Scotland Independence Poll, Vote & Referendum News 2014: Will Tally Be too Close to Call?
Much has been made about Thursday's vote on Scotland Independence, but now the verdict is in.
Both sides of the debate have spent millions on campaigns and the British Prime Minister has made emotional pleas to the Scots to remain part of the United Kingdom. On his HBO talk show, John Oliver -- an Englishman -- ate haggis and drank scotch while bagpipes blared and a unicorn -- Scotland's national animal -- danced, all in an effort to convince Scotland to stay.
Ultimately, however, the Scottish people will have to make that decision for themselves, and they will on Thursday, USA Today reported. The polls have been agonizingly close, with favor rocking back and forth daily between independence and staying part of the U.K.
A poll released Wednesday by ScotCen, an independent research center, has "no" to independence at 51 percent of the vote and "yes" to independence at 49 percent of the vote, according to CNN. "Don't know" votes weren't counted.
England and Scotland have a turbulent history, which has given heart to the independence movement. Scotland also has the majority of U.K. oil reserves and has felt hard done-by on the profit splitting from that oil.
But independence from the U.K. could also be problematic for the Scots. It's been rumored that if Scotland splits from the U.K. it may not be able to use British pound sterling as its currency, creating an economic headache with likely lasting issues.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was in Scotland this week pleading with Scots to remain part of the U.K.
"Independence would not be a trial separation," Cameron said. "It would be a painful divorce. I speak for millions of people across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and many in Scotland, too, who would be utterly heartbroken by the breakup of our United Kingdom."
If on Thursday the Scots choose independence, the U.K. would lose one-third of its land mass, 8 percent of its population, about 10 percent of its tax revenue and an untold amount of cultural and intellectual capital.
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