Updated 7.47 am
SCOTLAND HAS VOTED no to independence in a clear victory for supporters of the union.
The final result has seen the No side win 55% of the vote compare to 45% for the Yes side.
The Better Together camp mustered 2,001,926 votes with Yes Scotland achieving 1,617,989.
The result in Fife brought the No side over the line in what was a disappointing night of counting for Alex Salmond.
Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, voted for an independent Scotland by a margin of 53% to 47% but the turnout was lower than elsewhere dealing a significant blow to the hopes of Yes supporters.
Turnout across Scotland was a record 86%.
Counting began at 10pm last night and as the first results began to roll in it became clear that it was good news for those who supported retention of the union.
All 32 Scottish councils have declared their results with the Yes side winning just four of these.
As well as winning in Glasgow, the Yes side also won out in the city of Dundee leading to a brief period of optimism for Yes supporters but they faded when this was not replicated eleswhere.
Speaking to BBC News after they predicted the final result Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy leader of the Scottish National Party, said that she and her party are disappointed.
“There’s a clear sense of disappointment that we’ve failed to secure as Yes vote,” she said.
Sturgeon added however that Scotland must now work together to deliver the added powers that have been promised by the main Westminster parties.
“I’m not going to stand here and tell people not to be disappointed, there’s been a lot of time and effort on both sides and people should not lose sight of that and should be proud.”
“Either way, whatever the final outcome, Scotland is not going to be the same again. We needs to pick ourselves up and move on,” she added.
The SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond later followed Sturgeon in conceding defeat and called on Yes supports in Scotland to follow suit.
Speaking on Downing Street, British Prime Minster David Cameron has said that the question of Scottish independence has been settled for ‘a generation or perhaps a lifetime’.
“Now it is time of our United Kingdom to come together and to move forward,” Cameron said. ”A vital part of that will be a balanced settlement fair to people in Scotland and importantly to everyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well.”
Let us also remember why it was right to ask the definitive question, Yes or No. Because now the debate is settled for a generation or perhaps, as Alex Salmond, said for a lifetime. So there can be no disputes, no reruns, we have heard the settled will of the Scottish people.
Cameron added that the British Government has now appointed Lord Smith of Kelvin, who oversaw the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, to look at proposals for the devolution of more powers to Scotland.
“There will be agreement by November, and draft legislation by January,” he said.
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