Scottish independence leader resigns after unity victory

UPDATE (11:20 a.m. EDT): Alex Salmond, the Scottish politician who led the fight for independence announced today he is resigning his post as first minister and stepping down from his party's leadership.

Although gracious in defeat, Salmond hinted the Scots haven't heard the last of him.

“For Scotland the campaign is not over and the dream will never die,” he told reporters.

OUR EARLIER REPORT: Scotland rejected independence yesterday in a 55 to 45 percent victory that was far from the nail-biter polling predicted. The historic referendum drew record participation from voters, with 85 percent of those registered casting ballots.

The decision was good news for the economic establishment in Britain, which faced troubling predictions from economists if Scotland had chosen to break away from the United Kingdom. It was also a relief to Prime Minister David Cameron, who faced calls for his resignation if he had lost Scotland.

“We have chosen unity over division,” Alistair Darling, head of the “No” campaign, said early Friday morning in Glasgow. “Today is a momentous day for Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole.”

But while the Scots have chosen to remain in the U.K., along with England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, feeling unity held a more secure outlook on the future, the vote itself was a historic moment for democracy, and the U.K. is already feeling its effects. Cameron and the “No” campaign made an earlier promise to give the Scottish parliament “extensive new powers” if it stayed in the union, including independent ability to raise taxes to support the National Health System in Scotland. And Cameron has suggested Scotland won’t be the only country feeling the effects of the referendum.

“Just as the people of Scotland will have more power over their affairs, so it follows that the people of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland must have a bigger say over theirs,” Cameron said. “The rights of these voters need to be respected, preserved, and enhanced as well.”

Even though his hopes fell through, “Yes” campaign leader Alex Salmond was upbeat as he addressed some of his supporters after the vote.

“This has been a triumph for the democratic process and for participation in politics,” he said.

The Scottish capital, Edinburgh, voted for unity by a 60 percent to 38 percent margin, and Aberdeen, the country’s oil center, went the same, with a 59 percent to 41 percent margin. But the “Yes” campaign made a good showing, winning Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city.

Many considered the vote a “head versus heart” campaign, as the “Yes” vote was more appealing to the young, while older Scots tended to support the security of staying with the union. But the “No” campaign rejected that label, and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a Scot himself, made a dramatic pitch in the last few days before the vote. He argued Scots could be proud of their country and the union, rejecting the notion that independence was the more patriotic option.

“There is not a cemetery in Europe that does not have Scots, English, Welsh, and Irish lined side by side,” Brown said before the vote. “We not only won these wars together, we built the peace together. What we have built together by sacrificing and sharing, let no narrow nationalism split asunder.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.