Scottish Independence: ‘An Historic Day’ as Referendum Deal Is Signed
Scottish Independence: ‘An Historic Day’ as Referendum Deal Is Signed - News - Scotsman.com
DAVID Cameron and Alex Salmond have signed a historic deal to ensure Scots make a “decisive and respected” call on whether to create a country independent from the rest of the United Kingdom in two years’ time.
Seventeen months after the SNP’s landslide victory in the 2011 Holyrood elections, the First Minister and Prime Minister yesterday put their names to an agreement to ensure Scots make an irrevocable vote on the country’s future in the autumn of 2014.
Both London and Edinburgh are now committed to respecting whichever decision the voters take, even if either side wins by a wafer-thin majority.
The agreement declared the referendum will now deliver a result “that everyone will respect”. It also committed both UK and Scottish governments to “work together constructively in the light of the outcome, whatever it is, in the best interests of the people of Scotland and of the rest of the United Kingdom”.
Mr Salmond said the deal “paves the way for the most important decision our country of Scotland has made in several hundred years”.