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Scottish independence: Voting under way in referendum

Polling place Voting got under way across Scotland at 07:00 on Thursday

People in Scotland are voting on whether the country should stay in the UK or become an independent nation.

Voters will answer "Yes" or "No" to the referendum question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

With 4,285,323 people - 97% of the electorate - registered to vote, a historically high turnout is expected.

Votes will be cast at 2,608 polling places across the country until 22:00 on Thursday. The result is expected early on Friday morning.

Strict rules mean the BBC - in common with other broadcasters - is not allowed to report details of campaigning until after the polls close.

Voters in Edinburgh Voters formed a queue outside the polling place in Portobello, Edinburgh, before voting began
Voters queuing in Glasgow Voters queue up in West Glasgow to answer the question: Should Scotland be an independent country?
Voters in Edinburgh These voters in the south of Edinburgh were among the first to have their say on Scotland's future

Once the polls have closed, ballot papers will be counted in each of Scotland's 32 local authority areas.

These will include votes cast from the 789,024 postal vote applications, which was the largest volume of registration for postal votes ever in Scotland.

After votes have been tallied, the counting officer in each area will communicate the result to the chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly in Edinburgh.

With her approval they will then make a declaration of the result.

Alex Salmond at polling station Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond voted in the Aberdeenshire village of Strichen
Gordon Brown votes in North Queensferry Former primer minister Gordon Brown cast his vote in North Queensferry

Once the results from all 32 local authority areas are known, Ms Pitcaithly will declare the result of the referendum at the Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh.

Ms Pitcaithly has said she will announce the result at "breakfast time" on Friday.

 

The result is most likely to be between 06:30 and 07:30, according to Elections Scotland.

 

That is because the final Scottish declarations in the 2010 UK parliamentary elections and the 2011 Scottish parliamentary elections declaration were made at those times respectively.

 

However, running totals - which can be made from the first declaration onwards - may indicate a result earlier in the morning.

Local recounts

Guide to referendum night

4.2m

registered voters

97%

of electorate

  • 7am polls open

  • 10pm polls close, counting begins

  • 32 counts across Scotland

  • 6:30-7:30am expected declaration

TBC

The bulk of these are expected to come in between 03:00 and 06:00.

Because of the expected high turnout, counting officers have put measures in place to reduce the risk of queuing at polling stations.

The remote nature of some Scottish regions also means bad weather could delay the receipt of ballot boxes at counting centres, in turn delaying the national result.

Helicopters and boats are being used to transport ballot boxes to counts in areas such as Argyll and Bute.

Elections Scotland said recounts will only be allowed at a local level on the basis of concerns about process, not the closeness of a result.

line

Referendum night

The BBC's Scotland Decides will bring continuous, up-to-date coverage all through the night, as well as comprehensive analysis. On Twitter, keep abreast of all the action overnight via @BBCPolitics and @BBCScotlandNews.

A Scotland Decides programme presented by Huw Edwards will be broadcast on BBC One from 22:35 BST, while Scotland Decides The Result will be broadcast on BBC One Scotland.

 

Or follow the results on BBC Radio 4's Scotland Decides programme presented by James Naughtie and Rachel Burden. BBC Radio Scotland will also provide live coverage from 22:00 BST until 06:00 BST.

You can also watch and listen to all the live television and radio coverage on the BBC News website.

 

Replies sorted oldest to newest

"Is it not strange that at a time when we have lost our Princes, our Parliaments, our independent government, even the Presence of our chief Nobility, are unhappy in our accent and pronunciation, speak a very corrupt Dialect of the Tongue which we make use of, is it not strange, I say, that in these Circumstances, we shou’d really be the People most distinguished for Literature in Europe?—David Hume, 1757"

 

Prologue to

How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It
Spent a few hours reading it last night
 
FM
Last edited by Former Member
Originally Posted by Brian Teekah:

Free at last, to hell with the queen

It has little to do with the queen since they will most definitely keep her if they win because they are brits after all and she is their history and culture.

FM

Talk about boomerang, one of the big peaves of the Scotts was the Iraq excursion which most Scotts oppose and UK pursued.  Now the great UK could break up.  Dem follow that clown Powell.

FM

SCOTLAND DECIDES TO STAY WITH THE ENGLAND.

 

SMART MOVE.  They got much in return.  They were promised billion more to be pumped into the Scottish health and education system.

FM

Scotland has a lot more devolved powers than any other part of the UK. Even the level of public spending per head of the population is higher in Scotland than it is in the other part of the UK. Now these other regions are asking for the same level of support and devolved powers. The Scots have been far better off than the rest of the UK for decades.

To give you an idea of how privileged the Scots are, the city I live in has twice as many people than the whole of Scotland. But we don't get anywhere near as much spent on us per head of the population.

Mr.T
Originally Posted by baseman:

Talk about boomerang, one of the big peaves of the Scotts was the Iraq excursion which most Scotts oppose and UK pursued.  Now the great UK could break up.  Dem follow that clown Powell.

baseman sporting the "decider" G.W. Bush avatar . . . cussin Colin Powell for the Iraq war

 

uuummmm . . . rich

 

irony (obviously) beyond the comprehension of this lightly educated fool who thinks that "peave" is a real word

FM
Originally Posted by Stormborn:
Originally Posted by Brian Teekah:

Free at last, to hell with the queen

It has little to do with the queen since they will most definitely keep her if they win because they are brits after all and she is their history and culture.

That Braveheart guy must be happy. Also Mary Queen of Scots. Sean Connery is ecstatic, he said it is an opportunity too good to be missed.

S
Originally Posted by seignet:
Originally Posted by Stormborn:
Originally Posted by Brian Teekah:

Free at last, to hell with the queen

It has little to do with the queen since they will most definitely keep her if they win because they are brits after all and she is their history and culture.

That Braveheart guy must be happy. Also Mary Queen of Scots. Sean Connery is ecstatic, he said it is an opportunity too good to be missed.

'they' lost by 10 points . . . har har har

FM
Originally Posted by Nehru:
Originally Posted by Wally:

A wise choice based on pounds sterling.  A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

Did someone said Set me FREE or I will DIE a thousand times??


Scotland was once free.  They messed it up badly. 

FM
Originally Posted by Nehru:
Originally Posted by Wally:

A wise choice based on pounds sterling.  A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

Did someone said Set me FREE or I will DIE a thousand times??

You just hear the word "free" dos'nt mean free rum...don't get excited and pee up yuh pants...

sachin_05

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