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| Sorry to put a bit of a downer on things, but this hasn't been a great week for the United Kingdom. Yes, it's mission accomplished. The 307-year-old union has been saved, and by a healthy ten-point margin that any leading 'No' campaigner would have grabbed with both hands. But the price to pay has been a bruising and divisive struggle which leaves Scotland a society riven by disagreement over its future. It is split, more or less down the middle, between those who have been denied their wish for independence and those wanting to remain in Britain. The devo-max settlement now set to be rushed through the Westminster parliament won't help fix this. It was priced into the market by voters yesterday because David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg made clear the status quo wasn't on the ballot paper. We now enter a new phase of "democratic renewal" forced on the party leaders by events barely inside their control. Consensus forged in the panic-heated atmosphere of the independence referendum will be sorely tested as thoughts turn to the 2015 general election. From Sunday, the Labour party convenes in Manchester to plot its return to power next year. As always when tweaking the rules of the game, mutual suspicion and mutual plotting for secret partisan advantage will play an unpleasantly prominent role. That's for the near future. This week, the desperate campaigning to ensure this historic moment for Scotland went the right way has produced an unusual casualty. We can debate for hours who of Cameron, Alex Salmond, Miliband or Alistair Darling are the real winners. In any list, though, the people of Scotland should be listed at the bottom. In the hardest-fought areas, activists on the frontline have been bruised. At last night's Better Together event, one Glaswegian told me he had been called "scum" non-stop for three hours in his get-out-the-vote session. Nationalists have complained of hostility the other way, too, though; unionist anger has probably been under-reported by the hordes of London-based journalists who've descended on Scotland at the last-minute. Resentment at media bias in the campaign will linger for many years. So too may the conduct of the campaign, and the changing nature of what 'Yes' and 'No' actually meant. Nor is this a case of passionate nationalists being denied their wish by a silent majority, who as Alistair Darling declared this morning "have now spoken". I must have invited at least 100 people on the streets of Scotland to give their views on independence earlier this week; just because those who shook their heads and hurried past declined to speak out doesn't mean they didn't hold strong feelings. The three Westminster parties believed in the union passionately, too - they just struggled to find a way of articulating their belief until Gordon Brown's speech of the campaign on Wednesday. As the ex-prime minister showed, belief counts for a lot in politics. And while the man responsible more than any other for all this trouble was booed loudly by No campaigners during his concession speech early this morning, Salmond should not be disparaged for acting out of conviction. I quizzed him at the start of the week about his views of Scottish values, a question that had perplexed me throughout the summer. His answer was to offer a welfare-focused left-wing country setting itself apart from the right-wing politics of small-minded England. Salmond gave everything to this campaign; it's no wonder he's now decided to step aside from the top job. Meanwhile, Britain needs to do some serious pondering too. This week its politicians somehow combined to counter the nationalist threat. Now they can relax - and get back to disagreeing over how exactly to go about the UK's reconstruction. Indyref: Our films from ScotlandScottish independence: The view from the countryside Watch voters from outside of Scotland's big cities, give their take on the independence referendum. Scottish independence: The view from the city Divisive, but positive: Watch voters in Edinburgh give their take on the Scottish independence referendum Alex Salmond: An interview with the man who would break Britain Politics.co.uk sits down for a one-on-one interview with Alex Salmond on the eve of the Scottish independence vote Monday'Town hall pravdas' could face legal action within weeks Local authorities could face court orders restricting 'propaganda rags' The right-wing business tycoons behind Alex Salmond's independence campaign The PR for the 'Yes' camp remains resolutely left-wing and idealistic. But behind the scenes, there are men of a quite different character egging it on Thousands may be sexually abused behind bars – but MoJ still blocks the inquiry The Ministry of Justice continue to block efforts to speak to prisoners about sexual abuse behind bars, despite evidence that thousands of inmates may be subject to attacks TuesdayGovernment given red card for failing to tackle UK's toxic air Harmful pollutants have increased since 2010. Interview: Alex Salmond The Scottish first minister on Adam Smith, English democracy and the media bubble Alex Salmond: England can govern itself, too Alex Salmond tells Politics.co.uk he has "great confidence" the English can govern themselves WednesdayGordon Brown was passionate, but the Yes campaign is shouting louder Logic and argument have been left behind on the final day of campaigning in the Scottish independence referendum. Both sides, gathering for rallies in Glasgow, are now just trying to shout as loudly as they possibly can. On the streets of Scotland, the polls mean nothing 'No' has not made the case. But 'Yes' are struggling too... Why would anyone still love Britain? It's ignored and unloved in the Scottish independence debate - but are there still reasons to love Britain? Thursday, and Thursday nightAnalysis: The Scottish independence referendum is one of the strangest polls ever Watching in Edinburgh the closing stages of the campaign for the referendum on Scottish independence it struck me as the strangest electoral process I have witnessed since Britain's In/Out of Europe poll in 1975 Scotland decides: As-it-happened All the events as they happened on a historic night for the United Kingdom FridayWe have witnessed a total breakdown in political legitimacy We might feel relief, but this is one of the most damning indictments of our country we've ever seen Scottish referendum aftermath: Analysis What the result means for both Scotland and Westminster. Salmond quits after Scotland turns its back on independence Scotland has voted decisively against independence, rejecting the nationalist vision by a clear ten points. | Victory for whales as forum votes to protect World Court ruling against Japan’s ‘scientific whaling’ in AntarcticThere was a major victory for whales on the final day of the 65th meeting of the IWC today when the forum passed a key resolution to uphold the recent World Court ruling that Japan’s ‘scientific whaling’ in Antarctica was illegal and no further permits should be issued. Gross mortgage lending £18.6 billion in August, says CMLThe Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £18.6 billion in August. Community Action Awards 2014-16: Tackling fuel poverty together in local communitiesAre you involved in an exciting, innovative project to tackle fuel poverty in your local community? OECD proposals ‘a significant step’ towards new international tax rulesThe Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has welcomed the publication of seven reports1 today by the OECD as a significant step towards a new set of international tax rules. Caernarfon man given suspended jail sentence for hunting fox with dogWilliam Clive Alun Jones caught as part of RSPCA investigation into wildlife crime. Key conservation measure to increase protection for whales passed by vote at international whales forumAn important resolution to provide increased protection to whales around the world was passed despite pro-whaling countries opposing it and a vote being forced on the second day of the 65th International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Portoroz, Slovenia. |
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