SCOTLAND emphatically delivered a Remain vote last night, as other parts of the UK voted to leave the European Union in much larger numbers than expected.
On a long night of twists and turns, the UK’s place in Europe was placed in jeopardy, David Cameron’s position as Prime Minister began to look untenable, and the prospect of a post-Brexit indyref 2 appeared to be back on the table as it looked more and more likely that Scotland was about to be dragged out of the European Union against its will.
We did our bit. Turnout was 67.2 per cent in Scotland as a whole, and every area voted to stay. Among the early results declared, Orkney voted 63 per cent in favour of Remain and Clackmannanshire backed staying in the EU with 58 per cent of the vote. Dundee, Shetland, West Dunbartonshire, East Ayrshire and Shetland all backed Remain. And Angus, West Lothian, Inverclyde and East Renfrewshire followed suit. Glasgow delivered in numbers of two to one, albeit with a disappointing turnout of 56.2 per cent. Leave looked closest to an upset victory in Dumfries and Galloway, but the message was delivered forcefully: Scotland wants to stay.
Elsewhere in the UK, the story was of a disaffected country, particularly in working-class Labour heartlands in the north, which had turned towards Brexit. The first two major counts to declare, Newcastle and Sunderland, were the first signs that the pollsters – who had predicted a Remain victory – might have got things wrong. In Newcastle, which was expected to comfortably vote to stay, Leave came within a whisker of victory, and in Sunderland, which was expected to back leave by 53-47, instead turned in a victory margin of 12 points for the Brexiteers.
Within moments of that emphatic Leave win, the value of Sterling slumped by around 3 per cent. Remain’s sequence of expected victories in Scotland did little to ease the jitters.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell reacted to the slump. “That is exactly the sort of shock we were expecting so I would expect the Bank of England to intervene in the morning,” he said.
“Chancellors and shadow chancellors can’t comment on sterling but what we can do is have a mature approach to this and say whatever the outcome, we will negotiate the best deal we possible can with regard to our trading partners in Europe and in that way we might give some assurances to the market.”
As polling stations closed at 10pm on Thursday, Ukip leader Nigel Farage had said he thought Britain had voted to remain in the EU, but said his party would not give up the fight to take control back from Brussels. “Win or lose this battle, we will win this war,” he said. “The Eurosceptic genie is out of the bottle and it will now not be put back.”
He was perhaps more pessimistic than he needed to be. By 3am it was clear that Scotland and London held the key to Remain’s chances. Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University suggested that the turnout in the English capital – widely expected to come out heavily in favour of Remain – was down two to three percentage points, speculating that flooding in many areas may have contributed to a poorer than expected turnout.
London did vote strongly to Remain, but polling stations were forced to close across the south-east and East Anglia, and at least one count was delayed.
Speaking at the count in Glasgow, Ukip leader in Scotland David Coburn tried to downplay the difference between Scotland and the rest of the UK. “There’s some huge swinging 70-30 in parts in England and in Scotland I believe the Borders are 50-50, I believe Dumfries and Galloway, that’s going to be 50-50,” he said. “I think all this nonsense about Scotland being more pro is just that. Nonsense.”
On Nicola Sturgeon and the prospect of another independence referendum, he added: “She won’t do it, because she’ll lose and she knows it. There’s no appetite in Scotland for a second referendum. We had it, they lost, they should live with it.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here