<p>Scots today rejected independence in a historic referendum and decided to remain in a 307-year-old union with the United Kingdom, in a relief to Prime Minister David Cameron.<br /><br /></p>.<p>With 30 out of Scotland's 32 council areas having declared, the "No" side has an unbeatable lead of 1,877,252 votes to 1,512,688, official results confirmed today.<br /><br />The winning total needed was 1,852,828 and nationally, the margin of victory is about 55 per cent to 45 per cent.<br /><br />This margin of victory is some three points greater than that anticipated by the final opinion polls.<br /><br />The vote is the culmination of a two-year campaign and talks will now begin on devolving more powers to Scotland, which had joined the United Kingdom in 1707.<br /><br />Glasgow, Scotland's largest council area and the third largest city in Britain, voted in favour of independence by 194,779 to 169,347, with Dundee, West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire also voting "Yes".<br /><br />But Edinburgh, the nation's capital, rejected independence by 194,638 to 123,927, while Aberdeen City voted "No" by a margin of more than 20,000 votes.<br /><br />There have also been big wins for the pro-UK campaign in many other areas.<br /><br />British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "I've spoken to Alistair Darling (head of the pro-UK Better Together campaign) – and congratulated him on a well-fought campaign."<br /><br />He will make official statement on Scotland's decision in a live televised address following the final result.<br /><br />Deputy First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC a no vote would be "a deep personal and political disappointment".<br /><br />"There is an appetite of change in Scotland, this country has changed forever," he added.<br /><br />After votes have been tallied, the chief counting officer, Mary Pitcaithly, in Edinburgh, is set to officially declare the result followed by a statement by Queen Elizabeth II.<br /><br />The people of Scotland had been queueing up to register their vote in the historic referendum yesterday to decide their future as part an independent country or the UK.<br /><br />They had a simple "Yes" or "No" choice to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" Nearly 97 per cent of the electorate, adding up to 4,285,323 people, were registered to vote at 2,608 polling places across the country.</p>
<p>Scots today rejected independence in a historic referendum and decided to remain in a 307-year-old union with the United Kingdom, in a relief to Prime Minister David Cameron.<br /><br /></p>.<p>With 30 out of Scotland's 32 council areas having declared, the "No" side has an unbeatable lead of 1,877,252 votes to 1,512,688, official results confirmed today.<br /><br />The winning total needed was 1,852,828 and nationally, the margin of victory is about 55 per cent to 45 per cent.<br /><br />This margin of victory is some three points greater than that anticipated by the final opinion polls.<br /><br />The vote is the culmination of a two-year campaign and talks will now begin on devolving more powers to Scotland, which had joined the United Kingdom in 1707.<br /><br />Glasgow, Scotland's largest council area and the third largest city in Britain, voted in favour of independence by 194,779 to 169,347, with Dundee, West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire also voting "Yes".<br /><br />But Edinburgh, the nation's capital, rejected independence by 194,638 to 123,927, while Aberdeen City voted "No" by a margin of more than 20,000 votes.<br /><br />There have also been big wins for the pro-UK campaign in many other areas.<br /><br />British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "I've spoken to Alistair Darling (head of the pro-UK Better Together campaign) – and congratulated him on a well-fought campaign."<br /><br />He will make official statement on Scotland's decision in a live televised address following the final result.<br /><br />Deputy First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC a no vote would be "a deep personal and political disappointment".<br /><br />"There is an appetite of change in Scotland, this country has changed forever," he added.<br /><br />After votes have been tallied, the chief counting officer, Mary Pitcaithly, in Edinburgh, is set to officially declare the result followed by a statement by Queen Elizabeth II.<br /><br />The people of Scotland had been queueing up to register their vote in the historic referendum yesterday to decide their future as part an independent country or the UK.<br /><br />They had a simple "Yes" or "No" choice to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" Nearly 97 per cent of the electorate, adding up to 4,285,323 people, were registered to vote at 2,608 polling places across the country.</p>