"Should Scotland be an independent country?"

[DanaC]

I can understand that.

Personally, this was the result I was hoping for - close enough run to force real and significant change, and hopefully kickstart a true devolution of power from Westminster out to the regions of England, as well as the countries of the UK. But not an actual end to the union of the countries.

Selfish, I know - but Scotland leaving the union would fundamentally change what it means to me to be British (in terms of my national identity - I realise Scotland would always be British in terms of being on the landmass of Great Britain).

I watched a tv debate about it a few days ago and heard someone put forward a socialist argument in favour of the No vote. It was the first time I've heard a genuinely convincing one. Neil Oliver, the archaeologist. He really impressed me. It was in response to the idea that Scotland could effectively become independent from the Tory led economy and be more able to tackle poverty and build a more socially inclusive society. His argument was that we are, whatever our national identities, one island - inextricably linked through our cultures and history - different parts of one family - and he found the idea that Scotland might become an enclave of hope and social change, thought interesting, also a way of turning its back on the rest of that family - that there are cities all over the island that face poverty and distress, with many people unhappy with the way Westminster governs. The biggest reason for hope though, he argued, was the massive percentage of people who got involved, registered to vote (and in the end did vote) - if that could be replicated across the whole island, we could force real change for all of us.

The way I see it - the problem isn't that Scotland is ruled by England - it's that the whole of the Britain is governed by Westminster. Scotland is a nation, and it is part of a union of nations. But that should be reflected in the way it is governed. My ideal would be something far closer to a federal union of independent nations than what we now have. And I think the whole process of the referendum will force that to happen.

To me: Scotland didn't vote 'against independence', but for union.