GLASGOW: After a divisive campaign that shook the very foundations of Britain to its core, Scotland is to remain an integral part of the United Kingdom.

By 55 per to 45 per cent, Scots voted ‘no’ to independence and opted to preserve the 307-year-old union with the rest of the UK.

But the result means that Prime Minister David Cameron and the political elite in Westminster will have to move quickly to devolve more powers to the Scottish parliament, with more than 1.6 million Scots voting against rule from London.

Speaking on the steps of 10 Downing Street, Cameron said the Scottish independence debate had been “settled for a generation” and now was time “for our United Kingdom to come together and to move forward”.

The strength of the ‘yes’ campaign had forced the three main British parties into panicked promises to grant substantial new power to the Scottish Parliament.

The legislation for this would be complicated, Cameron said, but fairness for Scotland would have to be matched by fairness for the English, Welsh and Northern Irish.

Scotland First Minister Alex Salmond sounded a defiant note in a speech shortly after 6am, saying he accepted Scotland had not “at this stage” decided to vote for independence. He also issued a warning to the unionist parties that they must make good on their promises to give more power to the Scottish parliament.

“Scotland will expect these to be honoured in rapid course,” the first minister said, adding that he would “work constructively in the interests of Scotland and the rest of the UK”.

The result boosted sterling yesterday, with the British currency rising against the dollar and euro in trading. In the weeks prior to Thursday’s historic vote, the pound had hit year-lows against both currencies while blue chip companies with strong ties to Scotland also faced downward pressure.

In the final count, the no camp clocked up 2,001,926 votes (55.3%) to 1,617,989 for yes (44.7%).

The yes campaign scored four big successes, winning 53% of the vote in Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, 54% in West Dunbartonshire, 57% in Dundee and 51% in North Lanarkshire.

However, the no camp was victorious in 28 authorities. It won overwhelmingly in areas where it was expected to do well, including Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Borders, but also in areas that could have gone to the yes campaign, including Falkirk, Inverclyde, Eilean Siar and Clackmannanshire.

Queen Elizabeth was expected to release a statement soon.