:16. > :45:22.want them to go together, including quite a lot of Labour Party MPs. I

:45:23. > :45:26.can see it is more difficult for the Labour Party, because their power

:45:27. > :45:31.base at Westminster is based on the influence that Scottish MPs have on

:45:32. > :45:34.English affairs. You say it goes together, that we have had a

:45:35. > :45:40.two`year campaign, new powers offered up in the last week of

:45:41. > :45:46.campaigning, and the Prime Minister bolting on what he did today to run

:45:47. > :45:53.in tandem. Is that sensible? Yes, because as one Labour and people did

:45:54. > :45:57.today, `` one Labour MP put it today, the West Lothian question has

:45:58. > :46:02.been riding away ever since devolution started in 1997. This

:46:03. > :46:07.referendum has woken up English constituencies to the strawberry

:46:08. > :46:12.business that Scottish MPs can vote on schools and hospitals in

:46:13. > :46:17.constituencies like mine, but I cannot vote in their constituencies,

:46:18. > :46:22.and those Scottish MPs can't vote on those things in their own

:46:23. > :46:26.constituencies. This is a taxation, which is why the link is important,

:46:27. > :46:31.are we to have another Scottish Chancellor resenting a budget to the

:46:32. > :46:36.House of Commons on which Scottish MPs are going to vote but said the

:46:37. > :46:41.tax rates of my constituents in England but not in his own

:46:42. > :46:45.constituency? That is a nonsense. What we want is a fair and equitable

:46:46. > :46:49.settle for each part of the UK, based on the principle of what is

:46:50. > :46:56.good enough for Scotland should be the same... I heard you talking

:46:57. > :47:01.earlier about federalism, how far can you take this? Instead of having

:47:02. > :47:04.an English Parliament, we make this the English Parliament for two days

:47:05. > :47:10.of the week, you have only English MPs in this Parliament, dealing with

:47:11. > :47:14.the English stuff, and on the other two days a week, we have the whole

:47:15. > :47:20.of the UK, dealing with UK business. I heard you say earlier that could

:47:21. > :47:26.lead to a First Minister for England and a Prime Minister for the UK.

:47:27. > :47:29.Does that make practical sense? If it is good enough for Scotland, it

:47:30. > :47:35.is good enough for England, it is about equalising the settlement. If

:47:36. > :47:39.we do not get this right now, and have an even settlement across the

:47:40. > :47:42.UK, we will have another bust up with Alex Salmond in Edinburgh about

:47:43. > :47:46.this kind of thing, and it will result in another referendum in

:47:47. > :47:49.Scotland, which will be more difficult to win for the union a

:47:50. > :47:58.second time. This is a last chance saloon for the union, we won by a

:47:59. > :48:01.much narrower margin than we thought, he said, we will accept

:48:02. > :48:06.this at this stage, we are on a journey. He is planning another row

:48:07. > :48:10.about the powers. If Ed Miliband is going to derail the promises that

:48:11. > :48:15.were made to transfer more powers to the Scottish Parliament, he is

:48:16. > :48:24.playing fast and loose with the union. He is talking about doing it

:48:25. > :48:28.at a separate stage. The change you outlined, that is colossal

:48:29. > :48:33.constitutionally. Does it make sense to be talking about doing that by

:48:34. > :48:38.February? What we can do, which is simple, and can be done in this

:48:39. > :48:45.building by changing our standing orders, the rules of procedure, they

:48:46. > :48:48.can change those so that, unless an MP is voting on matters that

:48:49. > :48:53.directly affect his or her own constituency, he does not vote on

:48:54. > :48:57.those things. That means English MPs would vote on English legislation,

:48:58. > :49:03.which does not affect Scotland, and vice versa.

:49:04. > :49:10.The arguments are raging here, plenty more from here later.

:49:11. > :49:16.We will pick up some of those arguments.

:49:17. > :49:23.Can I put to you what has been said to me up and down Scotland by people

:49:24. > :49:27.who voted on either side, in various ways, they said Westminster

:49:28. > :49:31.represents a failed state. Modern Britain is a failed state and has to

:49:32. > :49:38.change. You agree it is that dramatic? Yes. Westminster has

:49:39. > :49:44.failed, not just for Scotland, but also for England. The failure is on

:49:45. > :49:50.the behalf of both the left and right. The left promised to save the

:49:51. > :49:54.poor from their lot through the state, but the state is

:49:55. > :49:59.dysfunctional. The right promised to save everybody from poverty by

:50:00. > :50:06.creating mass prosperity, and it has only created wealth at the very top.

:50:07. > :50:09.Neither of the offers of work. Also, there is great confusion, the West

:50:10. > :50:16.Lothian question and evolution are mutually contradictory. ``

:50:17. > :50:19.evolution. If we go with the West Lothian question, that extends the

:50:20. > :50:25.role of Westminster and London. It is the will of MPs, and MPs are

:50:26. > :50:28.under the control of the party whip. All it would be is extending the

:50:29. > :50:34.writ of the Prime Minister over England. Parts of England,

:50:35. > :50:38.Liverpool, Manchester, Sunderland, feel just as distant from

:50:39. > :50:42.Westminster as those in Scotland do. There is an enormous contradiction

:50:43. > :50:47.that I do not think has been picked up. The West Lothian question and

:50:48. > :50:52.the answer proposed by the PM is massive centralisation, but

:50:53. > :50:58.evolution is localisation. The real answer to the question is mass, city

:50:59. > :51:05.`based devolution to city regions and two counties, to all parts of

:51:06. > :51:09.the UK. So that the issues like education, welfare, transport,

:51:10. > :51:14.police, emergency services should not be decided by Westminster, they

:51:15. > :51:19.should be decided by places like Greater Manchester, Liverpool city

:51:20. > :51:23.region, Sheffield city region. Then, you dissolve the issue of the West

:51:24. > :51:27.Lothian question, because Scottish MPs are not voting on those issues,

:51:28. > :51:37.it is the local authorities in the city regions. That is a very

:51:38. > :51:45.interesting point. Can I put to you a point which goes like this, people

:51:46. > :51:48.in Scotland and the parties in Scotland and civil societies in

:51:49. > :51:52.Scotland have been thinking about this for decades, so it is possible

:51:53. > :51:56.to move ahead quickly with a timetable for what Scotland would

:51:57. > :52:00.like. The difficulty will be what England would like, because you have

:52:01. > :52:04.just explained that complexity, and also the fact that lots of people in

:52:05. > :52:08.England have not become engaged in the debate like people in Scotland

:52:09. > :52:14.have, because they have not had to think about it. What people in

:52:15. > :52:18.England want is localism, power to shape their incomes for themselves

:52:19. > :52:21.around education, health, skills. You wander around the north, it

:52:22. > :52:28.looks abandoned, people are desperate. The cities are empty.

:52:29. > :52:32.They are constructive for populations two or three times as

:52:33. > :52:38.big as they currently have. The best people leave for London. The point

:52:39. > :52:45.about West Lothian is neither here nor there, it is an extension of the

:52:46. > :52:50.failed model we have. What we believe is full devolution to city

:52:51. > :52:54.regions in the first instance, and then to the other regions, including

:52:55. > :52:58.county councils, later. For the first time, they have to have real

:52:59. > :53:06.and full powers, including rights over taxation, the ability to vary

:53:07. > :53:11.income tax, to retain property taxes, and to be subject to direct

:53:12. > :53:17.elections. We believe in elected assemblies. We do not disagree

:53:18. > :53:19.believe in the London model, because that cannot integrate public

:53:20. > :53:27.services in London, it is quite ineffective. What we need are the

:53:28. > :53:32.restoration of citystate. Citystate in our neglected peripheries, and

:53:33. > :53:35.all the four corners of the kingdom, are the only thing that can turn

:53:36. > :53:41.around the fortunes of the great English cities. The West Lothian

:53:42. > :53:44.question is a hidden, covert attempt for further Westminster control, but

:53:45. > :53:50.nobody wants that in the North of England, it is a nonstarter. The

:53:51. > :53:56.real way is to give top`down powers to localities, give them full

:53:57. > :53:59.powers. We believe in the principle of proportional parity, what is

:54:00. > :54:05.given to Scotland should also be given to city regions. We believe

:54:06. > :54:11.that if the Democratic, economic and social cancer to the problems that

:54:12. > :54:16.confront Britain. `` social answer. One of the people who voted yes were

:54:17. > :54:19.desperate, they said, we have been abandoned by a philosophy that says

:54:20. > :54:23.we cannot do anything about globalisation, give up. Rightly,

:54:24. > :54:29.they said, we are not going to suffer. English people feel the

:54:30. > :54:33.same. What will work for them if the restoration of city state democracy,

:54:34. > :54:44.not the continued fool of Westminster. `` the continued rule.

:54:45. > :54:47.Now, we know the result, what happens next?

:54:48. > :54:56.Christian Fraser. If it had been yes, the business of dividing the UK

:54:57. > :55:01.would have started this morning, Scotland taking full powers over all

:55:02. > :55:05.of this lot, tax, pensions, public debt, Social Security, international

:55:06. > :55:08.relations, defence. It could have issued its own passport, Scotland

:55:09. > :55:14.could even have changed its own time zone. The people chose Noel and most

:55:15. > :55:19.of the powers that were to be assumed by Holyrood for the time

:55:20. > :55:23.being at least will remain in the Prime Minister's hands. It does not

:55:24. > :55:27.mean a return to the status quo, in the final weeks of the campaign

:55:28. > :55:31.Better Together promised substantial change and the SNP will certainly

:55:32. > :55:36.hold them to that commitment. Here are two powers that look set to be

:55:37. > :55:39.further devolved, tax and social security. The Scottish Government

:55:40. > :55:43.can vary the level of income tax by up to 3p, though it has never used

:55:44. > :55:49.these powers. Under the 2012 Scotland act they will have further

:55:50. > :55:54.scope to adjust rates by 2016. Faced with the threat of independence, the

:55:55. > :55:58.three main Westminster parties agree to go even further. Tories and Lib

:55:59. > :56:02.Dems want to give Holyrood complete control in the setting of personal

:56:03. > :56:06.income tax rates, negotiations to start in the coming weeks. We might

:56:07. > :56:12.see more powers over VAT on air transport U T, perhaps also the

:56:13. > :56:19.power to change inheritance tax and capital gains. `` transport duty.

:56:20. > :56:23.What about Social Security and benefits? Labour would like to

:56:24. > :56:26.devolve housing benefit policy and the Tories are minded to agree. Alex

:56:27. > :56:31.Salmond promised with independence the Scottish Government would scrap

:56:32. > :56:36.the so`called bedroom tax and maybe it will still be the case if the

:56:37. > :56:40.Scottish Government can fund it. Nicola Sturgeon said this morning

:56:41. > :56:45.they want more on welfare, new job`creating powers. Expect over the

:56:46. > :56:51.next few weeks Scottish MPs to press for even more. When is this going to

:56:52. > :56:58.happen? We can show you Gordon Brown's timeline. This now looks

:56:59. > :57:02.extremely ambitious, we would have lots of negotiation to October, a

:57:03. > :57:06.White Paper by the end of November. First draft of the bill around the

:57:07. > :57:10.end of January, then a second reading of the bill before the end

:57:11. > :57:14.of this Parliament, which, as I say, looks a type headline in mind of the

:57:15. > :57:18.dissent that is brewing in Conservative ranks of some Tory

:57:19. > :57:23.backbenchers want a federal UK with more powers for England. As you have

:57:24. > :57:27.heard, Labour is not as keen. The beginnings of what could be a huge

:57:28. > :57:34.constitutional wrangle. Let me leave you with one last thought: It is

:57:35. > :57:38.this date at the end, anti`17. The Tories proposed referendum on

:57:39. > :57:44.Europe. What happens if the UK votes to leave? The pro`Europe lobby in

:57:45. > :57:46.Scotland says it would renew calls for another independence referendum,

:57:47. > :57:49.in other words, the union might look the same right now, but this is only

:57:50. > :58:01.at one. `` act one. You are watching BBC News, back to

:58:02. > :58:05.Scotland in a moment. Let's catch up with all of the latest headlines at

:58:06. > :58:15.3:34pm. Scottish voters reject independence,

:58:16. > :58:21.choosing to remain part of the United Kingdom. The margin of

:58:22. > :58:27.victory has widened further than polls predicted, 55% saying no.

:58:28. > :58:32.David Cameron is delighted. We now have a chance, a great opportunity

:58:33. > :58:36.to change the way that British people are governed and change it

:58:37. > :58:41.for the better. Alex Salmond says the yes campaign can be proud of its

:58:42. > :58:45.effort and promises to hold the lead is in Westminster to their pledge to

:58:46. > :58:51.give Scotland more powers. Unionist parties made vowels late in the

:58:52. > :58:58.campaign to devolve more powers to Scotland. Scotland will expect these

:58:59. > :59:03.to be honoured. They have just been scared by Better Together scares and

:59:04. > :59:06.they have not seen the opportunity. I don't know when we are going to

:59:07. > :59:13.get the next chance, this is a really bad day for Scotland.

:59:14. > :59:16.Delighted. I stayed up until 3am just to watch, it was very exciting.

:59:17. > :59:22.There are obviously issues we have got to sort out and hopefully we can

:59:23. > :59:24.work together. Scotland looks to the future, we will have all of the

:59:25. > :59:33.reaction to the referendum result and what it means for the whole of

:59:34. > :59:37.the UK as an entirety. Back to Scotland. In a couple of moments.

:59:38. > :59:41.Before that, police searching for 14`year`old Alice Gross say they

:59:42. > :59:46.have found a mountain bike belonging to the main suspect. The Latvian

:59:47. > :59:52.murder convict Arnis Zalkalns. Alice vanished three weeks ago, Zalkalns

:59:53. > :59:57.was last seen a week later. Tom Symons reports.

:59:58. > :00:02.They had been researching the home of Latvian elder Arnis Zalkalns for

:00:03. > :00:05.five days now, he failed to return home to return home two weeks ago,

:00:06. > :00:09.he left his passport and from behind. Police have recovered large

:00:10. > :00:15.objects from the flat he shared with his partner. Including a bike. He is

:00:16. > :00:20.a suspect because on the day Alice went missing she crossed this bridge

:00:21. > :00:25.in Brentford, West London. 15 minutes later, so did Arnis

:00:26. > :00:31.Zalkalns, riding a red mind like. Police believe their paths crossed.

:00:32. > :00:36.In 1998 Arnis Zalkalns was jailed for murdering his wife and according

:00:37. > :00:40.to reports from Latvia burying her body in woodland. He was accused,

:00:41. > :00:45.but not charged, with indecently assaulting a 14`year`old girl in

:00:46. > :00:50.2009. He regularly cycled to a building job along the towpath is

:00:51. > :00:54.where Alice went missing. As a Latvian EU citizen he currently has

:00:55. > :00:59.the right to work here despite his murder conviction, only evidence he

:01:00. > :01:04.poses a serious and present risk would allow Britain to prevent his

:01:05. > :01:07.entry. His emergence as a suspect means the investigation has entered

:01:08. > :01:10.a new phase. Continuing to search for Alice, at also searching for him

:01:11. > :01:21.across Europe. French jets have carried out their

:01:22. > :01:26.first strike against Islamic state militants in Iraq. President

:01:27. > :01:30.Hollande says planes attacked the depot in north`east Iraq and there

:01:31. > :01:33.would be more raids in the coming days. French action follows more

:01:34. > :01:39.than 170 US air strikes against the jihadist group in Iraq since

:01:40. > :01:42.mid`August. 25 suspected illegal immigrant have been found in the

:01:43. > :01:46.back of a lorry in Dover. Kent Police say a man was arrested on

:01:47. > :01:53.suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration. Ambulance crews are at

:01:54. > :01:59.the scene. The British drugs company Glaxo Smith Kline has been fined

:02:00. > :02:01.nearly ?300 million for paying out bribes in China. Prosecutors in

:02:02. > :02:06.Beijing claims staff at GS K's Chinese unit systematically bribed

:02:07. > :02:13.doctors and hospital officials to use their products. Mark Riley, head

:02:14. > :02:18.of operations, has been given a suspended jail sentence. Glaxo Smith

:02:19. > :02:20.Kline says it fully accept the facts and evidence. Britain has pledged to

:02:21. > :02:25.provide facilities for 700 new hospital beds in Sierra Leone to

:02:26. > :02:30.help in the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The British commitment

:02:31. > :02:33.comes as the Sierra Leone government begins enforcing a three`day

:02:34. > :02:37.lockdown try to stop the spread of the disease. More than 2000 people

:02:38. > :02:43.have died from the Ebola epidemic so far. UEFA has announced that Wembley

:02:44. > :02:48.Stadium will host the final of Euro 2020. The London venue beat off

:02:49. > :02:54.competition from Munich's Alianza Rena, the only other contender. Euro

:02:55. > :03:00.2020 will be held in 13 cities, Wembley also playing host to the

:03:01. > :03:03.tournament's semifinal. And France's former President Nicolas

:03:04. > :03:07.Sarkozy has announced his return to politics in a statement on his

:03:08. > :03:13.Facebook page. He says he used to be a candidate for the Conservative UMP

:03:14. > :03:16.party, putting an end to months of speculation about his political

:03:17. > :03:18.future. Let's look at some of the other News and go straight back to

:03:19. > :03:30.Edinburgh. Jane Hill? Welcome back to Holyrood, where

:03:31. > :03:32.Scotland has voted no to becoming an independent country. First Minister

:03:33. > :03:37.Alex Salmond has conceded defeat and has called on all of Scotland's two

:03:38. > :03:41.accept the result. `` all of Scotland. David Cameron says he is

:03:42. > :03:45.delighted and that the debate is settled for a generation, though he

:03:46. > :03:48.insists the promises for Scotland will be delivered in full and has

:03:49. > :03:54.promised a bigger say for all parts of the UK, saying millions of voices

:03:55. > :03:56.and England must now be heard. Alistair Darling, who has been

:03:57. > :04:00.heading up the better together campaign, said it was a momentous

:04:01. > :04:05.day for Scotland and an endorsement for the union. He also said there is

:04:06. > :04:10.a need to listen to what he described as "the cry for change".

:04:11. > :04:14.Let's talk about the young vote, one of the defining features of this

:04:15. > :04:19.referendum was that people aged 16 and 17 were able to take part. I am

:04:20. > :04:24.joined at Holyrood by two members of the Scottish youth Parliament.

:04:25. > :04:30.Louise and Terry, I hope I get it the right way around, the chair and

:04:31. > :04:35.vice`chair. Lovely to have you with us, it has been a very busy time for

:04:36. > :04:40.you, explain what you have been doing, what your involvement has

:04:41. > :04:45.been in the last, not just weeks, long period of time. It has been, a

:04:46. > :04:48.very exciting time for us, we have taken a neutral stance and

:04:49. > :04:52.encouraging young people to get involved with the debate and get

:04:53. > :04:55.registered to vote and go out and cast their vote. We have had very

:04:56. > :05:00.positive results. We have been busy on twitter and social media, it has

:05:01. > :05:09.been very busy. We had a hashtag, your vote matters. We have received

:05:10. > :05:12.a lot of feedback from that. You have been crisscrossing the country,

:05:13. > :05:16.they are working on this all over the country to try and get people

:05:17. > :05:20.engaged. Would you say it was a struggle or would you say, actually,

:05:21. > :05:25.young people were really excited, 16 and 17`year`olds voting for the

:05:26. > :05:28.first time. Young people on the whole were very much excited, we

:05:29. > :05:32.were talking to young people, letting them know how politics

:05:33. > :05:35.relates to their lives, how issues affect them, making sure they are

:05:36. > :05:42.engaged in that way. On the whole it was fantastic. What happens now for

:05:43. > :05:45.you? I hope you don't mind me saying, you are 18, 19, you are

:05:46. > :05:51.eligible to vote in the next Scottish election, general election.

:05:52. > :05:55.There are going to be some people, 16`year`olds, you will have voted in

:05:56. > :06:00.this extraordinary vote who are not, by definition, eligible to vote next

:06:01. > :06:04.time round. We have high hopes it will not be the case. From this

:06:05. > :06:09.referendum, the high turnout we have seen, the engagement from young

:06:10. > :06:14.people, this has proven the case for votes at 16. I hope it will continue

:06:15. > :06:22.fall elections. We would really like to see the level of engagement that

:06:23. > :06:26.has been grasped from the referendum to continue and have young people

:06:27. > :06:30.continuing to be engaged in this politics and also for people to make

:06:31. > :06:34.the effort went age. That is really interesting, you have taken me on to

:06:35. > :06:41.what I was about to ask, how do you keep it going? It was such an

:06:42. > :06:45.extraordinary event, so momentous. People say it was easier to engage

:06:46. > :06:49.people because it was so well usual, on a general election that comes

:06:50. > :06:55.around every five years how do you encourage them back using there? It

:06:56. > :07:01.is about letting them know that if issues affect them, no matter how

:07:02. > :07:05.big and small, not having somewhere to go after school, it is a

:07:06. > :07:09.political issue for young people. It is saying, we as a country

:07:10. > :07:14.recognised young people's views are as important as everyone else's. As

:07:15. > :07:17.the youth Parliament we will champion that for years to come. I

:07:18. > :07:22.wish you the best with your endeavours, will I talked to both of

:07:23. > :07:32.you in years to come as elected representatives? Who knows. Very

:07:33. > :07:36.noncommittal, politicians both. Let's look at the scene elsewhere in

:07:37. > :07:41.Edinburgh, we are just waiting to hear in the next little while, I

:07:42. > :07:46.think, from Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond. There is the

:07:47. > :07:51.theme at Bute house. We have heard his comments and observations, we

:07:52. > :07:55.saw him on screen accepting the verdict of the people. We waited to

:07:56. > :07:58.hear a forced Aikman to journalists in the next little while, we will

:07:59. > :08:03.keep an eye on that as soon as we see Alex Salmond we will be back

:08:04. > :08:06.there for the news conference. Scotland's decision to remain part

:08:07. > :08:09.of the United Kingdom has been making headline news around the

:08:10. > :08:13.world. Diplomatic correspondence Bridget Kendall has been gauging

:08:14. > :08:17.international reaction to today's's no vote.

:08:18. > :08:27.The United Kingdom is still united this morning. Intense interest and

:08:28. > :08:31.some relief at this result. There is deep affection for Scotland's

:08:32. > :08:35.identity, but many governments worldwide had not want to see it

:08:36. > :08:41.split from the UK. Fearing it would fuel separatism elsewhere and turn

:08:42. > :08:48.the UK into a weaker partner. But it may be that Britain's local

:08:49. > :08:54.influence will be eroded anyway. The fact is, in many ways, the UK is

:08:55. > :08:59.already in decline. The days of the British Empire may be gone, but as

:09:00. > :09:02.emerging powers like China, India, Russia and Brazil have grown in

:09:03. > :09:09.strength, medium`sized countries like Britain have lost clout. Though

:09:10. > :09:14.the UK will soon `` still be a staunch ally of the United States,

:09:15. > :09:21.new devolved powers for Scotland and probably reform elsewhere mean the

:09:22. > :09:28.UK is going to change. There will still be negative implications, even

:09:29. > :09:32.from the vote that we now have. The issue about powers for other parts

:09:33. > :09:40.of the UK, constitutional change, this will be a huge distraction from

:09:41. > :09:44.foreign policy issues. In the EU, there is another uncertainty. If

:09:45. > :09:47.Conservatives win the next British election, could there be another

:09:48. > :09:53.referendum, which could take the UK out of the EU in three years?

:09:54. > :09:57.Perhaps there is one saw the lining. While many countries may have found

:09:58. > :10:02.it incontrovertible that Westminster agreed to let the Scots hold this

:10:03. > :10:10.vote, it does show British democracy is alive and well. It is pretty

:10:11. > :10:14.remarkable that a state can say, we are not going to compel part of what

:10:15. > :10:19.has been our country that perhaps did not want to remain so to do so.

:10:20. > :10:23.We are going to allow the Democratic process. To do that, you have to be

:10:24. > :10:30.a country that has enormous confidence in its own situations. It

:10:31. > :10:34.is not all over yet. The next step on the UK's journey to remake itself

:10:35. > :10:41.begins, the rest of the world will be watching closely.

:10:42. > :10:49.Our last guests were talking about the importance of social media. It

:10:50. > :10:57.has been huge, the hash tags have been used so many times.

:10:58. > :10:59.Let's see what's being said on social media.

:11:00. > :11:01.Victoria Fritz is in our social media hub.

:11:02. > :11:03.Hello, I'm Victoria Fritz, welcome to the social hub, where we

:11:04. > :11:06.bring you the latest reaction on social media to Scotland's

:11:07. > :11:16.Financial markets and the larger institutions believed that Scotland

:11:17. > :11:20.will not become an independent country, a lot of the uncertainties

:11:21. > :11:30.have disappeared. The European Council president tweeted...

:11:31. > :11:37.There was a question mark over whether an independent Scotland

:11:38. > :11:44.could be accepted into the EU and adopt the euros. Richard Branson is

:11:45. > :11:54.one of the most influential accounts on Twitter. He tweeted...

:11:55. > :12:02.The turnout was more than 90% of the electorate casting a vote in some

:12:03. > :12:06.areas. Thoughts are now already moving on to where this leads us

:12:07. > :12:13.economic leave. We can look at what is happening with the credit rating

:12:14. > :12:21.agencies. The major ones say it does not change the outlook for the UK.

:12:22. > :12:26.Earlier, there was a rally in stocks, but also in the currencies,

:12:27. > :12:31.with the sterling hitting a two year high against the euros. They have

:12:32. > :12:38.pared back now, because traders are selling their positions. This is

:12:39. > :12:46.from the global head at London dealing and global asset management.

:12:47. > :12:51.On the floor of the dealing rooms in London, any traders were doing

:12:52. > :12:55.sterling trade yesterday, almost an entire day in two hours overnight,

:12:56. > :13:02.but they are already moving on to the next story.

:13:03. > :13:12.Just think about that! Let's look at the market. The stock market in

:13:13. > :13:18.London continues to be up. RBS shares continuing to rise. We have

:13:19. > :13:21.had those contingency plans to move the registered head office south of

:13:22. > :13:30.the border in the event of independence. The contingency plan

:13:31. > :13:33.is no longer required. The Pound Sterling is tackling a new

:13:34. > :13:37.complexity, because what will the evolutionary powers mean? Will

:13:38. > :13:44.business in the UK become more, located? Relief, but not euphoria,

:13:45. > :13:48.echoing the words of the RBS, it is back to business as usual.

:13:49. > :13:56.Maybe in some quarters! Plenty more to happen at

:13:57. > :14:04.Westminster, even the promises that were made in the run`up to the elect

:14:05. > :14:07.`` to the referendum. Let's go straight back to the

:14:08. > :14:13.developing line coming from Labour, because it is significant. Our

:14:14. > :14:16.political correspondent says that Ed Miliband has signalled people not

:14:17. > :14:24.sign up to the Prime Minister's plan to give more power to the Scottish

:14:25. > :14:29.Parliament at the same time as trying to agree new powers for

:14:30. > :14:36.English MPs. He goes onto say that while accepting need for reforms, he

:14:37. > :14:41.wants a process of debate to begin before the general election, but

:14:42. > :14:44.crucially, he is calling for a constitutional convention to

:14:45. > :14:51.finalise reforms to happen later, at some stage in the autumn of 2015. Ed

:14:52. > :14:54.Miliband trying to decouple what we saw the Prime Minister put together

:14:55. > :14:59.this morning, when he spoke in Downing Street. He said, yes, they

:15:00. > :15:04.needed to look at giving the Scottish Parliament more powers as

:15:05. > :15:09.promised, but parallel to that was to look at the issues for the rest

:15:10. > :15:14.of the UK, and he said the timeline would be done in conjunction, but Ed

:15:15. > :15:20.Miliband trying to put distance between those two issues. Our

:15:21. > :15:23.political correspondent has been looking at this issue of how and

:15:24. > :15:32.when to deliver those greater powers to Scotland.

:15:33. > :15:36.After an anxious night's wait, it was clear, Scotland will stay in the

:15:37. > :15:41.UK. Something else was clear, politics here has changed the good.

:15:42. > :15:45.Let's begin with England, the question of whether it is therefore

:15:46. > :15:49.Scottish MPs to vote on laws that only apply to England has been

:15:50. > :15:53.dogged for years. The Prime Minister said it needed to be answered. The

:15:54. > :15:57.question of English votes for English laws, the West Lothian

:15:58. > :16:03.question, requires a decisive answer. Just as Scotland will vote

:16:04. > :16:11.separately in the Scottish Parliament on their issues, so to

:16:12. > :16:13.England, as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, should be able to

:16:14. > :16:18.vote on these issues. This must take place in tandem with and at the same

:16:19. > :16:23.pace as the settlement for Scotland. The debate about England only

:16:24. > :16:29.legislation has simmered for years, and it is controversial. What laws

:16:30. > :16:34.would Scottish MPs be excluded from? Could a future Labour Prime

:16:35. > :16:38.Minister rely on Scottish MPs to get a complete set of budget measures

:16:39. > :16:45.through? Even by Britain's standards of improvisation, this is being done

:16:46. > :16:48.on the hoof and in a hurry. It means that the next general election will

:16:49. > :16:52.see the English question being one of the major issues we have to

:16:53. > :16:56.face, and I have long campaigned that Labour should be ahead of the

:16:57. > :17:01.curve, and I think we will be, long before the next election. You cannot

:17:02. > :17:08.have Scottish MPs sitting in judgement over budgets for England

:17:09. > :17:15.when they no longer... When questions have been wholly devolved

:17:16. > :17:19.to Scotland. UKIP's leader Nigel Farage posted letters to Scottish

:17:20. > :17:23.MPs, telling them not to vote on English issues in Westminster. This

:17:24. > :17:28.is playing catch up, David Cameron is scared of how English voters will

:17:29. > :17:33.view those promises made. The government wants to push more power

:17:34. > :17:37.down to cities, such as Carlisle. We should have the same as Scotland,

:17:38. > :17:44.where you get free prescriptions, why not? We would all like to see a

:17:45. > :17:48.default and of power and decision`making to local regions, so

:17:49. > :17:56.we can make decisions about local populations, and their needs. Local

:17:57. > :18:00.government should get a say. What about Wales? It has some devolved

:18:01. > :18:04.powers, but the pledge of guaranteed extra funding for Scotland and more

:18:05. > :18:09.power has punted calls for further devolution to Cardiff. Wales cannot

:18:10. > :18:15.and will not play second fiddle as we work up a new framework. At

:18:16. > :18:18.Stormont, the First Minister of Northern Ireland said the nations of

:18:19. > :18:23.the UK had to be involved in the discussion. The referendum in

:18:24. > :18:29.Scotland is over, the arguments of how written should now be governed

:18:30. > :18:33.have just begun. It is worth underlining how

:18:34. > :18:38.important this is. If those new powers to Scotland are delayed, the

:18:39. > :18:45.blame game starts. As it Ed Miliband's fault for going through

:18:46. > :18:50.the timeline that he wants, or David Cameron's fault for not delivering

:18:51. > :18:58.on the promises of ten days ago? You can see the political divide ahead

:18:59. > :19:00.for the coming month. We are expecting to hear from Alex Salmond,

:19:01. > :19:06.the First Minister, in the next little while. The room is all set

:19:07. > :19:12.up. Back to that as soon as it starts. The results are all

:19:13. > :19:14.declared, Scotland has rejected independence. Let's look back at the

:19:15. > :19:36.highs and lows of the last 24 hours. The BBC's forecast now is that

:19:37. > :19:45.Scotland has voted no to independence.

:19:46. > :19:52.I accept the verdict of the people, and I call on all of Scotland to

:19:53. > :19:58.follow suit and accept the democratic verdict of the people of

:19:59. > :20:01.Scotland. There can be no disputes, no reruns, we have heard the will of

:20:02. > :20:35.the Scottish people. This forecast brings brighter skies

:20:36. > :20:38.after a week of cloud in eastern Scotland and North East England, and

:20:39. > :20:44.an end to the thunderstorms, but not yet. Showers and thunderstorms

:20:45. > :20:48.scattered about in England and Wales, and now the risk of nasty

:20:49. > :20:53.storms developing over the next few hours across south`east England. One

:20:54. > :21:02.torrential storm in London, Hale reported as well. Others reported as

:21:03. > :21:05.well the night goes on. If you catch one, and a lot of rain in a short

:21:06. > :21:12.space of time. Surface water flooding, Hale and some disruption

:21:13. > :21:18.possible. Showers through Scotland and Northern Ireland. The head of

:21:19. > :21:25.that, a cold night on recently. Elsewhere across the UK, a muggy

:21:26. > :21:29.night. Saturday morning, the picture at 9am, if you are expecting cloud,

:21:30. > :21:36.you will not be far wrong, just a few hints of brightness. A warm

:21:37. > :21:41.start to the day. Some of the overnight showers and storms still

:21:42. > :21:45.around for the morning. Brighter skies into Northern Ireland, pushing

:21:46. > :21:51.south across Scotland. The first sign of a welcome change on the way.

:21:52. > :21:57.For the rest of the day, plenty of cloud in England and. There will be

:21:58. > :22:03.a few showers to be had. The outbreaks of rain clearing from East

:22:04. > :22:07.Anglia. It will still be warm and muggy across southern areas, but

:22:08. > :22:12.much fresher across Scotland and Northern Ireland. That is the big

:22:13. > :22:16.change. If you have had a week of cloud, Mr Ness and McGuinness,

:22:17. > :22:24.through the weekend, the weather front will change everything. On

:22:25. > :22:28.Saturday, we get into the brighter skies, and on Sunday, better

:22:29. > :22:33.visibility and air quality, it will be a lovely weekend, after a week of

:22:34. > :22:38.cloud. On Sunday, we are all in the brighter air, as pressure builds.

:22:39. > :22:43.One or two early showers in eastern England. Some good sunny spells.

:22:44. > :22:49.Eight cold start to the day. Not as warm as it has been, but there is

:22:50. > :22:55.some decent sunshine. It is colder, fresher and less humid. We get

:22:56. > :23:02.better visibility and air quality, but for many of you, that might be a

:23:03. > :23:23.welcome change. Thunderstorms at the moment, more in half an hour.

:23:24. > :23:29.Scotland's days. Voters reject independence, choosing to remain

:23:30. > :23:34.part of the United Kingdom. `` Scotland stays. The margin of

:23:35. > :23:37.victory is wider than some had predicted, 55% of voters said no.

:23:38. > :23:42.David Cameron is delighted. We now have a chance,

:23:43. > :23:45.a great opportunity to change the way that British people are governed

:23:46. > :23:56.and change it for the better. Alex Salmond urges the yes camp to

:23:57. > :23:58.stay upbeat, but accept the will of the people, saying he will hold

:23:59. > :24:04.Westminster to its campaign pledge. Unionist parties made vows late

:24:05. > :24:06.in the campaign to devolve more Scotland will expect

:24:07. > :24:17.these to be honoured. I am Jane Hill in Hollywood on the

:24:18. > :24:25.day that Scotland decided it destiny. I am Vicky Young in Downing

:24:26. > :24:28.Street assessing the impact on the UK Parliament and how David Cameron

:24:29. > :24:34.is dealing with anger from his own MPs. As Scotland now looks to the

:24:35. > :24:36.future we will have all of the reaction to the referendum result

:24:37. > :25:00.and what it means for the UK as a whole.

:25:01. > :25:06.Hello and good afternoon from Edinburgh. The people of Scotland

:25:07. > :25:10.have spoken and the answer is no. By a wider margin than many people

:25:11. > :25:14.predicted, Scotland has voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.

:25:15. > :25:18.Early this morning the head of the yes campaign, Scotland's First

:25:19. > :25:23.Minister Alex Salmond, admitted defeat, calling on all of Scotland

:25:24. > :25:26.to accept the result. David Cameron says the debate is now settled for a

:25:27. > :25:32.generation, but he has promised a new unfair devolution settlement for

:25:33. > :25:38.all parts of the UK. With all councils declared, the no campaign

:25:39. > :25:44.took 55% of the vote, 45% for the yes camp. Turnout was a record

:25:45. > :25:49.84.6%, meaning more than three and a half million people voted on this

:25:50. > :25:54.historic occasion. Only four council areas voted yes. Including

:25:55. > :26:00.Scotland's largest city, Glasgow, and, as you see, a yes win in

:26:01. > :26:04.Dundee. 28 council areas voted no, here is a look at some of them,

:26:05. > :26:09.including Edinburgh, Fife and Alex Salmond's own constituency,

:26:10. > :26:13.Aberdeenshire. For the rest of the day we have continuing reaction to

:26:14. > :26:17.the referendum results and discuss the political consequences. Here in

:26:18. > :26:21.Scotland and the rest of the union. There are calls for more power to be

:26:22. > :26:26.given by Westminster to other parts of the country. In a moment we will

:26:27. > :26:30.have an assessment from our political correspondent Ian Watt,

:26:31. > :26:34.but first let's look at the scene further away in a different part of

:26:35. > :26:38.Edinburgh, because we are waiting to hear from Alex Salmond. The First

:26:39. > :26:46.Minister is due to give his first formal news conference since the No

:26:47. > :26:51.vote was formally announced. We will be back at Bute house for that

:26:52. > :26:53.statement. Let's hear more about the events of the day and those results

:26:54. > :26:56.from Iain Watson. This is

:26:57. > :26:57.the moment it became official. Scotland had said no

:26:58. > :27:08.to independence. Yes, the number of votes,

:27:09. > :27:23.1,617,989. It had become obvious on Alex

:27:24. > :27:27.Salmond's face what the result was. It was not just about

:27:28. > :27:35.the politicians, millions of people Invest their hopes, dreams, fears

:27:36. > :27:39.and nightmares in a campaign that became tense over the last two

:27:40. > :27:43.weeks, but had merely laughed at for the past two years. Somewhat elated,

:27:44. > :27:47.others disappointed, many quite simply exhausted.

:27:48. > :27:50.Whatever his heart felt, Alex Salmond put a brave face on the

:27:51. > :27:55.Thank you to Scotland for 1.6 million votes for Scottish

:27:56. > :28:00.But he told his supporters to reconcile themselves to defeat.

:28:01. > :28:05.I accept that verdict of the people and I call on all

:28:06. > :28:07.of Scotland to follow suit in accepting the Democratic verdict

:28:08. > :28:15.When he became Scotland's first ever First Minister 15 years ago,

:28:16. > :28:21.this man believed the Scottish parliament would consign the MP's

:28:22. > :28:33.Four out of ten voters in Scotland have voted for independence.

:28:34. > :28:37.Senior figures in the Labour Party today are stressing that a no vote

:28:38. > :28:46.does not mean no change. The leader

:28:47. > :28:48.of the Better Together campaign said they would listen to the concerns of

:28:49. > :28:51.those who had not voted for them. More than 85% of the Scottish

:28:52. > :28:55.population has voted. People who were disengaged

:28:56. > :28:57.in politics have turned out And the Prime Minister promised more

:28:58. > :29:00.devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but made clear he

:29:01. > :29:03.felt the question of independence Now the debate has been settled

:29:04. > :29:16.for a generation. As Alex Salmond has said,

:29:17. > :29:24.perhaps for a lifetime. Alex Salmond has just arrived to

:29:25. > :29:32.talk to the press. I am immensely proud of the campaign that Yes

:29:33. > :29:40.Scotland for, especially the 1.6 million voters who rallied to that

:29:41. > :29:42.cause. `` fought. I am proud of the 85% turnout in the referendum and

:29:43. > :29:47.the remarkable response of the people of Scotland who participated

:29:48. > :29:51.in this great democratic constitutional debate and the manner

:29:52. > :29:57.in which they conducted themselves. We now have the opportunity to hold

:29:58. > :30:00.Westminster's feet to the fire on the vow they have made to devolve

:30:01. > :30:08.further meaningful power to Scotland. This places Scotland in a

:30:09. > :30:12.very strong position. I spoke to the Prime Minister today and although he

:30:13. > :30:17.reiterated his intention to proceed as he has now outlined, he would not

:30:18. > :30:21.commit to a second vote by the 27th of March on a new Scotland Bill,

:30:22. > :30:26.that was a clear promise laid out by Gordon Brown during the campaign.

:30:27. > :30:31.The Prime Minister says such a vote would be meaningless. I suspect he

:30:32. > :30:35.cannot guarantee the support of his party. As we have already seen in

:30:36. > :30:40.the last hour, the common front between Labour and Tory, Tory and

:30:41. > :30:48.Labour, is starting to break. The real point is this: The real

:30:49. > :30:52.guardians of progress are no longer politicians at Westminster, even at

:30:53. > :30:57.Holyrood, but the energise activism of tens of thousands of people who I

:30:58. > :31:04.predict will refuse to meekly go back into the political shadows. For

:31:05. > :31:09.me right now, therefore, there is a decision as to who is best placed to

:31:10. > :31:18.lead this process forward. I believe this is a new, exciting situation

:31:19. > :31:22.with a lot of possibility. In that situation I think party, Parliament

:31:23. > :31:25.and country would benefit from new leadership. Therefore I have told

:31:26. > :31:28.the National Secretary of the Scottish National party that I shall

:31:29. > :31:32.not accept nomination for leader at the annual conference in Perth from

:31:33. > :31:37.the 13th to the 15th of November. After the membership are that I will

:31:38. > :31:40.stand down as First Minister to allow the new leader to be elected

:31:41. > :31:48.by due parliamentary process. Until then I will continue to serve as

:31:49. > :31:50.First Minister and offer myself as member for the Scottish Parliament

:31:51. > :31:55.for Aberdeenshire East. It has been the privilege of my life to serve as

:31:56. > :31:59.First Minister. But as I said often enough during this referendum

:32:00. > :32:05.campaign, this is a process which is not about me or the SNP, any

:32:06. > :32:11.political party, it is much more important than that. The position is

:32:12. > :32:16.this: We lost the referendum vote, but Scotland can still carry the

:32:17. > :32:23.political initiative. Scotland can still emerge as the real winner. For

:32:24. > :32:31.me as leader, my time is nearly over. But for Scotland, the campaign

:32:32. > :32:42.continues. And the dream shall never die. And I am very happy to answer a

:32:43. > :32:45.few questions. Thank you for that statement, First Minister, do you

:32:46. > :32:50.have a particular success in mind? Can you indicate what was the

:32:51. > :32:55.precise motivation that has led you to this decision? And most

:32:56. > :32:57.particularly, you said during the referendum campaign this was a

:32:58. > :33:02.decision for a generation, possibly a lifetime, do you believe the party

:33:03. > :33:06.you have let's now for some time will change its nature and become

:33:07. > :33:12.more a party of Scottish affairs and interest rather than a party of

:33:13. > :33:17.independence? No is the answer to the last part of that question,

:33:18. > :33:22.Brian, but on the question of who is to be the leader of the Scottish

:33:23. > :33:24.National party, and is likely, therefore, through parliamentary

:33:25. > :33:29.process to be the next First Minister, that is a matter for the

:33:30. > :33:33.membership of the SNP. There are a number of eminently qualified and

:33:34. > :33:39.very suitable candidates. We have a strong leadership team. As far as my

:33:40. > :33:46.comments, I have always believed, as you know, a referendum is a once in

:33:47. > :33:51.a generation process. A political generation, we had a referendum in

:33:52. > :33:55.79 and another in 97. I did draw attention... It seems to me the

:33:56. > :33:59.political focus to take Scotland forward has now shifted, commitments

:34:00. > :34:07.were made, vows were made in the last stages of the referendum

:34:08. > :34:12.campaign. A clear, explicit timetable was laid out. As I said in

:34:13. > :34:16.a statement, the opportunity for Scotland is twofold, one is to hold

:34:17. > :34:20.Westminster's feet to the fire to make sure there is no slippage from

:34:21. > :34:25.that timetable. I would be disappointed that the idea of the

:34:26. > :34:27.second reading vote seems to have disappeared already as well as the

:34:28. > :34:33.Labour and Conservative common front on the issue. The real guardians of

:34:34. > :34:38.Scotland are not political parties or Westminster, not even the

:34:39. > :34:40.political parties in Holyrood. They are the energise activists, tens of

:34:41. > :34:46.thousands of people now in the political process, that is where the

:34:47. > :34:54.guarantees lie in my estimation. Your reason for standing down? In

:34:55. > :34:57.these circumstances you should judge whether the party Parliament country

:34:58. > :35:03.would benefit from new leadership. You know, as I should know, you are

:35:04. > :35:08.not the only journalist in this room, Brian, who have covered that

:35:09. > :35:11.entire political process. I had ten years as leader of the Scottish

:35:12. > :35:18.National party, then a slight pause, then another ten years. I have just

:35:19. > :35:22.completed. It is not exactly fly by night in the terms of the leadership

:35:23. > :35:25.spell. At this stage, this point, and this is a moment of great

:35:26. > :35:30.political opportunity, I had to make a judgement as to whether I am best

:35:31. > :35:35.placed to take that opportunity forward. And I think others are. And

:35:36. > :35:42.the party, I am sure, will make a wise choice and take party and

:35:43. > :35:47.country forward. The most important thing is not about who is First

:35:48. > :35:51.Minister, but whether you engage in the political process. There is a

:35:52. > :35:54.tremendous opportunity to do it. I think new leadership can be part of

:35:55. > :36:04.that galvanising process. Clare Stewart? First Minister, what is

:36:05. > :36:08.your reaction to Ed Miliband not signing up to David Cameron's

:36:09. > :36:19.devolution plan. How difficult a decision was this for you? I will

:36:20. > :36:23.make this comment to people: When Ed Miliband and David Cameron came to

:36:24. > :36:28.Scotland or weak pass I felt they lacked a degree of credibility. `` a

:36:29. > :36:34.week past. In terms of the last`minute nature of the offer,

:36:35. > :36:37.last`minute attempt at political engagement. Over the last 48 hours,

:36:38. > :36:43.because of the manner in which the vow was presented, and number of

:36:44. > :36:48.people thought it was so explicit and clear and definite that there

:36:49. > :36:57.could be no going back from it. It's does mean, we might get a different

:36:58. > :36:59.a statement tomorrow, but having a parliamentary vote on Gordon

:37:00. > :37:03.Brown's timetable, before the general election, and presumably

:37:04. > :37:08.Gordon Brown suggested that, because he knows it was not the exact

:37:09. > :37:13.parliamentary process that counted, it was actually having a second

:37:14. > :37:16.reading vote to demonstrate real commitment... Of that and the common

:37:17. > :37:22.front between the Prime Minister and leader of the opposition, which

:37:23. > :37:26.seems so easy. When people in Scotland were to be persuaded to

:37:27. > :37:32.vote no, now in the aftermath, it's means and what more difficult. Be

:37:33. > :37:36.that as it may, as I said, the guardians of Scotland in this

:37:37. > :37:42.process are now the tens of thousands of people actively into

:37:43. > :37:47.politics. I do not think it will any longer depend on the words and deeds

:37:48. > :37:51.of Westminster, even Hollywood, politicians. That is where the

:37:52. > :38:00.centre of gravity now lies and it is on that basis I am confident about

:38:01. > :38:04.the future. `` Holyrood. Of the politicians will be judged, of

:38:05. > :38:13.course, not by the they spoke, but the actions they now take forward.

:38:14. > :38:15.Martin? Just to be clear, are you suggesting the Scottish electorate

:38:16. > :38:17.have been duped by Westminster, what would the consequences be if that

:38:18. > :38:25.were so? There were 1.6 million people who

:38:26. > :38:29.made a choice for independence, that is an extraordinary total and way

:38:30. > :38:37.beyond the realistic expectations of the last generation of Scottish

:38:38. > :38:40.politics. When the multi`option choice was resented with

:38:41. > :38:46.independence as the main choice, I think the 1.6 million will speak and

:38:47. > :38:50.speak aloud if there is a retreat from the commitments made. More than

:38:51. > :38:56.that, I think that many of the 2 million people who were not

:38:57. > :38:58.persuaded for the Scottish independence argument, many were

:38:59. > :39:04.persuaded something else was about to be offered. Or a timetable we

:39:05. > :39:07.were told was quicker than the process of independence

:39:08. > :39:14.negotiations. I imagine these people, in particular, will be

:39:15. > :39:17.astonished by the early developments at Westminster, that the United

:39:18. > :39:23.front, that the easy commitments there, are starting to be withdrawn.

:39:24. > :39:30.Those of us who voted yes did so in the faith and belief in Scotland's

:39:31. > :39:32.future but also with a healthy scepticism of Westminster

:39:33. > :39:39.guarantees. Some of the people who voted no will be incandescent, I

:39:40. > :39:45.suspect, if they see slippage from a timetable clearly articulated only a

:39:46. > :39:54.few days ago. John? You talk of energised activism and an Marshalls

:39:55. > :39:59.`` and that without marshalling might not go very far. No First

:40:00. > :40:04.Minister can hope to become involved in that energised activism. Hence,

:40:05. > :40:09.will you become buried within it? Willie become the leader of it? And

:40:10. > :40:16.will you continue to toil for independence? `` will you become the

:40:17. > :40:21.leader of it? The first Lady `` First Minister of the country will

:40:22. > :40:25.be who the Parliament chooses. I have no intention of retiring from

:40:26. > :40:31.Scottish politics. There are a large number of things you are able to do

:40:32. > :40:35.when you are not First Minister of Scotland or the leader of a party,

:40:36. > :40:39.which is useful. The whole point about the energised activism is it

:40:40. > :40:42.does not end on leadership figures. I would have thought the whole point

:40:43. > :40:46.about it and the significant development of this campaign was the

:40:47. > :40:51.emergence of that as a grassroots movement and, by definition, it is

:40:52. > :40:56.not top`down leadership. Not only will I not be the leader of the

:40:57. > :41:01.energised activism by definition, but it doesn't come from a

:41:02. > :41:05.leadership aspect. But I want to be part of that campaign. I think it

:41:06. > :41:09.was fundamentally exciting. I think it was one of the underlying amazing

:41:10. > :41:14.stories of this political campaign and I have to say, those who didn't

:41:15. > :41:19.see that huge story because they were concerned about some relatively

:41:20. > :41:27.peripheral, minor instance from either side on politics, have missed

:41:28. > :41:32.this extraordinary development in this modern age of political

:41:33. > :41:36.activism on a scale which Scotland has never seen. That is one of the

:41:37. > :41:41.underlying wonderful stories of the campaign. The question is, how does

:41:42. > :41:46.that rebalance Scottish politics? It is quite fundamental and I think it

:41:47. > :41:50.believes challenges, particularly to Westminster, the ultimate top`down

:41:51. > :41:56.leadership process, and also Holyrood. How that activism can be

:41:57. > :42:02.engaged and encompassed within the sphere of Scottish politics doesn't

:42:03. > :42:07.depend on a leader figure. Will you continue to toil for independence?

:42:08. > :42:12.Not toil, I think. I believed in Scottish independence all my life, I

:42:13. > :42:18.continue to do so, I shall do everything I can do so to contribute

:42:19. > :42:28.to the cause. There are many ways to do it. Will it be in your lifetime?

:42:29. > :42:35.Oh, yes, absolutely. I think the position of Scotland now is redolent

:42:36. > :42:40.of opportunity. There is a great opportunity for the SNP and the

:42:41. > :42:45.other yes forces. I am more interested in the opportunity that

:42:46. > :42:49.lies ahead for Scotland. I think the situation is redolent with

:42:50. > :42:56.opportunity and political progress for the country. Peter? First

:42:57. > :43:00.Minister, when I interviewed you recently you looks me in the eye and

:43:01. > :43:04.you said, we will win in the South of Scotland and we will win across

:43:05. > :43:10.Scotland. You have lost by a margin of ten percentage points. That is a

:43:11. > :43:15.very big margin. It seems to me here you are blaming Westminster forces.

:43:16. > :43:20.Do you not take some personal responsibility for this defeat? I am

:43:21. > :43:26.looking you straight in the eye, Peter, and I say that I think 45%

:43:27. > :43:29.voting is a remarkable political development. If you had been

:43:30. > :43:36.interviewing me a few months ago, I think you were, you certainly didn't

:43:37. > :43:42.forecast that to be the case. I know this because I saw use it on

:43:43. > :43:48.television a few hours ago. `` I saw you say it. I do not think there is

:43:49. > :43:51.any more sure way to take responsibility I have for that than

:43:52. > :43:57.the decision I just made. Any mistakes made in this campaign were

:43:58. > :44:00.mine. Nobody else is responsible. I think, however, that a balanced

:44:01. > :44:06.judgement would tell you that this campaign went a long way in a very

:44:07. > :44:18.reasonable and short space of time in the few months to delivering on

:44:19. > :44:26.that ambition for Scotland. In terms of the mistakes, they are mine and

:44:27. > :44:32.mine alone. Yes? David Clegg from the daily record. As a member of the

:44:33. > :44:36.SNP, who do you plan to support for your replacement as leader? There

:44:37. > :44:50.are a number of conventions in politics. There are a number that

:44:51. > :44:55.are broken! Shall I vow on this? Can I say, one of the conventions that

:44:56. > :44:59.is entirely appropriate in a membership ballot, and a pure

:45:00. > :45:05.democracy like the SNP leadership contest, one person one vote, it is

:45:06. > :45:09.rather incompetent on the outgoing leader not to attempt to nominate

:45:10. > :45:15.that process. The whole point about it is that everybody in a process,

:45:16. > :45:19.like everybody in this referendum, has one vote like everybody else. I

:45:20. > :45:30.will not attempt to construct the SNP. They are well able. I think

:45:31. > :45:33.when they voted for me, they have been pretty good, and they are well

:45:34. > :45:47.able to make the judgement without any guidance on the outgoing

:45:48. > :45:54.leader. This lady? Obviously, there is a situation of further devolution

:45:55. > :46:01.starting soon. How quickly can your successor be appointment ``

:46:02. > :46:08.appointed? My successor should be in place at the time of the SNP annual

:46:09. > :46:14.conference in Perth on 13th November two 15th November. Edward then

:46:15. > :46:23.likely be the next week. The parliamentary timetable means I

:46:24. > :46:30.would be the likelihood, mid`November, in terms of a new

:46:31. > :46:35.First Minister. This is an energising process for political

:46:36. > :46:42.parties. I see no reason that the SNP wouldn't want to engage in that

:46:43. > :46:45.and policy does not stop because of a leadership contest. It helps to

:46:46. > :46:51.crystallise the different ways ahead. For me, there seems to be a

:46:52. > :46:56.clear priority for Scotland and a political opportunity for Scotland.

:46:57. > :47:08.I am sure that will develop and emerge as the SNP leadership contest

:47:09. > :47:16.moves forward. Andy? I should have said, I think you have been through

:47:17. > :47:19.that process with Brian Taylor. Can you talk us through in more detail

:47:20. > :47:25.what the conversation was with the Prime Minister, how you raised the

:47:26. > :47:32.idea of the deadline and what his response was? I congratulated the

:47:33. > :47:35.Prime Minister, because he is the fact to the winner of the no

:47:36. > :47:43.campaign. I can gradually did him on his success in the campaign. He

:47:44. > :47:50.kindly, through the civil service, sent me a note of what he had in

:47:51. > :47:55.mind to say on a number of aspects and I find it quite satisfactory.

:47:56. > :48:03.When I asked the Prime Minister, because I was interested to know if

:48:04. > :48:06.the Gordon Brown timetable which he endorsed of 27th March to have a

:48:07. > :48:11.vote on a Scotland Bill, his response was, that is a meaningless

:48:12. > :48:15.process because, of course, it would be overtaken by the UK general

:48:16. > :48:23.election. I probably think Gordon Brown knew that when he put forward

:48:24. > :48:27.on 20th March one I assume he was trying to do, which was to say there

:48:28. > :48:31.would be a vote in the House of Commons to indicate support for such

:48:32. > :48:35.a proposal. My suspicion is, and the Prime Minister did not tell me this

:48:36. > :48:41.aspect, that there is some doubt in the Prime Minister's mind about

:48:42. > :48:46.carrying his own backbenches and their reluctance to have a vote. I

:48:47. > :48:51.think people in Scotland would be astonished and outraged,

:48:52. > :48:57.particularly those who voted no in this, but if we now find out we are

:48:58. > :49:04.moving back from the clear foul of the joint endeavour of the

:49:05. > :49:09.Westminster parties to move forward on a timetable set out as within 24

:49:10. > :49:17.hours `` which has, within 24 hours, become non`joint and a parliamentary

:49:18. > :49:21.vote that may never happen. That would not be satisfactory to

:49:22. > :49:25.Scotland and the guarantee we look for lies in that energised activism

:49:26. > :49:34.of the Scottish people. I think they are the guardians of Scotland. Yes?

:49:35. > :49:40.You talk about this energised campaign, but do you not concede

:49:41. > :49:45.that there are a large number of people in our country who have felt

:49:46. > :49:54.deeply uneasy about the prospect of not remaining within the UK? Tom, I

:49:55. > :49:58.obviously accept that 55% of the country voted against independence

:49:59. > :50:07.and 45% voted for it. I disagree about the description of that. That

:50:08. > :50:15.is not the same thing as a fight or an argument. Despite the obvious

:50:16. > :50:20.disappointment of the yes campaign and the success of the no campaign,

:50:21. > :50:28.I see no sign of the divided country that some people were forecasting.

:50:29. > :50:32.99% of people in Scotland no we have elections to have a result and have

:50:33. > :50:39.referendums, and felt this process of having a referendum on having the

:50:40. > :50:43.ability to choose was fundamentally invigorating. If you have elections

:50:44. > :50:46.are referendums, one of the aspects is you are prepared to accept the

:50:47. > :50:51.result, as I did on behalf of the yes campaign this morning. What has

:50:52. > :50:54.been the matter with Scottish politics is not that we have had

:50:55. > :50:58.elections and accepted the result, it is that we have had elections for

:50:59. > :51:05.the better part of the last 59 years when the result that was declared

:51:06. > :51:09.wasn't the one that we voted for. Therefore, when you have an election

:51:10. > :51:14.or a contest, people accept the result. It is the yes campaign who

:51:15. > :51:18.are disappointed that we did not campaign, but the yes campaign, I

:51:19. > :51:24.declare, has accepted the result and are prepared and willing to engage

:51:25. > :51:28.under the Edinburgh agreement in terms of not just accepting that

:51:29. > :51:32.result but moving forward in the best interests of Scotland and the

:51:33. > :51:45.UK. This has come about because, even quicker than I suspected, part

:51:46. > :51:49.of the vow seems to have been unvowed in a short period of time.

:51:50. > :51:53.Many of your friends and party members will be really upset today.

:51:54. > :51:59.Are you not just adding to that by announcing a resignation today?

:52:00. > :52:10.Howdy feel about that for them? I am conscious of that, that I have

:52:11. > :52:14.consistently argued a position, particularly in the referendum, but

:52:15. > :52:17.this was not about an individual or any political party. This was much

:52:18. > :52:22.bigger and more important than that. Therefore, my judgement has to

:52:23. > :52:28.be as far as the SNP's contribution to that figure process, would it

:52:29. > :52:32.benefit from having new leadership? With the country benefit, therefore,

:52:33. > :52:38.and with the parliament benefit? My judgement is it would and therefore

:52:39. > :52:48.it is in the spirit of not just saying it is more important, but to

:52:49. > :52:53.carry it through. Can I ask when exactly you made the decision to

:52:54. > :52:57.stand down and if this is the end for you in front line politics, or

:52:58. > :52:58.if you could be tempted act if a new leader was to offer you some sort of

:52:59. > :53:07.role? If nominated I will decline.

:53:08. > :53:12.LAUGHTER Know, as I have said a number of

:53:13. > :53:16.times, I keep saying I am 59 and have asked audiences to agree with

:53:17. > :53:22.me that I do not look it. I am 60 years old at Hogmanay. I think many

:53:23. > :53:30.people do wonderful things in politics and elsewhere way beyond

:53:31. > :53:34.that age, but 20 years as leader of the Scottish National party is a

:53:35. > :53:42.fair spell over the last quarter century. The last seven years as

:53:43. > :53:52.First Minister of Scotland has been the privilege of my life. It is a

:53:53. > :53:57.reasonable spell of service. It is an aspect you have to understand and

:53:58. > :54:03.recognise when it is time to give someone else a chance to move that

:54:04. > :54:06.forward. We have to stop talking about referendum battles and things

:54:07. > :54:13.like that, let's talk about getting up the mountain. The base camp is

:54:14. > :54:24.not far off the summit now. It might be that we can make that last move

:54:25. > :54:27.to the summit, not those who got it to the current cabinet. That is my

:54:28. > :54:36.judgement and I think the right thing to do. As to when, I made the

:54:37. > :54:41.decision this morning. I was not right, I believe there are great

:54:42. > :54:48.possibilities in the campaign. I would not have made the decision if

:54:49. > :54:52.it had been a Yes vote. In the circumstances of the vote we have,

:54:53. > :54:56.galvanising, audible, empowering and massive though it is, I think it is

:54:57. > :55:06.my judgement that somebody else would be best placed to take that

:55:07. > :55:12.leadership forward to the summit. Magnus garden from the Herald. You

:55:13. > :55:16.Scotland's longest serving First Minister, you won an election and

:55:17. > :55:19.majority government which many people believed was impossible, you

:55:20. > :55:24.staged a referendum on independence which a lot of people believed was

:55:25. > :55:28.impossible. In that referendum you secured 45% of the vote, which a few

:55:29. > :55:34.weeks ago many people would have thought was impossible. When you

:55:35. > :55:39.come to leave office, how much of you will feel that you fell short

:55:40. > :55:44.and how much of you will feel that actually you achieve a great deal? I

:55:45. > :55:51.should have spoken to do this morning, that is a very good

:55:52. > :55:56.description of the process. Magnus, it is more a judgement of where we

:55:57. > :56:04.are. As I said, and I absolutely believe the circumstances hold lots

:56:05. > :56:08.of possibilities for Scotland. The SNP on Scotland. There is a

:56:09. > :56:12.judgement to be made about how best to take that forward. What is the

:56:13. > :56:19.SNP and the First Minister's contribution to that? I am convinced

:56:20. > :56:23.that at this stage, this moment, it would be better to have that under

:56:24. > :56:29.new leadership. It is about how the process goes forward. Only that is

:56:30. > :56:37.my interest in this matter. In fact it always has been. James? You

:56:38. > :56:40.referred this morning to the people of Scotland voting against

:56:41. > :56:44.independence at this stage. You talked about holding Westminster's

:56:45. > :56:49.feature to the fire in terms of the demand for more powers. Do you not

:56:50. > :56:52.accept that because the people of Scotland have spoken that your dream

:56:53. > :56:57.of independence is dead for a generation? I have said it number of

:56:58. > :57:02.times, James, I think the constitutional referendum is a once

:57:03. > :57:06.in a generation process. That is my opinion, they have never expressed

:57:07. > :57:14.it as anything other than my observation. I am merely pointing

:57:15. > :57:19.out... Let's see, the confusion of the Westminster leaders already,

:57:20. > :57:27.this rapid disengagement from their engagement. It may not carry, may be

:57:28. > :57:33.another joint statement tomorrow, another letter, who knows? I am

:57:34. > :57:38.entitled to say that many people in Scotland were persuaded by the joint

:57:39. > :57:41.foul to Leitch promise, because it was so explicit, it cannot be

:57:42. > :57:48.anything other than a real attempt to go forward. We are quite entitled

:57:49. > :57:53.to say the people of Scotland should hold the leadership at

:57:54. > :57:58.Westminster's feet to the fire, it was the basis on which they secured

:57:59. > :58:04.a majority in the referendum. Can I just say, the process of Scotland

:58:05. > :58:09.gaining self government has been one which has gone through many phases

:58:10. > :58:12.and forms, all of which have been entirely legitimate. The only

:58:13. > :58:17.consistent threat, because we have been within the democratic process

:58:18. > :58:23.and peaceful, as we always will be in my estimation, those who have

:58:24. > :58:28.followed them, like Brian and Andy, have detailed the faces of

:58:29. > :58:33.gradualism, under mentalism. These were legitimate tactics that have

:58:34. > :58:38.Scotland's cause and case to be forward. Right now on the basis of

:58:39. > :58:42.what has happened in the referendum, there is a political opportunity for

:58:43. > :58:45.this nation in terms of holding Westminster to account on promises

:58:46. > :58:49.that have been made to enhance the power of the Scottish parliament,

:58:50. > :58:54.that is progress towards the objective of independence, it does

:58:55. > :58:57.not involve, certainly in the future that we can see, having another

:58:58. > :59:02.constitutional referendum. On independence. But it still means

:59:03. > :59:07.progress can be made to that object is in a way that was done before I

:59:08. > :59:11.introduced the referendum as a policy that the SNP should abide by.

:59:12. > :59:17.Listen, these will be exciting aspects of the leadership debate and

:59:18. > :59:21.campaign from the Scottish National party, which I am sure will be well

:59:22. > :59:27.covered in Scottish politics. Those of us who remember all of the

:59:28. > :59:30.highways and byways, the various nuances of constitutional politics,

:59:31. > :59:36.will no doubt just down the old lexicon and get back into these

:59:37. > :59:40.terminologies. You are the First Minister of the country, you must

:59:41. > :59:46.have known the referendum could go this way, don't you feel you have a

:59:47. > :59:49.responsibility to the people of Scotland to stay, rather than

:59:50. > :59:53.perhaps destabilising things. Secondly, if I may say so, you are

:59:54. > :59:59.not an old man, what are you going to do if you step back, simply

:00:00. > :00:03.withdraw entirely from political life or take another role? They are

:00:04. > :00:08.not going to withdraw entirely from political life if the people of

:00:09. > :00:13.Aberdeenshire East wished to elect me, I will be a candid, I intend to

:00:14. > :00:20.be in the next Scottish elections. `` be a candidate. I have never been

:00:21. > :00:24.one to criticise people who have continued to put themselves forward

:00:25. > :00:31.for election, they have criticised those who suddenly think it is the

:00:32. > :00:36.be all and end all of politics, to get office. I am not an old man I

:00:37. > :00:45.heartily endorse your observation on the matter. You don't have to be

:00:46. > :00:50.leader of the SNP or First Minister to contribute to the political

:00:51. > :00:52.process. Can I say... The four years I was not leader of the Scottish

:00:53. > :00:57.National party in the last quarter of a century, I felt, for example,

:00:58. > :01:04.the debates on the illegal invasion of Iraq, the potential impeachment

:01:05. > :01:09.of Mr Blair, however one thought about these issues, I made a

:01:10. > :01:12.reasonable contribution to the political process without being

:01:13. > :01:15.leader of the Scottish National party and without being First

:01:16. > :01:19.Minister of Scotland. I love the fact I have been the longest serving

:01:20. > :01:22.First Minister in Scotland, not because I am the longest serving,

:01:23. > :01:27.but because it is allowed. Substantial achievements have been

:01:28. > :01:30.made in Scottish Parliament and society. The one I am most proud of

:01:31. > :01:37.is the restoration of free education. I am also aware and I

:01:38. > :01:41.think by general acknowledgement that Scottish National party is the

:01:42. > :01:49.strongest leadership team in Scottish politics and it is right

:01:50. > :01:55.and proper these people are given an opportunity to show what they can do

:01:56. > :02:00.as First Minister of Scotland. I think 20 of the last 24 years is not

:02:01. > :02:10.an inconsiderable or unreasonable shift at the coal face. John?

:02:11. > :02:13.STUDIO: We will leave this news conference at Bute house. The key

:02:14. > :02:19.elements emerging there in the last half an hour, Alex Salmond saying he

:02:20. > :02:24.is going to step down as First Minister and as leader of the

:02:25. > :02:29.Scottish National party. In the wake of the No vote we have talked so

:02:30. > :02:36.much about today. He said "my time as leader is almost over, but the

:02:37. > :02:39.dream will never die. He said that is a reference to the fact it does

:02:40. > :02:43.not happen immediately. He effectively remained leader until

:02:44. > :02:50.the party conference, which takes place in Perth in November. It does

:02:51. > :02:55.not take place today, but Alex Salmond is stepping down as party

:02:56. > :02:59.leader and First Minister. Stressing he is not retiring completely from

:03:00. > :03:06.political life. He says he hopes to remain as the SMP Elli MP for

:03:07. > :03:11.Aberdeenshire East and look to the future. `` as the MP for

:03:12. > :03:16.Aberdeenshire. There is more positive news, as he would see it,

:03:17. > :03:20.for Scotland to come. In terms of what we can expect from

:03:21. > :03:25.Westminster, saying we will be holding Westminster's feet to the

:03:26. > :03:32.fire. That is a reference to the extra powers promised to Edinburgh

:03:33. > :03:36.just a few days ago. Let's get the thoughts of Norman Smith, who was

:03:37. > :03:42.listening to Alex Salmond's news conference. He is in Glasgow for

:03:43. > :03:48.us. Very striking comedy claimed he only made the decision this

:03:49. > :03:53.morning. `` very striking, he claimed he only made the decision

:03:54. > :03:58.this morning. Your thoughts? In some ways a shock decision, in another

:03:59. > :04:03.way not really a shock decision given the scale of last night's

:04:04. > :04:10.defeat, a 10% win for the No side and Alex Salmond indicated he felt

:04:11. > :04:14.he had gone as far as he could go in trying to lead Scotland towards

:04:15. > :04:17.independence. He talked about raising the base camp near to the

:04:18. > :04:25.summit. That perhaps someone else would have to leave the SNP and that

:04:26. > :04:30.final summit push. In a way he must, himself, reflect that although he

:04:31. > :04:34.has improved the SNP's standing hugely, they are not only in

:04:35. > :04:39.government in Scotland, they got 45% of the vote last night, he is a man

:04:40. > :04:43.who has a lot of people who will simply never vote for Alex Salmond.

:04:44. > :04:49.There is a limit to his appeal and he may take the view that he just

:04:50. > :04:54.does not have that final ingredient that will get the majority of people

:04:55. > :04:57.in Scotland voting for independence. He said he only made the decision

:04:58. > :05:01.this morning and that probably indicates it was the scale of the

:05:02. > :05:06.defeat that probably made him decide he could simply not do that. Added

:05:07. > :05:12.to that, the personal element. He has been leader of the SNP for the

:05:13. > :05:17.past ten years. He was leader ten years before that, had a brief break

:05:18. > :05:21.when John Swinney took over. Mr Swinney did not make much progress

:05:22. > :05:25.and Alex Salmond came back. He has had 20 years at the coal face, it

:05:26. > :05:29.takes an enormous personal strain on you, even leading this sort of

:05:30. > :05:33.campaign, when not a single Scottish newspaper came out behind him in

:05:34. > :05:38.support of independents, he had all of the Unionist parties against him,

:05:39. > :05:42.that is an enormous battle to lead and he was very much the front man.

:05:43. > :05:47.He was the cutting edge of the independence campaign. Physically

:05:48. > :05:53.and emotionally and mentally, that is colossally tiring. You may feel

:05:54. > :05:56.even though he is not stepping out of politics that just physically now

:05:57. > :06:07.he wants to step back from that level of intensive campaigning. As

:06:08. > :06:10.to who will succeed him, he gave no indications, but the runaway

:06:11. > :06:14.favourite must beat Nicola Sturgeon, she is of a different generation,

:06:15. > :06:18.has a different appeal. Maybe she can reach out to those voters who

:06:19. > :06:23.have resolutely remained immune to Alex Salmond's appeal. ABC will have

:06:24. > :06:28.broad appeal, may, in particular, she will reach out to women, who

:06:29. > :06:34.have been more cautious about backing independence. Other

:06:35. > :06:38.contenders may come forward, but I expect when we moved that conference

:06:39. > :06:42.in Perth on November 13 and 15th it will be Nicola Sturgeon in pole

:06:43. > :06:47.position to take over from Alex Salmond. Yes, that will be very

:06:48. > :06:56.interesting to watch. Norman Smith in Glasgow. Alex Salmond, as we

:06:57. > :07:04.say, SNP for Aberdeenshire East. Joanna Gosling is getting reaction,

:07:05. > :07:08.Joanna? Since the news broke short while ago we have been speaking to

:07:09. > :07:11.people here on the streets of Aberdeen. Yes and no supporters

:07:12. > :07:17.voicing their shock at the news that the man has been central not just

:07:18. > :07:21.this campaign, but politics, for so long as gone in this way. Let's talk

:07:22. > :07:26.to a few people who want to share their views. Judy, Ben and Stuart.

:07:27. > :07:32.Judy, we were just hearing about the fact that Alex Salmond did not cut

:07:33. > :07:37.through to women voters so much, you voted No, what is your thoughts? For

:07:38. > :07:41.me it was more the politics, it did not matter whether it was women and

:07:42. > :07:44.men, I did not want Scotland to be independent, I feel part of Great

:07:45. > :07:49.Britain and wanted to keep that. Are you shocked he has gone? Not

:07:50. > :07:54.particularly, for the first instance yes, but afterwards I thought, well,

:07:55. > :07:58.what will happen to the SNP? The party was for independence, what

:07:59. > :08:03.will happen to the party? Will it stay as a party? What will the

:08:04. > :08:09.policy be? The strategy? Were you surprised to hear the news? I knew

:08:10. > :08:12.something would happen. Now there is a no vote, I did know something

:08:13. > :08:17.would happen, I was not sure how soon it would happen, where the

:08:18. > :08:24.change would come about. I am not shocked, but I am... I knew

:08:25. > :08:26.something would happen. He has been a central figure in Scottish

:08:27. > :08:30.politics, what difference will it make with him gone? Like all

:08:31. > :08:35.politics, new people will come up, I think there will be new people who

:08:36. > :08:38.come up with new ideas for Scotland. Just because Scotland and not be an

:08:39. > :08:42.independent country does not mean it will not keep evolving and changing.

:08:43. > :08:49.People come up with new ideas about the country.

:08:50. > :08:55.What we are thoughts when he heard the news? I was surprised, to be

:08:56. > :09:01.honest. When I was watching last night, I did feel that when it was

:09:02. > :09:05.becoming obvious that the yes vote was not turning into a win, I

:09:06. > :09:10.thought that probably he would resign. It still comes as a shock,

:09:11. > :09:16.because the guy has dedicated so much to that campaign. I have been

:09:17. > :09:24.campaigning for about three years, trying to get a yes vote. You know,

:09:25. > :09:29.it has been a hard slog a lot of the time. We have been really out in the

:09:30. > :09:37.pouring rain and getting abuse in the first couple of years. Momentum

:09:38. > :09:41.has only built up recently. For that guy to have given so much time to

:09:42. > :09:47.the campaign, I take my hat off to him. I would describe myself as a

:09:48. > :09:50.socialist, so I am not completely in agreement with a lot of Alex

:09:51. > :10:00.Salmond's policies. I would be more left`wing. But for him, for him to

:10:01. > :10:06.get us where he was, I do not think many Nationalists ever dream that we

:10:07. > :10:13.would get an opportunity and get as close as it was. I was devastated

:10:14. > :10:16.last night, but in hindsight, I think we build up a lot of momentum.

:10:17. > :10:25.I take my hat off to him. One thing I would say is one thing that

:10:26. > :10:31.surprised me was the women's vote, I thought that we might have got more

:10:32. > :10:37.than we did. I was a bit upset that we didn't seem to appeal to women

:10:38. > :10:44.too much and it surprised me that better together got a healthier

:10:45. > :10:51.women's vote. `` Better Together. They Had A Patronising Advert And I

:10:52. > :11:03.Do Not did not know how they got away with that advert. I do think it

:11:04. > :11:07.will be difficult but the fact that we didn't get the female vote, I

:11:08. > :11:13.think that's is where Nicola Sturgeon could come in and we can

:11:14. > :11:22.build. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. The reaction

:11:23. > :11:28.here has been one of shock, that the no vote has been followed so swiftly

:11:29. > :11:34.by the departure of Alex Salmond. Let's talk to my guest here at

:11:35. > :11:40.Holyrood. We have with as Alex Bell, who was a policy adviser to Alex

:11:41. > :11:46.Salmond, and next to him, John Curtis from Strathclyde University.

:11:47. > :11:50.Did you expect Alex Salmond to stand on? No. I spent the referendum

:11:51. > :11:54.campaign telling everyone he would not do that because even if it was

:11:55. > :11:57.lost, then there was so much left to fight for in terms of plans for

:11:58. > :12:03.Scotland, and that he would probably stay until 2016. My analysis from

:12:04. > :12:10.this point on might not be quite as tiptop as you want. It is an

:12:11. > :12:16.immensely sad day for Scottish politics and shopping, actually. I

:12:17. > :12:18.am sure you heard some of his readings were standing down, and

:12:19. > :12:24.looking for the future, and there are is much to be achieved. `` there

:12:25. > :12:28.is much. Is that exhaustion, perhaps? This man has led the party

:12:29. > :12:34.for 20 years, albeit with a break in the middle. That must have been an

:12:35. > :12:40.extraordinary draining time. Very draining, but what has marked out

:12:41. > :12:44.his political career is seeing light in the dark times. I think it is

:12:45. > :12:47.partly from a campaign which has exposed the fact that we do not

:12:48. > :12:51.necessarily one party structures, we do not want formal politicians, we

:12:52. > :12:57.might want some kind of alternative at the moment. As soon as 2011 was

:12:58. > :13:02.won and this referendum became possible, it ignited an existential

:13:03. > :13:06.crisis for the SNP. They kept it well hidden, but it was about, what

:13:07. > :13:10.particularly are we fighting for? I think he may feel that having put in

:13:11. > :13:15.such a long stint, this is not an issue for other people to pick up.

:13:16. > :13:19.He was asked who he had in mind as his replacement and he was extremely

:13:20. > :13:26.diplomatic in his answer. Is the answer Nicola Sturgeon? I was going

:13:27. > :13:31.to say John Curtis, actually. I think the answer is, sadly Nicola

:13:32. > :13:38.Sturgeon would be out in front, but others will be angling who will have

:13:39. > :13:43.an eye on it. He is right not to anoint the successor. There is no

:13:44. > :13:49.greater curse in politics than being told you are next. Is there a

:13:50. > :13:54.feeling that Nicola Sturgeon might encourage more women to come on

:13:55. > :14:02.board? That is something that may set her apart. The crucial thing is

:14:03. > :14:06.that Glasgow was won for yes and Dundee was won four yes tells you

:14:07. > :14:11.that a traditional Labour might vote has come towards SNP, or a

:14:12. > :14:15.disenfranchised folk. It may be that Nikola has a greater appeal to that

:14:16. > :14:20.vote and also has perhaps a greater understanding. We have to bear in

:14:21. > :14:24.mind that after 20 years, that is a lot of baggage. Sometimes it is best

:14:25. > :14:32.to hand over to someone with less of an immediate reaction from voters.

:14:33. > :14:38.John Curtis I have to ask whether you are interested in standing after

:14:39. > :14:42.that comment! I am not a candidate. I can assure you. A lot of people

:14:43. > :14:48.saying this is a shock. What are your thoughts? Mr Salmond has form

:14:49. > :14:52.in providing us with shocks when it comes to leadership of the SNP. Some

:14:53. > :14:56.of us remember the summer of 2000, when he announced he was standing

:14:57. > :14:59.down as leader of the SNP and was going to leave the Scottish

:15:00. > :15:04.parliament. It was then thought he was basically going to carry on as

:15:05. > :15:07.Westminster leader and not come back as leader. Then in the summer of

:15:08. > :15:11.2004 he suddenly announced that in fact, contrary to what he said

:15:12. > :15:18.before, he was going to stand as leader game. He has spotted

:15:19. > :15:22.opportunities and he does provide us with shocks and he has done it

:15:23. > :15:27.again. I am not entirely surprised. You have to imagine, given his age,

:15:28. > :15:31.that there might just be a part of that says, you know what, I want to

:15:32. > :15:36.spend more time with my wife and as the years go on, that is something

:15:37. > :15:39.that becomes more pressing. Professor John Curtice, we will talk

:15:40. > :15:46.again. Alex Bell, the giver joining us so quickly. Thank you very much.

:15:47. > :15:50.Let's get reaction from Westminster. Let's continue to focus on this and

:15:51. > :15:55.speak to Gordon Wilson, who was leader of the Scottish National

:15:56. > :15:59.Party between 1979 and 1990. Thank you for joining us on the programme.

:16:00. > :16:02.We were listening to the First Minister and that decision to step

:16:03. > :16:07.down. Your instant snapshot thoughts? It came as a great

:16:08. > :16:13.surprise and I am vexed that he found it necessary to offer his read

:16:14. > :16:16.this `` his resignation. He fought a brilliant campaign and it is not his

:16:17. > :16:21.fault that the Scottish people but not vote for independence on this

:16:22. > :16:30.occasion. It is a large threshold. If you look at the vote, it was 45%,

:16:31. > :16:34.and that is a superb achievement. It is also a mark of his integrity. He

:16:35. > :16:41.has taken personal responsibility for the campaign even though it

:16:42. > :16:45.wasn't entirely his. He is undoubtedly, and I speak as his

:16:46. > :16:49.predecessor, the greatest Scottish politician of his generation. The

:16:50. > :16:53.SNP has been led with distinction over a 20 year period, which is

:16:54. > :16:59.extraordinarily long in modern politics. I am very sad he is

:17:00. > :17:04.resigning. I wish him and his wife and happy retirement. We heard in

:17:05. > :17:08.one of the questions, a list of things that had been impossible that

:17:09. > :17:13.he had made possible in those 20 years. Just briefly, in your view,

:17:14. > :17:19.what were his strengths and if there were weaknesses, what were those?

:17:20. > :17:38.His main strength was his personality, his jut spa. ``

:17:39. > :17:42.chutzpah. In 2007, his party fought an election from minority

:17:43. > :17:48.government. He became First Minister. He has been First Minister

:17:49. > :17:52.for seven years. He has been very popular and I do not know why he has

:17:53. > :17:58.done it. I expect it. I expected maybe exhaustion. I just read out

:17:59. > :18:03.how many years you lead the party. He has almost doubled that. In terms

:18:04. > :18:08.of that human cost, it is gruelling, presumably? It is gruelling and also

:18:09. > :18:16.one of the problems of being in office for a long time is that you

:18:17. > :18:19.run out of ideas because you are so busy. And being First Minister of a

:18:20. > :18:23.Scottish Parliament means there is very little spare time for

:18:24. > :18:27.thinking, and also very little spare time to be with his family. I have

:18:28. > :18:32.been in that position not as First Minister but as leader of the SNP,

:18:33. > :18:36.and I find the latter stages very tiring indeed. You need to be worth

:18:37. > :18:44.fresh to buy retirement and it may well be he will come back and play

:18:45. > :18:48.another role. `` you need to be refreshed by retirement. And his

:18:49. > :18:53.successor? I have no doubt it will be Nicola Sturgeon. She also fought

:18:54. > :18:56.a good campaign. Thank you for joining us so quickly after the

:18:57. > :19:01.news. Interesting in the news conference we heard the First

:19:02. > :19:05.Minister talking about the politics, of course, in terms of the new

:19:06. > :19:11.powers that had been offered to Scotland and where we are today. As

:19:12. > :19:14.we approach five o'clock, Alex Salmond has said the Prime Minister

:19:15. > :19:18.would not commit to the second reading and that people would be

:19:19. > :19:21.outraged by that. He said the common front between the Tories and Labour

:19:22. > :19:25.was beginning to break. Let me bring in some guests who have been waiting

:19:26. > :19:31.patiently for the last little while. Diane Abbott from Labour and

:19:32. > :19:36.Natalie Bennett, leader of the Greens. In terms of the politics of

:19:37. > :19:45.the offer and where we are on it, is it unravelling? The first thing to

:19:46. > :19:48.say is Alex Salmond's stepping down makes it likely there will be

:19:49. > :19:52.another referendum bid by the SNP sooner rather than later. He said he

:19:53. > :19:55.did not see it happening in a generation, but a new leader will

:19:56. > :19:59.not be bound by that. If his successor is Nicola Sturgeon, that

:20:00. > :20:04.can only be good for the SNP. Their weakness was women and Nicola will

:20:05. > :20:09.be more likely to appeal. On this crucial issue, and it is crucial

:20:10. > :20:17.because Ed Miliband is signalling he will not sign up to the additional

:20:18. > :20:20.powers to Scotland and parallel that with English MPs, will Labour be

:20:21. > :20:25.punished if they asked into delay the handover of ScottishPower 's

:20:26. > :20:33.promised? The Gordon Brown dealer does seem to be unravelling. We will

:20:34. > :20:38.pay a price if we made promises to deliver devo max and nothing has

:20:39. > :20:43.happened by May. Labour will be punished. In terms of the major

:20:44. > :20:47.constitutional changes for the rest of the UK, is that unstoppable now

:20:48. > :20:51.in terms of the change that is good to happen? I think change is

:20:52. > :20:55.unstoppable. We have a situation where people do not trust

:20:56. > :21:05.politicians, with good reason. That is why the Green Party is calling

:21:06. > :21:09.for a People's Convention, to draw up a constitution. The institution

:21:10. > :21:12.has not changed significantly in 100 years. Our political leaders have

:21:13. > :21:17.shown they cannot be trusted, let's give it to the people. We have to

:21:18. > :21:21.leave it there, apologies it has been so brief. Thank you very much

:21:22. > :21:25.for your time. Plenty more in just a moment or two. We will get the

:21:26. > :21:31.latest reaction from Scotland and after that news that Alex Salmond is

:21:32. > :21:35.going to step down, we look at the politics in terms of the powers that

:21:36. > :21:41.were promised in Scotland. All of that in a moment, after the weather.

:21:42. > :21:46.Sunshine in Westminster but a torrential thunderstorm in east

:21:47. > :21:48.London with health stones. The heat in East Anglia and South