The Result Scotland Decides

The polls have closed. One of the most remarkable chapters in our

country's history is about to be written by you.

Hello, good evening and a warm welcome to BBC Scotland's results

studio. We would become an independent country, or with the

majority of Scots vote to stay in the United Kingdom? After an

electrifying campaign that has engaged people like never before,

the outcome is finely balanced. The only thing we can say for certain is

that nobody really knows how to night will go. Every vote, every

count, every moment. The ballot boxes are arriving at all 32 count

centres and we are live at everyone. Wherever and when it happens, we

will bring it to you. From the heart of Glasgow, with a momentous

decision before us and the eyes of the world upon us, we will guide you

through the story. With reaction from the key players at home and

abroad. We have a range of talent at our disposal. My colleague, Brian

Taylor, has touch screen technology at his fingertips to explain the

story as it unfolds. In the absence of talent you have

got me. We have got a mass of data. It will help put the results in

context. Our graphics will help to tell you the story of the vote you

have delivered today. To avoid any party clashes to get -- altogether,

we are using a new colour scheme tonight. We will turn our map of

Scotland into this. Green for a yes, Redford no. -- red no.

We will keep a close eye across all 32 local authorities. It would not

be a newsworthy O'Casey Millett Jackie Bird.

It is from here that we will bring you an overview of this momentous

night. I will bring you regular news summaries throughout the evening. If

you have two leave your sofa and perhaps miss a cant or a key moment,

our bulletins will keep you up-to-date. -- miss a cant. I will

also be following the main players and bringing you all of the news and

gossip from the camps. For added value, you can keep up-to-date with

news as it happens along the bottom of your screen. We have a political

analyst, Professor Charlie Jeffrey, vice principal at Edinburgh

University. What are you looking out for a? I am looking for a turnout in

West Central Scotland. The Yes side has expended tremendous efforts. If

turnout is high, it could be a key to the whole evening. In every

single part of Scotland, from Stornoway to Kelso, Lerwick to

Dumfries, and everywhere in between, we are at the heart of the story.

That is the scene. Counting is getting underway. We have reporters

at every count centre. This is the biggest operation in our history.

Wherever you are watching, we have got it covered. The results will all

be approved and totals and -- at a central counting point in Ingliston

just outside Edinburgh. Laura Baker is there. Good evening. We are just

outside Edinburgh. The city's votes are already being counted as we

speak. As you mentioned, this is where all of the votes from around

the country, from all 32 local authorities, will be verified. This

is where we will find out how you have answered the question, should

Scotland be an independent country? No referendum night programme would

be complete without some politicians and pundits. A warm welcome to all

of those on our panel. Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to

the Treasury in the UK comment. Hams who use of. The leader of the

Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson. And Patrick Harvey, the

co-convenor of the Scottish Green Party. To an interesting development

this evening already. Some problems with the count in Stornoway. Angus

MacDonald can bring us up to date. There is some tension here in that

we are not quite sure if the votes from the Southern Isles will make it

according to plan. The council had planned an aircraft would take them

to Stornoway. But we have been played all day by fog. We gather the

plane has made it and hopefully it will take off once the ballot box

has been collected. -- once the ballot boxes have been collected.

They will have to wait for the weather windows. At the moment they

are quite optimistic they will stay according to schedule. But they do

not know which way the fog will blow and whether it will come in again or

not. Any idea when the results from the Western Isles will now come in?

They are expecting it, if all goes according to plan, between two and

three o'clock in the morning. If things do not go according to plan,

the ballot boxes will have to be brought up to Harris by fishing boat

and then to Lewis. That will take the count to between five and six in

the morning. If it is extremely tight in the country, this area

could be the deciding factor in the referendum. That is what they say on

the floor. We will bring you that and every other cant when it comes

in. We are hearing about problems for offshore workers unable to vote

because of weather problems and helicopter flight cancellations.

More details as the programme develops. Now let us talk to Brian,

who can talk us through how the count will work. It has been a

momentous day. It has been a momentous couple of years. The

question we are answering tonight, the question you are answering, is,

should Scotland be an independent country? Nearly 4.3 million of us

registered to vote in this referendum. Here is what we are

saying. It is Yes or no. That will determine the future of Scotland and

the future of the United Kingdom. The votes will be counted at council

areas across the country. We will bring you the results from every

single count as they are declared. From Lerwick in Shetland, to Dundee

and Dumfries. As each area concludes its count, we will change the colour

on the map. You can see how each part of the country has voted. If an

area votes Yes, it will turn teal. It -- if it votes no, it will turn

Fushi. -- Fushi. Every single vote counts. All those votes being

counted tonight. All of them are added to the totals. Just began --

just because a council area of votes yes by a majority, that does not

mean that the no votes in that area are ignored, and vice versa. We will

be keeping a running total. You will be able to see if the yes votes are

approaching the winning line, and vice versa. Every result will be

confirmed at Ingliston outside Edinburgh, where this woman will

play her part in Scotland's history as chief accounting officer for

Scotland. She will become a familiar face to us this evening. Ultimately

it is the voice of the people which counts. Stay with us to find out

what that voice is saying tonight. Let's find out what our panellists

are hearing from their sources around the country. Is it going to

be your night? We certainly hope so. It is a victory for democracy. All

of us will be agreed on that. A high level of turnout. It has been

nothing short of electrifying. It has been an honour and a privilege

to be part of that. Yes, of course we are confident. The Yes campaign

has been -- in the civic grassroots movement. We had 12,000 events,

35,000 volunteers. It has been an exciting, energetic campaign. I wish

politicians could take the credit but it has been a grassroots

movement. People write in the thick of it. Frankly it is a case of don't

know who knows the least and who knows the most. None of us knows

because we have never been in a position like this before. You

mentioned the high turnout. What is the wisdom on a high turnout? Does

it benefit yes or no? None of us really know, is the truth. We cannot

say that often enough at this stage of the evening. We think that a high

turnout works from our point of view. We have strong support across

Scotland. That support has been turning out. People say the Yes

supporters are motivated to go out. A higher turnout may marginally

favour the No campaign. It has been a real triumph in terms of the level

of engagement. Frankly that is proper given that this is a

once-in-a-lifetime choice. It will affect our country for many

lifetimes. It is right people have turned out to vote. There has been a

negative side to it, too. That is something we have to learn lessons

about, too. I have certainly been in the Highlands today going around

polling stations. A very high turnout experienced there. That is

good. It is good that people have chosen to exercise their vote in the

most important decision and each of us will ever make. What about the

energy generated? How do you capture that and keep it involved in

politics and the decision-making still to come? Thank you for sparing

me the question about how it is going! This is perhaps one of the

most important thing is that is still relevant whether it is a Yes

or no result. That public engagement. They will be a pure

channel for it in the event of a Yes mode. We will be entering a period

of debating what a written constitution looks like, how we

manage the transition. If it is a No vote, it becomes necessary, vital,

to hold the West Minister political clique to account for the promises

they have made. It will be harder to find clear ways of channelling that

publish -- public engagement. It is something we have to try to do. It

becomes a big challenge. The votes are being counted, and the

ballot boxes are starting to arrive. This picture is being replicated at

counting centres across the country. Ruth Davidson, do you think that

this referendum has changed our politics, and if so, in a positive

way or not? I think it has. I think that the status quo has been smashed

whatever the outcome. Scotland will change because of this. I think the

last two years has been a positive experience. We have had the biggest,

broadest conversation, and it has been a conversation we have needed

to have. This has been an undercurrent in our politics for 40

years. I'm glad you are mentioning ballot boxes being opened. During

the campaign, we have had postal votes, and they will be enormously

important in this campaign, about 18% of the vote will be postal

ballots, and we have had sample opening, and have been incredibly

encouraged by the results from that. There are caveats, that it is more

often elderly or more organised voters, but going into today, our

side would have had the lead, and we have a quiet confidence that the

majority of Scots have spoken today. Is it not the case that postal

votes, whilst verified, not opened until ten o'clock on the night? They

are not counted, but different authorities have had openings around

the country, but it is illegal to talk about them until after the

polls closed. But sample results have been positive for us. Thank you

very much. Our panel will change throughout the evening, but let's go

around the country. We will keep a close I all of the counts. Andrew,

will this be the birth of a new country? That is what the Yes

campaign are hoping for. The count here is under way, and the yes

campaign are confident. They have dubbed Dundee the Yes city. For

decades, Dundee was solid Labour, thanks in part to a large

working-class population and large sprawling council estates. In recent

years, those loyalties have slipped, and have gone to the SNP. So at the

moment, the SNP hold both of the Holyrood seat in Dundee, and also

one of the Westminster seats. They have also controlled the council

since 2012. Added to that that 7000 new voters have gone on to the

electoral roll for this referendum in recent weeks, and if Dundee

doesn't deliver a Yes for independence, it will be a

devastating blow for the Yes campaign. But what is the picture

likely to be in other parts of the country? Let's go to the Borders. We

have horse racing here in Kelso yesterday, and the strong feeling is

that the odds are on the Scottish Borders returning a strong No vote.

There has been a history of feuding and fighting, reading over history

and days gone by. But this relationship between people living

both north and south of the River Tweed these days is much friendlier.

People cross the border almost without thinking about it these

days. So the bookies have the Scottish Borders firmly down as a

strong No vote. A recent ComRes poll for ITV had it down as 67 for No and

33 for Yes. We hope to get the results here around five in the

morning. Let's cross to Glasgow. Never mind your horse racing in the

Borders, I am at the arena where the amazing cycling was at the

Commonwealth Games, and boy do we have a race here tonight. There is

not far short of half a million people who have decided they wanted

to vote in this referendum, they had registered in Glasgow, and that is

far more than ever before. If the bulk of them have turned out today

at polling stations throughout Glasgow, and we are hearing reports

about them being very busy indeed, it will be way into the wee small

hours before we know who has taken Glasgow. If Yes do, it bodes well

for them in the morning. If Note take it, they will be delighted.

Glasgow has been a fierce battle ground this campaign, so it will be

a few hours yet before we know who has won here. That is the picture

here. Let's go a little further down the Clyde to Inverclyde. I'm here in

Greenock Thomert the fifth smallest count in Scotland, just under six to

2500 -- 62,000. It could be one of the first to declare. This is

typical Labour territory. The towns grew up on shipbuilding and sugar

refining, those jobs largely gone, and the Labour vote has been

dwindling fast, too. The yes campaign are confident that they

have persuaded vast numbers of Labour voters to vote Yes. The Prime

Minister is in Downing Street tonight, and therefore as throughout

this evening, Luiz Stewart. What is the mood there, Luis? -- Louise. As

you saw with the Yes vote in the polls, it really galvanised the

politicians here, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, to go up to Scotland and

almost love bomb them. What is at stake for the rest of the United

Kingdom in Scotland did choose to go for independence? I think the

ramifications are huge, and we are hearing that the banks will be

meeting very early tomorrow morning, before six, most of them.

Mark Carney, the head of the Bank of England, will be putting out a

statement very early, because there is a real fear that it will give the

jitters to the financial markets if it is a yes vote. Even if it is a No

vote, there will be more powers for Scotland. That will rattle more

cages down here, it has to be said. Not all MPs agree. The Prime

Minister, it is felt by some, has had to concede too much at the start

of this campaign. We will catch up with you later. As Brian mentioned a

week or two ago, a certain chief accounting officer will be making

history has after night. She will be at the National count centre at

Ingliston. Welcome to the tense floor of the world Highland Centre.

These are some members of the youth Parliament who couldn't vote but

have guest passes to be here tonight. We have yes supporters, and

we have No, Thanks supporters. But one woman, the chief accounting

officer here, has a very important job. The big night is here. How you

feeling? There is a huge sense of anticipation. A big job to be done,

but we are ready. There have been a few issues to sort out. With things

sorted out such as people come into the polling station with their card

and finding that their name is not on the list? There are always

hiccups like that on polling day, and these things can usually be

sorted out. Has the day gone quite smoothly? It was a huge issue to get

everything prepared. Things have gone very smoothly. Polling has been

brisk everywhere. I am not aware of significant cues. When people turn

up in large numbers, there might be a small queue, but I don't think

there have been many major issues. Talk us through the big night. How

will it result be announced? Behind me you can see Edinburgh setting up

their count. They will bring all of the boxes in, open and count them

here. The same is being replicated right around the country in 31 other

count centres. They then give me information about the number of

votes they accounting, they are authorised to release that, and that

is how you work out what the turnout is. Then they turn the votes into

yes, no it's doubtful. So you will know the result before anyone else

in Scotland? Amat is the theory, yes. How you feeling about

announcing that results millions around the world? I am just focused

on getting it right and everyone having confidence that what I am and

is the result. They may not like the result, but I want them to be

confident that it is accurate. And are you confident about how the

process has worked? Yes, because I have 32 colleagues who are very

experienced, of accounting officers and electoral registration offices,

and the teams that each of those people has behind them, a huge

amount of experience and huge commitment to doing this properly. A

huge amount of work for everyone involved. A massive amount of work,

but we are nearly there. We can see the finish line, just one last

effort to get through the count, and our job is done. Thank you very

much. A very calm and confident Mary Pitt

-- Pitcaithly. And David Miller is over here for us. This is the

international media Centre here in Edinburgh, it is filling up nicely.

A little quieter than we expected at this stage, but make no mistake, we

have heard a lot about the eyes of the world being an Scotland tonight.

And that is indeed the case. You may have thought that maybe political

exaggeration, journalistic hyperbole, but if you look around

this hall and hear the accidents, here where international colleagues

have come from, and it is clear that this story is being reported right

around the world this evening. Journalists from around the globe

awaiting the decision of the people of Scotland. Very busy scenes in the

centre of the capital through the course of the day, news crews from

around the globe covering the story in great detail, trying to piece

together what exactly has been happening. It is a complicated,

difficult story for them to relate to overseas audiences, and of

particular interest is Catalonia, the Basque country, they are

particularly interested. My job here tonight is to watch them watching

us, to hear from foreign correspondence as they respond and

react to the story which will unfold here at the National count centre.

You can probably see the ballot boxes arriving behind me. They are

arriving in crates, and they're being watched eagerly by both sides.

This national conversation that we have had over the last two years is

coming to an end, and we will find out the results here at the Royal

Highland Centre. We will be watching every step of the way. I should tell

you that that final result will come, we think, at breakfast time

tomorrow, but we should have an indication of which way things are

going long before then. Here are some of the ballot boxes arriving

around the country. Those pictures live from Angus, and that is the

count centre in the County of Angus. Even though it says Belfast on your

screen! Pictures coming to us from all 32 count centres. A huge

operation all across Scotland to get the ballot boxes sealed up at 2600

polling stations around the country and brought the central counting

centres for the results. Let's have a chat with those on our panel. We

heard from Ingliston about the international interest in the

Scottish referendum. What messages do you think we have been sending

out in the final stages of this campaign to the people watching from

around the world? One of the messages is one of panic

by the UK establishment, both political and media to a certain

extent. Those based in London have given the impression of only waking

up to the referendum as a story in the final stages. I think more

broadly, if Scotland makes the decision I hope it is going to make,

it will be a profoundly defining moment. I cannot remember an

electoral event which is as defining as this. The idea of a nation simply

deciding to take a very clear choice of direction for its future. I

cannot remember any election being as significant as this. That is why

we Eric -- that is why we are seeing this extraordinary turnout. That is

a profoundly empowering moment. How do we make the most of this moment

in the spotlight? First of all, we have two look at behaviour at the

top. No matter what happens, there is an incumbency on political

leaders to be very clear that if Scotland has spoken, we must listen

to that result, and also to bring the country back together again

afterwards. This has been an overwhelmingly positive experience

which has energised Scotland, but it has divided Scotland, too. The

country will not come back together again by accident. People will have

to work at it. Myself and many others in the campaign have placed

to do just that. I hope we will see that going forward. There was 100%

turnout in one area. It is the first time I have ever heard that in

however many years I have been watching politics in Scotland. CNN

had a pull-out that declared it 52-48. That is the first 100%

turnout box I have of heard ever. That was in Angus. There has been an

on the day poll conducted by YouGov. A pall of around 3000 people who

have already been contacted. It found 54 for No and 46 for a Yes. Is

that worrying? It is not an exit poll. It is one poll. We have been

the underdogs. We have relished that status. You have to remember that

just six weeks ago some polls for putting the No campaign 22 points

ahead. We have seen a narrowing of the polls. A panic from the other

side. People actually realising that this may well happen. It is not an

exit poll. It will not take into account the high numbers we are

hearing about across the country. I saw the daily record reporting that

the leader of Inverclyde Council says it is far too close to call.

Everybody looking to see what happens. Briefly, Danny Alexander? I

think the result is going to be very close. That is what everybody seems

to expect. We only have to wait a few hours until we get the actual

result. Either way this is a defining moment. It is a rare

opportunity for a country to consider its future in this way.

Whether we have decided to be independent or recommit ourselves to

the United Kingdom under new terms, change is for Scotland. Our job is

to bring people together again after the referendum in the event of a No

vote. We have to make sure those powers are delivered according to

the process set out as quickly as possible. Make sure everybody in

Scotland understands there is a new settlement the way.

Jackie is here with the first of many news updates.

They shut up shop just over an hour ago. The country's polling

stations. People turned out in record numbers. 97% of the

electorate. When can we expect the first result? There is usually a

race to be the first count. Tonight is No difference. -- different.

Tonight, a few problems. The declaration could be delayed in one

polling station because of fog. The plane is flying at the moment. That

possible delay has been averted. It could change if it cannot land.

There are reports that some offshore workers have been unable to vote

after dozens of helicopter flights fell victim to the weather. Where is

the first declaration likely to be? It could be in Clackmannanshire,

with a population of just over 50,000. The smart money could also

be on Inverclyde. Of course it is the big centres of population that

will make the biggest difference. Let's take a look at these scenes in

Glasgow were Scotland's biggest council area has nearly half a

million votes. We expect the result of around 5am. The other big ones,

Edinburgh and Fife. That could be around 4am. The most recent poll

predicts a victory for No -- No. The debate has been running on social

media for the last couple of years. You can use the hash tag if you want

to get involved. More than 7 million tweets have been sent the first

televised debate on August five. -- August the 5th. We have got the

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, who has tweeted that the people of

Scotland have cast their votes and he sincerely hopes they remain part

of the family of nations. Kenneth MacDonald, reporter, he tweeted that

George Square was like the World Cup had been won. And the Deputy First

Minister posted that polls have closed, what an amazing,

motivational -- emotional, inspirational day of democracy.

Jackie, thank you. We will be back to Jackie throughout the night.

Plenty of interest from right around the world in what is happening here.

A little bit closer to home tonight's proceedings are being

keenly watched in Belfast. Mark Devenport is at Stormont. What is

the view from there? It is being keenly watched. The constitutional

status of Northern Ireland and the future of the union has long been a

central theme of politics here. It has been hotly disputed and

violently fought over. People are watching very carefully. It is a

great exercise in democracy. The kind of exercise we saw here in 1998

when we had an 81% turnout in the referendum that followed the Good

Friday Agreement. Unionists have come that Scotland should remain in

the UK. Nationalists, by and large, have been playing their cards rather

more closely to their chests, saying it is up to the Scottish people to

decide and they will not enter into the argument. You do tend to get the

impression that secretly they would like a Yes vote as part of their

campaign to erode the union. Whatever happens tonight, it seems

that the Scottish parliament will become more powerful. Will that lead

to demands from politicians in the building behind you for more powers

there, too? To some extent. It is a complex picture. There is one power

the politicians here have been campaigning for for some time,

control over local rate of corporation tax. That is because we

compete with the Irish Republic, which has a lower rate of 12 point

percent. -- toil -- 12.5%. Unionists will be concerned that if they take

a raft of other powers, that may be a thin end of the wedge

constitutionally. Thank you very much.

Let us cross again to Brian for details of the areas we should be

paying particularly close attention to. Every vote counts. In other

parts of the country where people are more inclined to vote for

independence or the contrary? Professor John Curtis has had a go

at highlighting key areas of Scotland to watch out for as the

votes come in. Let's bring up our map of Scotland. Let's look at areas

where the SNP has done particularly well. The Western Isles. Dundee,

Angus, Stirling and Falkirk. -- Moray. The strongest shading is in

the Western Isles. It is not going to be too much of a surprise if Yes

Scotland do pretty well in these areas. Where the shading is more

green, the other end of the spectrum, were support for the SNP

is at its weakest. Shetland and Orkney in the north, the Scottish

Borders, Dumfries and Galloway. If Better Together does not perform

very well here, that campaign could be in trouble. Let's talk about

areas with a high percentage of people who were born in the rest of

the UK, born outside Scotland. Arguably these people may be more

inclined to want to keep the union. The second placed one is actually

Moray. A high percentage of people born outside Scotland. That is

perhaps because of the history of the RAF races. Will that factor

counteracting part of the SNP heartlands? Dumfries and Galloway

also in there. Edinburgh also showing strongly in this category.

Upwards of 13% born in the rest of the UK. The other end of the

spectrum entirely, less than 5% born in the rest of the UK. Might those

people be more likely to vote yes? The third factor is deprivation.

Relative deprivation. Let's touch on this one. Opinion polls suggest that

people from poorer backgrounds are more inclined to back independence.

We have taken a map of Scotland and we have shaded according to the

Scottish index of multiple deprivation. Here you can see that

Glasgow, Inverclyde and Dundee all featured strongly, with Shetland,

Aberdeenshire, East Lothian at the other end of the spectrum among

those parts of Scotland with the least relative poverty. These

remember these are just indicators. Every single vote counts in every

single area. As Brian says, Moray is something of a curiosity. A strong

SNP voting pattern. Will that translate into support for

independence? Our correspondent is there. What do you reckon? It is a

difficult one to call. We are in a coastal village CROWD CHEER. Fishing

is huge. Agriculture. And there is whiskey. This should be solid Yes

territory. It has been too close to call. There is a big army base, a

big RAF base. That may have an impact. Ramsay MacDonald, the first

Labour MP, was born just along the coast. The turnout has been massive.

92% of the postal vote is being counted. 86% have made their mark

today as well. Just along the coast is where Macbeth met the three

witches. They made incredible predictions about Scotland's

future. It would be a brave which he makes a prediction tonight.

-- witch. Which local authority will be a bellwether for what has

happened across the country? Could it be the Kingdom of Fife? Lisa

Summers is there. Look behind me and you can see there is a pile of

activity going on. We have 180 counters. They are counting the

votes into bundles of 100, to give us a gauge of turnout. That probably

will not happen for the next hour or so. It is one of these parts of

Scotland where we just don't know what the answer is going to be. We

talk about the Kingdom of Fife being Scotland in miniature. In the

north-east we have the more affluent farming communities. As you head

into the coastal communities there are a lot of retired people. There

is a love of depravity and poverty in this area. If you are asking me

this question ten years ago you would probably be saying that given

the tradition of supporting Labour in this area, we would expect a No.

We just do not know. Given this is the third largest local authority

area in terms of population, about 300,000 people registered to vote,

we're expecting the vote at about 4am. It could be a gauge of how the

nation will vote. Two other significant areas are in

North and South Lanarkshire. This is Ravenscraig sports facility, still a

name that everyone associates with the steelworks, that iconic image of

Scottish industry and the demise of that industry. Labour heartland

here, are than average number of working-class voters, people in

social housing, long-term unemployed compared with other parts of

Scotland, all of which the yes campaign have been targeting. They

have been making inroads in recent years while all of the MPs here are

Labour. Count boxes are still coming in. They're coming across the

football pitches outside. We have 266 people counting away, and we

hope to have a result around 2am. Thank you, and from Motherwell to

East Kilbride for the South Lanarkshire account. I just over the

border from Pauline, and this is a vast local authority area. There are

over 260,000 people registered to vote here. The boxes are still

coming in. Somewhere in straightaway because there was a polling station

just down the road, but others won't be in until it least quarter past

11. This is a big area with a diverse geography, big towns,

Hamilton and Cambuslang, but also vast rural areas, and also the

political situation. In the past, this has been traditionally Labour.

Three of the Westminster MPs here this evening are Labour MPs, but

there is another one, the only Scottish Conservative MP and

Scotland, he represents part of the local area, too. Since 2011, several

Labour areas went to the SMP, -- SNP, so maybe the tide has turned,

and we really need to keep an eye on this area this evening. We are

expecting to hear the turnout at a quarter to one. These counters are

famous for their speed, and they think they can declare by 3am will.

We certainly have had a measure in the last week also about the

international attention being paid to the referendum as the polls have

got tighter. We will go to Jon Sopel in Washington in a moment, but first

to Brussels and Gavin Hewitt. How is the Scottish debate being viewed

from there? With huge interest. Europe really is

paying attention. Flemish national here in Brussels putting candles

down on the Scottish flag. But there isn't much keenness here in Brussels

for the idea of member states breaking up. It has taken 50 years

to build this Europe, it is said, and now there is a danger of

deconstructing. Yesterday we had the Spanish prime minister, who said

that these independence movements were rather like a torpedo

underwater, aimed at the very European spirit. Europe is about

integration, not fragmentation. We know why he would say that, because

he is concerned about Catalonia. So there is great interest in what will

happen tonight in Scotland here in Europe.

Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, saying it has been an

emotional day for democracy. Alistair Darling, the leader of

Better Together saying he is increasingly confident that his side

of the argument will win. If it were to be a Yes vote, if that were the

outcome, what is your understanding of what would happen in terms of

Scotland seeking membership, unbroken membership, of the European

Union as an independent member state?

The first thing I am clear about is that an end independent Scotland

would have to reapply for EU membership. That was said to me last

week by Jean-Claude Juncker, the incoming president of the European

commission. The question is how long this would take. Alex Salmond

talking of it perhaps taking 18 months. But people here say that

what would have to happen first would be the negotiation between

Edinburgh and London, and only after that with the negotiations begin

with Brussels. And the difficult issue is that there are countries,

Spain is one, that would see no interest in fast tracking Scotland.

Yesterday, the Spanish prime Minister Rojoy. The message from

here is that yes they would expect at some stage down the road and

independent Scotland would become part of the EE you. Great

uncertainty about the timing and how long this will take.

Thank you for that update from Brussels. The Scottish government

argues that an arrangement would be made, that it would be possible for

them to negotiate independent Scottish membership within the 18

months of negotiations that they would intend to have with the United

Kingdom Government. Let's go to Washington, Jon Sopel is our North

America editor. President Obama was tweeting about this last night. It

is highly significant that Barack Obama chose to tweet on the eve of

polling, and it is the second time that he has entered the fray on this

debate. Whilst saying that is is of course a matter for the Scottish

people, he said we have a deep interest in making sure that one of

the closest allies that we will ever have remained strong, robust, United

and an effective partner. That was him leading from the White House,

but if you look across the political elite in Washington, whether it is

in economics, finance or the narrow world of politics, everyone does

seem to be speaking with one voice. They seem to think that Scotland

should remain part of the United Kingdom. One official I was speaking

to said we are rubbing our eyes in disbelief at the possibility that

the United Kingdom could break up why should it matter in the United

States? Look at the agenda and how closely the United Kingdom and the

United States work together? Islamic State, for example. If nuclear

weapons won't be sited in Scotland, then where? We talk about a

free-trade area for Europe. We have this uncertainty that is brought

about by separation. So there is a great feeling that there is only

downside risk attached to this. They are not getting into the whys and

wherefores, they are just seeing the narrow economic and political terms.

Britain's place as a permanent member of the Security Council,

would that be put in jeopardy if Britain suddenly becomes a much

smaller place and loses a sizeable chunk of its land mass? So I think

in America in general, I would love to be able to say there is massive

interest in this. The only story last week from the United Kingdom

was Kate Middleton being pregnant. There was no discussion about the

referendum. But now the news seems to be flowing in one direction, that

they hope it is a No vote. Good to hear from you, Jon Sopel and

Gavin Hewitt. Let talk live now with Jim Murphy, the Labour MP and shadow

Cabinet minister. He is live in East Renfrewshire.

It is going to be a long night and a fascinating night. It has been a

remarkable day. Here in East Renfrewshire, more people vote in

this constituency than the whole of the UK generally. We're expecting a

huge turnout. 77% of people usually vote here in election time. I am

confident there will be a very big No vote. Is most remarkable you can

still speak to us at this stage having been to 100 towns in 100 days

on the campaign trail? Yellow macro I enjoyed that. I have enjoyed this

campaign more than anything else I have done in politics. I'm on the

media roto until eight o'clock in the morning. See how I am doing

then. I have enjoyed this campaign more than anything else. It has

involved young people in this school and schools across the country.

It is hard to envisage a time when you would have to go back to being

18 to vote. I wonder whether there is still time, even if it is any a

few months away, if we can cut the voting age to 16 across the whole of

the UK, because I think what Scotland has shown today that young

folk here are engaged, passionate, informed and clever, and I think

that will be the same across the whole of the UK. I think right away

the rest of the UK could take on board votes at 16 for the whole of

the electorate. That would be a significant change, but no matter

which way it goes tonight, do you think Scotland and the rest of the

United Kingdom and the relationship between the two will be the same

again? I am not going to try to rerun the referendum debate, that

was this morning's argument. But if it is a Yes vote, there will be

dramatic and I would argue disruptive change. If there is an No

vote, they will be substantial change as well. We will have to get

used to having much more power and more decisions made in Scotland. The

House of Commons will have to get used to that, and the rest of

England will, too. I think what has come up in this the people all

across the whole of the United Kingdom is the disparity and the

distance between West missed in so many.

I am not going to dictate what that should be. But England will change

as a consequence of Scotland's changing. The promise is for further

devolution for Scotland. Are you saying there needs to be a redesign

of the whole of the United Kingdom? That is my preference. I am in

favour of an elected House of Lords, a Bill of Rights, a written

constitution, the end of some laws in terms of secession. I have said

those things before. How England chose to govern themselves is not

for me to dictate. There is a general sense that having watched

the biggest decision the UK has ever taken, albeit in our part of the UK,

I think there is a sense in England, how can they do politics

differently? I just get a feeling that England will look at this and

say, how can we do politics a little bit differently and take some power

away from Westminster? How come we boost turnout in elections? Is about

votes mattering and decisions mattering. In England's great cities

tonight and tomorrow there will be a sense of learning from what has

happened in Scotland. Let's take some of our own decisions. They will

look at it a fresh. Thank you for joining us live. Let's

talk now with Professor Charlie Jeffrey and our political editor,

Brian Taylor. Any thing you have spotted so far? The turnout is going

to be huge. We expected that. It is whether there is a differential

turnout. There was an expectation in early part of the campaign that

perhaps if it was a huge turnout it may benefit yes. There was an

estimation it was worth as many as 1% or 2%. I am not sure that is the

case. Everybody is so enormously energised by this that factor will

have weighed. That is a factor if you are at lower levels of turnout.

But this level of turnout... Ruth Davidson had said about one

village... One village reported 100%. A massive turnout. Huge

interest in the outcome. Very good to hear Mary Pithcaithly saying the

whole of the electoral process so far conducted with dignity. She also

said she was focused on getting it right. We had a suggestion of a

turnout in Moray of 92%. Sky is saying that the turnout in Edinburgh

could be as high as 89.6%. How would turnout of that sort compare to what

we are used to and what has happened in Scotland and the UK down the

years? Record-breaking. The highest turnout in Scotland has been in

Dundee East back in 1950. 88.6%. The highest Scotland wide turnout has

been just over 80% at the UK election in 1951. I think we are

going to be above that Scottish record. We may even see some places

exceeding the Dundee East record. Perhaps we will talk about why that

should be in a little while. That crossed to Aileen Clarke at the

count in Glasgow. Some intelligence about how turnout is shaping up? I

have been talking to people from both sides. What I am being told is

that in places where traditionally the turnout has been shockingly

low, Glasgow problem, the last turnout was in the low 30s... Listen

to this. This is anecdotal and individual. I am being told in some

polling stations they have a 64% turnout on maybe have passed it to

night. Round about the same time, 70% in Pollokshields. 75% in Pollok.

Up to 80% in some areas. That is a tremendous result for people turning

out in Glasgow when you think about how traditionally low the turnout

here can be. I'm afraid what we do not know, and Brian will be

disappointed, I don't know who that will benefit either. What I can tell

you is that all of the ballot boxes have arrived in Glasgow. They are

now here at the count centre. That is as far as we have got. I do have

two say an apology to badminton fans who have been tweeting me. Colin

Campbell, I am sorry I did not mention the badminton. It was

fantastic here during the Commonwealth Games. There you go!

Thank you very much. We have got two new guests. Henry McLeish, former

Labour First Minister, and Leslie Riddoch, a campaigner for a Yes

vote. If we are getting really high turnout in areas where people

traditionally don't bother voting, is that good for your side of the

argument? I would think it was. The Radical Independence Campaign did a

lot of campaigning. We are finding a 60%-40% towards Yes. I did a meeting

in Castlemilk. The feeling they're very much was that people are much

more stimulated by the idea of equality, social justice, trying to

move Scotland on in a way. You may argue they have got less to lose

from the current setup. They have got more hope that change may

something that might mean something tangible. Some of these meetings

were extraordinary. I was at a Women for Independence meeting and it was

held just around the time mothers were picking their children up for

as -- from school. I have never been at a meeting like it. People are

constantly coming in, leaving. It was people having Coffey, sitting

around tables. People going in shifts, coming in shifts. It has not

been like a conventional campaign. I do not know if Henry has found that.

It has been a real celebration of democracy. I am on a train speaking

to one person and there is a seminar happening. It has been amazing. The

great benefit of that is that Scottish people have engaged in a

way that No other part of the United Kingdom has engaged in previous

election activity. We must be proud of that. I am interested in the fact

that the last Holyrood election 50% voted. The last general election,

60%. If we are talking about figures of 70, maybe even 80, that really is

quite remarkable and can change the complexion of the outcome. The

impression I get is that a lot of people who have never voted before,

never even considered voting before, are in the ballot, using the ballot

boxes this morning. It will be a tight result. The people Leslie is

talking about interested in equality and social justice, aren't they the

sort of people Labour should be looking after? Very much so. That is

part of the issue in Scotland. Allegiances with traditional parties

are breaking down. As a consequence of voting patterns may change. We

will talk more as the night develops. Let's get more on turnout

from Edinburgh. Laura Bicker. I can tell you that I have been told

here that 90% of all postal votes were returned in Edinburgh. That is

90%. They are expecting a very high turnout across the city. They say

the queues and the number of people going through polling stations have

been so high, they are expecting a very high turnout. That is quite

interesting in Edinburgh. This is an area which perhaps leans more likely

to wards No. -- towards. We are being told at the moment, very high

turnout expected. We will hopefully get the figure for the whole turnout

of around 1am. It is quite a key figure. From there we will be able

to work at the halfway point. So that we can find out the magic

number that each side has to reach. Yes, the winning line for either

side to get across. We will be talking a lot more about that as the

night develops. Professor Charlie Jeffrey, I wanted to ask you about

turnout and why you think it is so high for an issue like this, a

referendum on what country you want to be in, compared to a general

election? You gave the answering your question. This choice is much

more fundamental than that we have every four or five years in an

election. It is about the country we all live in. It is a decision from

both sides, negatively from the Better Together campaign, more

positively from Yes Scotland. It is irreversible. You cannot reverse it

for a very long time. That is an extra ordinary issue on which voters

have had to make up their minds. I think the turnout is -- the turnout

says they have risen to the challenge. We have heard about a

celebration of democracy. A victory for democracy. A carnival of

democracy. So all of those that have been

persuaded to get involved and get registered and turnout, who perhaps

don't normally do that, will they be left disappointed whether it is a

Yes vote or No vote, change is unlikely to happen quickly. People

know that things won't happen overnight, they are not daft. If the

Scots have managed generally to face down the most extraordinary set of

threats that have been delivered by the government to a set of people in

my lifetime for sure, and have discovered that despite all of that

that they have enough backbone Demerai Gray lies that there are

bigger fish to fry and another side to every argument, that is quite an

extraordinary and heady thing to know about your selves. There will

be quickly moves to heat up negotiating tables, and we need to

reassure the rest of the UK that if there is a Yes vote, Scotland will

be a good neighbour and friend, and I would like to see a demonstration

of that. Not like the love bomb in reverse, but something tangible.

Mobilising is now very EEC for the Yes vote, because we've been doing

it for months. -- very easy. Will there disappointment? I think what

we have to take out of this is, if there is as I think, a narrow No

vote, it means just less than half what to exit, and just more than

half want to remain. I think people should take great comfort from

that. There will be disappointment, but it is up to politicians and the

civic community to show by example some leadership, that can take this

forward. Thank you both. We don't know how it is going to end up, we

don't even have our first result yet. But things are moving along

nicely in Clackmannanshire. Jamie is there.

Things certainly are moving along well here. The count has now moved

on to what has described as stage two. That means the yes and no votes

are now being separated out. This is the smallest council area on the

mainland, an electric of just under 40,000 people -- and electorate of

just under 40,000. The boxes were here pretty much about 20 past ten.

As for the way it is heading here, hardest day -- hard to say at this

stage. I have spoken to some people in the Yes campaign who believe

Clackmannanshire may be the most likely place in Scotland to go for

Yes based on local demographics, but there has been no local opinion poll

so it is hard to stand that up at the moment. It is more of a gut

feeling among some of the activists here. Certainly it is a result that

will be watched nationally. We are expecting it, good progress being

made, it is possible it could be the first in Scotland to declare,

although people here insist they are not in a race. We are maybe

expecting that results between two and three o'clock. Let's hear more

from Brian now and how the opinion polls have been narrowing. Thank

you. All politicians everywhere reminders that the only poll that

counts is on the day of voting itself. But we always scrutinised

the polls very carefully. They have suggested that support has been

pretty static for independence up until recently. When the SNP won the

overall majority in Holyrood in May 2011, at that point in this poll

here, a YouGov poll, and we will use them significantly without this just

keeps on record going, they put yes at 29% and Noh at 58. By the time we

come to January this year, yes was at 24%, and No at 54. Once the

campaign got under way in earnest, the YouGov poll again, No at 55, Yes

at 35. August the 15th, the gap is still narrowing. Look at those lines

coming together. The very start of this month, this epic month in which

we have decided our future, No at 48, Yes at 42. Skip forward to the

5th of September, Yes appeared to be in front. And the Don't knows were

down to 5%. If they get that narrow majority tonight, they win. Today's

papers, after a really big push by the No campaign, they put No ahead

on 52, with Yes 148. -- on 48. I don't often borrow words from the

politicians, but I will borrow a phrase on this occasion. The poll

that counts is the one that took place today.

Thank you, Brian. We have two new panellists, Douglas Alexander,

Shadow Cabinet minister, Shadow Foreign Secretary for Labour, and

Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Minister in the Scottish Government for the

SNP. What is your sense of how the night is shaping up? I can't even

remember if it is good night for good morning joining the panel. I

think it will be a long night, and I think all of us need to feel

extraordinary pride in this. It is the story of the early part of the

evening. For the moment, I think we should all feel both extraordinary

pride and a certain humility when it comes to turn out of this scale.

Predictions at this stage in the evening need to be taken with a

barrel of salt, not just a pinch. Alistair Darling is saying he is

increasingly confident that No will finish on top. The people of

Scotland have been on a journey, and it is so energising. People have

voted for the first time who have never voted before, people in their

50s and 60s, and the turnout will be I think quite staggering, something

we have never seen before. In terms of what that means, politics has

changed. How you do your politics has changed as a result of what is

been happening. And I think the mood is very positive. I have had a great

day out in West Lothian. The level of the discussion, debate, has gone

right to the edge of the poll itself. It is a great atmosphere out

there on the streets. I had the privilege of taking my 17-year-old

son to vote, he was making history twice. Not only was he part of a

national vote, he was making a decision about the future of his

country. It was an exciting day, and a great opportunity, and I think the

enthusiasm of that will not be swayed by any result, Yes or No. Has

this brought back class politics? Certainly politics has changed. The

tradition of the public meeting. It is burst back to life, but that has

also been matter should buy social media, so the way people do politics

has shifted and changed. Class politics, I'm not so sure. Many of

us on the left have argued for many years that class politics is still

an important way to understand issues like inequality issues and

social justice. That is not new in the lexicon of Scottish politics. We

are not in a situation where politicians are immediately held to

account for the undertakings they make about social justice or in

thing else, but it is different in a referendum, it is a one-off deal.

And we will know tomorrow whether Scotland is in the United Kingdom

for the future or whether it is leaving. I think understanding the

character of that binary question has been a key to the campaign.

Let's go back live to Edinburgh. I can tell you that so far all 383

ballot boxes are now either here at the counting centre or on their way.

So things are certainly getting well under way. With me is Alison

Carmichael. -- Alistair Carmichael. How do you think it is going? It is

far too early to know. We have the count going on behind us. You might

get a bit of information here or there, but it is very early doors

yet. The one story we get from across Scotland which is consistent

is that the turnout seems to be very high. If you are a Democrat, you

can't see a negative in that. What Mac it is pretty close. I you happy

with that fact? If you go back over the coverage of

this two-year campaign, you will see that I always said it was likely to

be close. Frankly, all that is just so much speculation. I know we have

a time to fill between now and when the results proper start to come in,

but the opinion polls whenever a prediction. Opinion polls that

narrow quickly can widen just as quickly as well. We will just have

to wait and see. Every single opinion poll could be wrong, and the

only one matters is the one that will be announced from the platform

here at five or six in the morning. Nervous? Excited? All of these

things. This has been a long, gruelling campaign. Referendums by

their nature devised the population and count them. It is not always

been a great experience. There have been some quite poisonous moments in

this campaign. You think of the experience of JK Rowling when she

came out. You saw a disgraceful attempt at the weekend to intimidate

the BBC... I have to say for the record, as a referendum

correspondent, I have never been intimidated at any point. I am sure

that you wouldn't be, and that is because you are a proud independent

public service broadcaster, as are your colleagues. It doesn't alter

the fact that the purpose of that demonstration was to intimidate you,

and whether it succeeded or not... Let's move forwards. You have said

that Scotland should change, that more powers should come to Scotland

if there is a No vote. How do we take that forward? I have always

said that once we settled the question, then yes, the completion

of the job of devolution, getting the Scottish Parliament the powers

that it needs, needs to be done, and it needs more than parties. You need

to have the professional bodies, churches, local authorities, trade

unions, everybody around the table at that point. That is how you build

a consensus. What we have had to night is an important political

debate, but it is not altered consensus in Scotland. Alistair

Carmichael, thank you for joining me. You are going to come back

perhaps for the Orkney result? You may well see me around about that

time. I can tell you that certainly the

indications we are getting here as I mentioned earlier, turnout is very

high, and postal votes were 90% returned, so a lot of votes to

count. There is the Justice Secretary,

Kenny MacAskill, watching the count as it develops. There are people

from both sides of the argument in both campaigns watching very closely

to try to build a picture of how the vote is shaping up, and also to make

sure the vote is being carried out in a proper way. If they see

anything they think is not quite right, they are able to take that up

with the counting officer and the staff of the counting officers

across Scotland. We are out and about with both campaigns tonight.

Ken McDonald is with Yes Scotland at their event in Glasgow. Eleanor

Bradford is with the Better Together campaign, also in Glasgow. What is

the atmosphere with you, Ken McDonald? I must explain where we

are. This is not an official end of campaign party. Thousands of events

are taking place in front rooms etc. I have got a microphone! I am ready

for everything. As I was saying, there is No central party. There are

hundreds of grassroots groups across the country. It is reasonable to say

although this is not strictly speaking a Yes party...

We are struggling to hear Ken at his count in Glasgow. We have got him at

the Yes Scotland event. Eleanor Bradford is at the Better Together

campaign party. It is just warming up here. There was nobody here about

an hour and a half ago. Better Together have 35,000 workers across

the country. You may be able to see drinks on the table. We are in for a

long night. They have handed out 1.5 million leaflets, all made 1.2

million phone calls. 1.5 doors were not done. 8 million leaflets,

actually, they handed out. Is it enough? Have they done enough? They

started out so well in the polls and gradually saw that lead ebb away.

They are quietly confident here that a silent majority have come out to

vote today and they will get the result they are looking for. Quiet

confidence in the hall. 150 media have been accredited to be here

tonight alone. Media from all over the world. The eyes of the world

around Scotland. Our eyes will be on the faces here tonight to see how

they change as the night progresses. Thank you very much.

Let's go to the north and the south of the country now. Life to Lerwick

where the Liberal Democrat MSP tablet Scott is standing by, and

David Mundell, Conservative MP, in Dumfries. We expecting some news in

terms of the result where you are, David Mundell? I think it will be a

while yet because the boxes from Stranraer do not get in here until

about one o'clock. I think we will be looking at three o'clock at the

earliest for a result. And down in the south-west corner of Scotland,

are people more likely to vote your way and vote No, or is there are

strong support for Yes? I think everybody recognises if there is a

Yes vote in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland will be independent. I am

expecting a No vote. The initial signs are encouraging. We have got

such a high turnout. So many people who do not normally vote. It is very

difficult to make a prediction. Particularly as we do not have the

boxes in from Stranraer and the western part of the area. It is a

huge turnout, particularly in some of the rural areas where at least in

one box, 100% of the people have voted. The Northern Isles have been

sceptical of change over the years. What is your sense of what they

think about independence? They have been sceptical about constitutional

change. It needs to be constitutional change on our terms,

not in terms as imposed on the island. I think that is why there is

a sceptical nature to the independence proposition. I think it

is why Shetland will not accept independence. I take David's point

that the sheer weight of the vote is at a scale that none of us who have

stood in elections over a number of years have ever seen before. That is

a good sign. We are in uncharted waters. Shetland, Orkney, the

Western Isles have played their own hand during this constitutional

discussion. It seems whatever way the vote goes, more power is coming

to these groups of islands? We have discovered over the years that

unless we make our case both to London and to Edinburgh, then nobody

pays any attention, No government of any political persuasion. We have

certainly grasped the attention of the UK Government and the Scottish

Government. That is a good thing. What we have got to do, whatever the

outcome tonight, is to make sure that we maintain that pays for

change and we look hard at what we want, the options we want out of

this period that we are going through. That'll be the agenda that

I am the council here in Shetland and many others will want to pursue

over the weekend and into the coming weeks and months. Those who talked

about independence for Shetland if there is a Yes vote, was that a

block? I don't know what independence means. I don't know it

is right for Shetland. What are think we are interested in here are

aspects of how the Isle of Man run themselves, of how the Faroe Islands

from themselves. And more generally, how powers that we could deliver it

here very sensibly on behalf of our own people, our own citizens, it

could be done more efficiently in the islands. That is an agenda we

will continue to pursue in Edinburgh and in London.

And giggle. -- thank you both. The night is young. We have got a

few hours ahead of us all before we get that all-important result. So

much happening across the country. Frenetic activity across all 32

cans. A record turnout feeding the huge count. Just an hour after

polling closed, all 75 boxes from 30 at polling places had arrived at

Inverclyde. All ballot boxes were received at East Lothian by 11

o'clock. And in Glasgow, all 483 ballot boxes are now being counted.

In the Western Isles, the island hopping continues. A few problems

due to the weather. The plane landed a short while ago and is expected in

Stornoway just after midnight. Hopefully there will not be a delay.

Speaking earlier on this programme, Labour's Jim Murphy said whatever

the outcome, there will be change. If it is a Yes vote, there will be

dramatic and I would argue disruptive change, but that is an

argument for another day. If there is a No vote, there will be

substantial change as well. We will have to get used to having much more

power and more decisions made in Scotland.

On social media, frenetic. There have been almost 150,000 tweets

about the referendum posted between ten o'clock and 11 o'clock tonight.

Something that has just come through to us. The daily record political

editor has reported the Queen is due to make a statement tomorrow morning

regardless of the outcome. We will try to get that confirmed. The BBC

political editor, Nick Robinson, has been keeping an eye on the currency

exchange. The markets are betting on No. The pound has risen against the

dollar. Our reporters in Inverclyde. The turnout in Greenock is about

95%. We are monitoring social media. Incidentally, not everybody is glued

to these results. We are being told there is a queue forming in Glasgow

tonight outside the city's Apple Store. They just want to get a new

phone. I can understand that! Lets talk

more with our panel. Perhaps reflect a little bit on the campaign that we

have all experienced over a very long period of time. Fiona Hyslop,

highs and lows? It has been a very positive campaign. One of the most

exciting things for the Yes movement were the different groups and

organisations involved. Women for Independence, for example. And I

think the grassroots and the sheer numbers of people involved made sure

there was an energy about it that nature it was not just about

parties. Have there been moments that you would pick out as standout

moments? Good or about? From a good point of view, I think having George

Osborne coming and telling us what to do backfired quite badly for the

No campaign. On the Yes side, I think it was a gradual movement. I

think in terms of the momentum that came. By clearly from me, I knew

things were moving a week before the second debate between Alistair

Darling and Alex Salmond. Things started to shift. You got a sense

that more people were becoming engaged and the more we were moving

to Yes. There is Cathy Jamieson, the Labour MP, at the count in East

Ayrshire. Votes being rapidly counted there, it seems. Lots of

people scrutinising the vote and trying to build up as much

intelligence as they possibly can with this high turnout. Douglas

Alexander, let me pick up on the currency intervention with you.

George Osborne saying on behalf of the Government and on behalf of

Labour that they would not be a currency union. Did that backfire or

was an effective intervention? If you look back over the history of

this campaign, what we saw last week, an avalanche of facts

engulfing the assertions of the Yes campaign, will have been hugely

significant. I frankly doubt that without the clarity brought to the

debate about the currency, that we may have seen so many different

organisations, some different companies... It is not an incidental

issue if you are a Scottish bank, what currency you use. In that sense

I think one of the interesting features of this campaign is the

range of voices we have heard on both sides of the argument. I

probably agree with the honour that one of the most exciting aspect of

this campaign has been the capacity of people to come together a party

and beyond party. I have spoken in public meetings. There has been an

extraordinary level of civic engagement. The idea that you can

transcend party politics and do what is best for your nation is very

powerful. Hasn't that been a problem for you as a Labour politician,

months away from a general election, being seen to be in bed

with the Tories? The Communist Party is in bed with the Scottish National

Party but nobody thinks the Scottish National Party is a Communist Party.

Most people are grown-up enough to realise that you can agree on a

particular policy without agreeing on a shared vision for the

country's future. The Yes side of the argument, half of them were

saying we would be in north Atlantic Singapore, the other were saying we

would be a cold water cube. You cannot be both. When you come to a

binary issue like a referendum, different sides of the argument will

bring together past adversary -- adversaries in politics. Fair

comment? No! In a democracy you can have people having different visions

of the future and that they can put that to the electorate. There could

be a different trajectory, which I think it's what a lot of people on

the yes side have been moving towards. They want a trajectory away

from what they see in Westminster. You are looking puzzled... Brian

Souter seems quite happy. The last opinion polls found that 60% of

people found the No campaign negative and 60% of people found the

Yes campaign positive. If there is a Yes victory tonight, that is why.

Let me make this point... Fair is fair, come on. One of the reasons

the Yes campaign have been seen as positive, the leader understood the

nature of a referendum, you need to be lucky once, in a single day. In a

Parliamentary 's system, if you make pledges and policies, they throw you

out. This is to the credit of the yes side, they thought they would

deploy any argument, whatever they can, to any constituency in Scotland

so they can get the vote on one day in September, September 18. That is

insulting to the campaign. You have been a critic on both sides, you

were voting no, is that what you went with? Yes, I bare my sword in

front of the nation, a reluctant no, but it was a no. And the reason, you

have asked about the highlights and the low point, let me make a couple

of points about the No campaign: As someone who has been in the party

for 40 years, who has been there a long time, I was intensely and wrote

in the Europe and NATO. -- I was intensely annoyed by the fear and

the scare that was used, I was interested in what they had the

Europe currency and NATO. But for the No campaign, that constant

holiday-making surge up to Scotland did not pay off. The second point,

which I think is important, relative to what might be the final result,

the intervention of Gordon Brown. In a sense, he gave the Better Together

campaign some cohesion by having a timeline and some issues of policy.

Secondly, he... You have got to say that because you are from Fife! But

getting back to Gordon Brown... LAUGHTER

He galvanised the Labour vote, talking about social justice,

quoting Douglas, talking about gravity and ethics in politics,

Gordon Brown can do that. He rescued them. In my judgement, he rescued

the Labour Party and the Better Together campaign. You would accept

that Gordon Brown remains a formidable figure in Scottish

politics. Am prompted, people said to me, they could not understand why

two days before the poll, there were new promises. Why had that not

happened two years before? People thought that they had taken it for

granted, no matter how passionate people are, you cannot deny that.

People found the timing very odd. Perhaps it was a panic measure,

quite clearly, at the end. It worked. Yes, and the reaction I got

from people, we do not trust this because it is Westminster style

politics, they have bypassed people. People are no longer... Gordon Brown

is not seen as Westminster, he is seen as Fife. You would have to ask

other people... He lives there. In terms of Westminster style politics,

the three leaders and a former Prime Minister, coming together... Telling

the people, "what we will do on high"... Last-minute... These were

proposals built in Fife, the last time I checked, old and lives in

Fife! People are wiser than that, Westminster politician, I disagree.

There is a genuine discussion to be had, people will have it over the

months and years ahead, should proposals have been put forward at

an earlier stage? I strongly argue within Labour that we should set out

old and ambitious proposals, I find that spattered across newspapers

making the case, head of the conference in March. What we have

witnessed in recent weeks in Scotland, I am not sure would have

been channelled or captured by an earlier coherent proposal by the

three parties. In that sense... In that sense... Let me finish this

point, for Fiona to characterise the move is being panic, that says more

about their concern that it has proved effective at the point of

decision, to be able to say: Here is the safer, better change. This is

the timeline. This is outrageous... ! What has happened, postal votes

have been cast... You have all had a wee bit to save. Votes were cast

without that intervention. There has been no costing on what it would

mean to have that come into effect, when there has been the rinse it

examination of what they guess would mean, since they published their

manifesto. There has been a lot of critique of what the Yes campaign 's

have come up with. You have wandered in at the last minute with no

particular detail, are we going to get housing benefit? How would that

be extracted from universal credit? There is all kinds of specific

questions that your guys have never even been in a public forum to ask.

It is important to put the new powers before the electors. It is

not going to be easy. We have three commissions. Gordon Brown has said,

I'm fed up with what is happening, let's go ahead. To be fair to him,

he took it by the scruff of the neck. This is not federalism, it is

not home rule, it is not devo max, there are more powers. If we are

honest, that is where we are. A couple of quick questions, are you

saying the three party should have had a joint proposal at an earlier

stage? We have got to the right place, we will have a draft bill by

January, 2015. Would it have been better if voters knew what they were

getting? They know what they are getting already on the basis of the

three proposals. You are addicted to your view of your campaign, let me

offer my view. If I'm honest, I am trying to recognise the fact that

there was such churning sentiment, emotion, questions in people 's

minds... I'm not sure that even if Henry's proposals in terms of

whether he would like to characterise it as federalism or

devo max, if they had been announced by any party is at an earlier stage,

whether that would have itself stopped the tightening in the polls.

That is hypocrisy, in terms of the Yes campaign, you have said it was

for one moment, missed this and that. Thus is -- that is what you

have just done in the last few days. Not talking about job creation, not

talking about corporation tax, economic parity. It is just the same

powers. -- economic powers. We will talk more about this... I am in no

doubt, through the wee small hours! the people of Aberdeen. We still

have ballot boxes coming in. I have spoken with both sides. The No

campaign are saying they would be surprised if Aberdeen went yes. A

Yes campaign is telling me that they are very happy they have their vote

out. What we do agree on both sides is that turnout had been very high.

We heard in Glasgow that one vote was particularly high compared to

previous elections. And anecdotally, I have heard that Northfield in

Aberdeen, which sometimes makes just the high 20s, 27 was one of the most

recent ones, it is possibly up at 80%. That is very high. We are told

that the declaration here in Aberdeen may not be until 6am. I

hear that the weather is improving in other parts, in the Western

Isles, Aberdeen may be the last to declare. It will be difficult to

call, that is partly because of the very mixed political map here. The

Scottish parliament seats are held by the SNP. Westminster has two

Labour MPs. Aberdeen also has pot of gold. That is the Liberal Democrat

MP, Sir Malcolm. Gordon, Scottish parliament, held by First Minister,

Alex Salmond! We are looking at a declaration around 6am. Should get

turnout in about 45 minutes. We will let you know about that. One final

thing: I noticed my league Ken McDonald appears to be wearing the

same shirt as me, perhaps we should have checked before we went out this

morning! Your party shirt? LAUGHTER Turnout of 89%, Clackmannanshire.

Very high turnout. The First Minister has said on Twitter:

"Remarkable day, Scotland's future truly is in the hands of Scotland".

It may be that he may turn up at the Aberdeenshire count, that is his

constituency local counting area. Stephen, any sign of him so far?

Just a wee bit of low-grade intelligence, it has to be said, on

Alex Salmond's movements. There was meant to be a marquee event in his

home village, about 35 miles from here. We know that has been

cancelled. We were told he would be here at the Aberdeen exhibition and

conference Centre, now we think he will not. We are also hearing

stories of a Learjet being flown between Aberdeen and here, take that

with a pinch of salt, because things have been changing. The count in

Aberdeen shire, well underway. -- Aberdeenshire. It is a sprawling

area, right up to Peterhead. Everywhere in between. It really is

a hot all of the parties are represented in some way. The SNP

have all of the Holyrood seats, they also have the biggest group of

councillors on the Aberdeenshire Council, although they are not part

of administration. There has always been a feeling, a sense, that this

traditionally conservative area may have some latent unionism to it. And

that may come to the surface on a referendum like this and I have

spoken with the deputy leader of the Lib Dem 's, Malcolm Bruce, he says

he is confident. Aberdeenshire close to call. Turnout, 80%, declaration,

some point after 3am. We are hearing the turnout in Dundee may be as high

as 90%, and Orkney, confirming turnout of 84%, but that local

authority area. Back live to Edinburgh, to the national counting

centre. Our reporter, Laura, will be there with guests in just a few

moments. Before we do that I'm going to share with you another Twitter

post from David Miliband, the brother of the leader of the Labour

Party. He has said: "Wonderful to hear of 80 and 90% turnouts in the

independence referendum, the Scottish have taught us all a lesson

in democracy". That seems to be something that politicians on all

sides agree about. We were talking about aspects of the campaign, we

ended up focused on the late pledge, the late vow, as it came to be

known, for a rapid timetable moving towards further devolution for

Scotland. Was that a panic measure? Very late in the day. It came after

postal ballots had been cast, as Leslie had noted. That adds a free

song of interest to it. I think it was driven by anxiety and by concern

that the no side were losing, they felt they had to frame something. --

frisson. I'm sure that Alistair Darling was very closely involved in

doing it. They felt they had to frame something that would project a

sense of unity and continuity to the electorate. While getting around the

fact that the three parties do not agree. They have a different

perspective on the issue of more powers, and getting around also, the

small element, this will have to go through the House of Commons and the

House of Lords, if it is to be lamented. And there are folk in the

House of Commons and even more folk in the House of Lords who do not

fancy it and indeed some of them are saying, up with this we will not

put! The counterbalance to that: Gordon Brown drone it, it has now

been endorsed by the leader of the Labour Party and the leader of the

Conservatives and the leader of the Liberal Democrats. That should be

enough to drive it through. That is what they say.

Who have you got with you? Dennis Canavan from the yes campaign and

the man from Papua New Guinea. But first of all, Dennis, I am glad you

are not with Jim Murphy because I may need a cattle prod. How are you

feeling? I am these to be standing shoulder to shoulder with Benny.

Throughout this campaign I have always pointed out that an

independent Scotland would not be cutting itself off from the rest of

the world, that we would retain our international solidarity even though

West patois is an independent country and hopefully Scotland will

become an independent country, we are members of the human race. --

Papua New Guinea. International solidarity, here we go. How

confident are you of the result? I am optimistic, one of the exit polls

was disappointing, but that is just one poll, albeit an exit poll. The

ballot boxes that really counts... I am maintaining a degree of optimism

as indeed I am sure are the Yes supporters at this stage. Once the

result is declared we will know what it is and be able to celebrate or

otherwise. Have you been seeing the atmosphere at the polling stations

today? All around our cities people were piling in. Yes indeed, over the

past few weeks, a lot of places throughout Scotland, and today I

have been concentrating most of my efforts in the Falkirk area, my old

stomping ground. Falkirk itself and places like Stenhousemuir. The

feedback has been very positive. Sometimes campaign workers get a bit

carried away, I am more of a realist. I still think it is 50-50.

It is there to be won. I am hopeful that in a few hours time we will be

celebrating. Let's talk to Benny, this is a wonderful headdress you

have got. Why are you here? I am here, as part of the programme

facilitated by the Radical Independence Campaign to witness

this because I have campaigned, 60 years ago the Indonesian government

colonise my people, this is part of sending a message to the government,

let my people vote about whether they should separate. This is

important for me to witness. How have you felt about the campaign? It

is amazing. Today I have walked around all of the polling stations,

there are no military personnel and no police, just people without any

fear, there is no intimidation. This has educated me a lot and I hope

that Indonesia will allow my people to vote fairly. That is why it has

been important for me to witness this directly today. I am proud to

be here and to be part of this. The whole world is watching. We have

media from across the world here at Ingliston. Over 800 journalists. We

will see more of them as the night progresses. We are still waiting for

the last ballot box to arrive in Edinburgh and then we will have a

better idea of the turnout. There is not an exit poll on the referendum,

there has been one poll by YouGov which was conducted which puts the

No campaign ahead. There are problems there? Yes, hello, what we

are hearing is that there has been an accident on the A9 which has

closed the road in both directions and what is an accident blackspot, a

very sharp bend and a steep hill. The accident was reported by traffic

Scotland which has closed the road in both directions and it has been

confirmed by the police this evening. It will do lay the ballot

boxes getting from Keith Ness down here to Dingwall by an hour and a

half, and those ballot boxes were not expected in normal circumstances

until 1:25am at the earliest so they will be delayed until 3am. The chief

accounting officer was saying that they expected a final result between

five o'clock and seven o'clock in the morning, but that could be one

of the last in Scotland if not the last. I am afraid that these road

problems look like making that even more likely. Thank you for the

update. We were reporting delays due to the weather in the Western Isles

in ballot boxes having to travel by fishing boat rather than by air.

Brian has more touch-screen wizardry to remind us about those topics

drawing our attention during the campaign. A whole panoply of things

determining the outcome, so what could influence the vote tonight. In

February we got your perspective on this and guess, we were looking at

the issues underlying the referendum, guess what came out on

top. Yes, it was the economy. With pensions in second and welfare in

third. People also want reassurances about the pound in their pocket, and

we have heard that already from the panel. And how it gets there. It

came fifth in the list behind relations with the rest of the UK.

That is an interesting one, one that may be worth discussing with the

panel in detail, some of the issues on the currency. Will voters believe

the prounion parties who say that the Stirling affidavit penance is a

nonstarter or will they say that a deal on the sterling is common

sense. The and the rest of the UK? Let's look at the issues. -- that

the sterling after independence. The future of North Sea oil matters

hugely to us all and it has been big in the referendum campaign. That

Italy important in Aberdeen or Shetland. -- particularly. Banking

and the financial sector is important during the campaign. It

could sway voters either way in Edinburgh in particular, Scotland's

financial hub. The other issue is defence. Again, either way, could it

impact jobs and installations like the Clyde, and also Rosyth naval

base and Moray. Thereafter competing promises on Scottish universities

which could be significant in places like Dundee with a significant

student population. Let's next look at the big Scottish Goodman offers,

we have the white paper which was mentioned earlier. There was the

offer of a transformational increase in childcare. -- big Scottish

government. Maybe even going slightly further in the protections

of the welfare state. An improved pensions offer, will it be relevant

tonight? We had the offer of scrapping the so-called bedroom tax,

hugely contentious through the whole of politics, and during this

election. The promise is this: They say they want a wealthy Scotland and

a fair Scotland as well. Will voters go for that or will they listen to

the doubts raised by opponents who say it is not credible? Let's look

to the global issues that have been coming to the fore in this campaign.

Scottish ministers say that when they take the global perspective

Scotland will be welcomed in the EU, and also in NATO. Will the voters

accept that? Scottish ministers say that it would have a proportionate

defence Force of up to 90 international offices representing

Scottish interests. Will the voters accept that? There are many issues,

hundreds of issues, each person deriving interest from a particular

point as well. Other issues include immigration, folk coming to these

shores from elsewhere. And broadcast, could we still see Doctor

Who? Supporters of independence say yes but there are questions from

others. And the economy is always above everything. A major issue in

the campaign and no doubt we will be reflecting more on that as the night

develops. Let's have a word with Charlie Jeffrey, our resident

professor of politics. Charlie, we were talking a bit about the

campaign and some of the issues which came up. One of the unique

features of the referendum is that the franchise has been extended for

the first time 216 and 17-year-olds -- to 16 and 17-year-olds in any

national vote. What impact has it had? It has had a real impact. Jim

Murphy was saying earlier that he thinks we should tear up the rule

books for the UK election in May next year and extended to 16 and

17-year-olds. It has been very successful and the commitment of new

voters has been very high. Also the level of seriousness of debate. I

chaired a debate at school in Edinburgh. And I it was one of the

more well considered debates of the many we have heard in this

referendum. The impact, it is quite interesting. Some special polling

has been done on 16-17 -year-olds by my colleagues at the University of

Edinburgh and they found that they are, unlike other voters, 30 or

under, not more likely to vote yes but more likely than any age group

except for pensioners to vote no. We do have young people on the panel

and we will talk to them in a while, but let's keep going on our journey

around the country as the counter develops. Never mind salt and source

or salt and vinegar, the real question in West Lothian tonight is

what is happening with the referendum. What can you tell us? I

am told this is the line for what is salt and vinegar and salt and

source, but we are here in Livingston in West Lothian, and the

ballot boxes have appeared very quickly, just after 10pm, and

counting got underway. The ballot papers have been verified, the first

count has taken place, and now they are on to what they call the second

count, so the papers are being put into three piles, the yes pile, the

no pile, and also the pile which has to be checked by the accounting

officer, it will go over to him for the final say as to whether they

will be counted or whether they will be is regarded. -- be disregarded.

Interestingly one person said there appears to be a lack of buzz

tonight, there seems to be a bit of tension. Both sides are still

cautiously optimistic. He said maybe there was not as much because we do

not have the personalities that we may have at a Scottish election or a

general election. As I said, I am in Livingston in West Lothian and the

count is particularly interesting here. We have seven towns in West

Lothian and 29 villages and we have Livingston new town where we are at

the moment. It is very different from Lithgow, the Royal Borough of

Lithgow. A very mixed area that we have here. And also politically it

is very interesting. The constituency has two constituencies

in Westminster. They have Labour MPs, but there are two Scottish

Parliament constituencies and they have SNP MSP is, so it makes it

interesting. -- MSPs. It is very close, and both are cautiously

optimistic. They are both saying they are hopeful they can win. It is

going to be a high turnout tonight as expected. We do not have a figure

for that but we do have the turnout the postal votes. 93.9% of postal

votes that were applied for have been returned, that is very high as

in other parts of the country. We are waiting for the final turnout

figure and as I said, both sides are cautiously optimistic at this stage

and hopefully we will have a result here at around 3:30am this morning.

Another three hours to go. From Livingston, let's date on the trail

across the Lothians and go to the Midlothian count. I keep being

passed pieces of paper all evening and the last figures have just come

in. All 88 boxes for the Midlothian area were in very quickly. They were

in by just around quarter past 11, this paper handed to me says that

the postal votes, 93.5% of postal votes were returned in Midlothian. I

really think that Midlothian is one area we need to keep a very close

eye on this evening. And this is why: If you look at all of the

social factors on top of those that Brian referred to earlier, how many

areas there are of high deprivation and low income households, gender

and ethnicity, age, wage, all of these social factors that pollsters

like to use to try to predict outcomes in elections, well, when

you look at Midlothian, where the figures are, they downed so long the

line, the same as that for Scotland, just above and just below

average. You could argue that it is a local representation of the

national picture. -- dance along. Does it mean that the final result

here will be indicative of the final figure? Now, there is a massive

caveat and that is that we are, as a few people have said this evening,

in uncharted waters. We have not been here before. Nobody knows how

much those social factors will play here, how much they will be

indicative of the final result. They are interesting to read, and

exciting when the pollsters put their spin on it, but they are not

cold, hard facts, sadly. Midlothian is one to keep an eye on, we are

told that the vote will be back by half past three, quarter to four.

Thanks. Let's go to East Lothian. The news is that we could be getting

a declaration around 2am, the first of the 96 ballot boxes that came in

here, came in just after 10:35pm. All 96 were in by 11pm. They have

all been verified. As we have seen, repeated across the country,

turnout, especially in terms of postal vote, exceptionally high.

16,608 postal votes sent out, 95% were returned, here in East Lothian.

I have been having a little chat with the Better Together campaign.

They have been doing sampling and they think they could be in for a

big Windermere, talking about figures around 60%, possibly 62%. --

a big win here. We will be waiting another couple of hours to get any

official confirmation that they seem pretty confident they have done very

well hearing East Lothian. 700 square calamitous, this area. Urban

working class areas, like muscle broke, and further down, affluent

areas, like North Berwick, Dunbar as well. -- Musselburgh. 90% of those