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[Glloyd]

It has been a groundbreaking moment in the history of both the United Kingdom and of democratic governments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_referendum,_1980  (85.6% voter turnout [3,738,854 votes 59.56 No, 40.44 Yes])

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_referendum,_1995  (93.52% voter turnout [4,757,509 votes, 50.58% No, 49.42% Yes])

Both referendums had higher voter turnout (percentage-wise) then the Scottish referendum, and both were over the same issue as Scotland. While it is indeed groundbreaking for the UK, it is hardly groundbreaking for democratic governments in general.

[mainiac]

inb4 Yes vote wins and ed boy looks silly.

It's already decided. It's more then just "Fate will do it to make you silly" now, it's more "Fate will turn back time to spite you".

If Fate turns back time my streaking offer is still on the table.  I want to live in a magical world.

Also, here's the polling method that did the best job predicting the results: http://mic.com/articles/99178/ce-one-man-asked-grindr-users-about-scottish-independence-and-the-results-are-hilarious

[Graknorke]

Woo, my own best interests are preserved at the expense of the happiness of a couple million people.

[Squeegy]

Woo, my own best interests are preserved at the expense of the happiness of a couple million people.

[LordSlowpoke]

i'd write a big fat post about the current happenings, but owlie must be downing whiskey by the barrel right now and i'm on my phone so after the initial high, i can only hope that the scots can somehow make the uk less shit (seriously though, please vote yes on getting england out of eu, be the heroes)

[Max White]

Oh Owlbread... Maybe next time buddy.

[Guardian G.I.]

[hector13]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A wee bit cheeky, methinks.

[Sheb]

I'm waiting to see what's coming out of the devolution proposals. After all, Scotland is never going to vote Tory anyway, so Cameron can afford to shaft them. If anything, close to no devolution would weaken Labour and the LibDems in Scotland, since they both promised significant devolution too.

[Orange Wizard]

According to media in NZ, Cameron said he's going to give more power to Scotland now.

[Sheb]

Yeah, but the devil will be in the details. Will Scotland gain the "significant power" it was promised, or only a few symbolic new responsabilities?

[Orange Wizard]

It would be nice to see a politician who isn't an arsehole for once.

[Sheb]

So Cameron made his statement:

Let us also remember why it was right to ask the definitive question, Yes or No. Because now the debate has been settled for a generation or as Alex Salmond has said, perhaps for a lifetime.

So there can be no disputes, no re-runs – we have heard the settled will of the Scottish people.

No more referendums for a while.

To those in Scotland sceptical of the constitutional promises made, let me say this we have delivered on devolution under this government, and we will do so again in the next Parliament.

To me it seems he's promising stuff only if he's reelected, but then:

And I can announce today that Lord Smith of Kelvin – who so successfully led Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games – has agreed to oversee the process to take forward the devolution commitments, with powers over tax, spending and welfare all agreed by November and draft legislation published by January.

So we should see stuff soon. Owlbread, what's your opinion of Lord Smith of Kelvin? The whole Lord-led committee thing makes me feel like I'm watching "Yes, Prime Minister", but then we have a deadline.

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. The rights of these voters need to be respected, preserved and enhanced as well.

It is absolutely right that a new and fair settlement for Scotland should be accompanied by a new and fair settlement that applies to all parts of our United Kingdom. In Wales, there are proposals to give the Welsh government and Assembly more powers. And I want Wales to be at the heart of the debate on how to make our United Kingdom work for all our nations. In Northern Ireland, we must work to ensure that the devolved institutions function effectively.

Frankly, I'm surprised. I didn't expect Cameron to push for a form of federalism in the UK. If he can push it through, he might leave a good legacy. Of course, it could also be a way to slow everything down and not have to devolve power to Scotland too, but that's just my paranoid side I think.

[hector13]

Could also be that there's an election next year, and he's just starting to get the campaign rolling early.

I'm massively cynical of British politics right now though, so yeah.

[olemars]

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. The rights of these voters need to be respected, preserved and enhanced as well.

It is absolutely right that a new and fair settlement for Scotland should be accompanied by a new and fair settlement that applies to all parts of our United Kingdom. In Wales, there are proposals to give the Welsh government and Assembly more powers. And I want Wales to be at the heart of the debate on how to make our United Kingdom work for all our nations. In Northern Ireland, we must work to ensure that the devolved institutions function effectively.

Frankly, I'm surprised. I didn't expect Cameron to push for a form of federalism in the UK. If he can push it through, he might leave a good legacy. Of course, it could also be a way to slow everything down and not have to devolve power to Scotland too, but that's just my paranoid side I think.

The caveat to this is that non-english MP's would be barred from voting on legislation determined to be "english", which has some issues in terms of power balance. The proper way to do that would be to reinstitute the Parliament of England but there doesn't seem to be any such suggestion.