Referendum or popular consultation

Scottish independence referendum, 2014

Voters rejected independence by 55.3% to 44.7% on a turnout of 84.6%.

The vote

Jurisdiction
Scotland
Organising authority
Chief Counting Officer, under the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013
Legal character
ConsultativeThe 2013 Act provided for the poll, not for independence itself; in the Edinburgh Agreement both governments undertook to respect the result.[1][2]
Geographical scope
Scotland
Who could vote
The Scottish Independence Referendum (Franchise) Act 2013 franchise, including people aged 16 or over on polling day.[3]
Question on the ballot
“Should Scotland be an independent country?”
Reported results[4][5][6][1]. Percentages: not calculated — no compatible denominator was reported.
OptionVotesOfficial %Calculated %
Yes 1,617,989 44.7% Not reported
No 2,001,926 55.3% Not reported
Valid votes
Not reported
Invalid votes
3,429
Blank votes
Not reported
Total ballots cast
3,623,344
Registered electorate
4,283,938
Turnout
84.6%official figure

The declared percentages are shares of valid votes. The Electoral Commission report gives 55.25% (No) and 44.65% (Yes) as shares of all 3,623,344 votes counted, including 3,429 rejected ballot papers.

Assessments of the vote

A declared result and an assessment of the vote’s legal effect or legitimacy are different claims. Each is attributed.

  • Electoral Commission · Observer assessment

    Reported to the Scottish Parliament that the referendum was well run.[7]

What happened

Voters were asked “Should Scotland be an independent country?”.[1] The franchise included people aged 16 and over, and 109,593 16- and 17-year-olds registered.[3][8] Yes Scotland and Better Together were the designated lead campaigners.[9]

No won 2,001,926 votes and Yes 1,617,989.[4] Turnout was 84.6%, which the Electoral Commission described as the highest at any Scotland-wide poll since universal suffrage.[5][7]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 set the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” and the poll date of 18 September 2014.

    • Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 2013) link, s. 1(2) and (4). Source record
  2. 2.

    Claim: In the Edinburgh Agreement of 15 October 2012 the UK and Scottish Governments agreed that the referendum should have a clear legal base, be legislated for by the Scottish Parliament and deliver a result that everyone would respect.

    • UK Government and Scottish Government, Agreement between the United Kingdom Government and the Scottish Government on a referendum on independence for Scotland (UK Government, 15 October 2012) link, Agreement, PDF p. 2. Government perspective or primary official source Source record
  3. 3.

    Claim: People aged 16 or over on polling day were entitled to vote, subject to the Act’s other conditions.

    • Scottish Independence Referendum (Franchise) Act 2013 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 2013) link, s. 2(1)(a) as enacted. Source record
  4. 4.

    Claim: In the referendum on 18 September 2014, 2,001,926 votes (55.3%) were cast for No and 1,617,989 (44.7%) for Yes.

    • Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Result of the Scottish Independence Referendum 2014 (Electoral Management Board for Scotland) link, Result for Scotland. Source record
  5. 5.

    Claim: There were 4,283,938 registered voters; 3,623,344 votes were counted, a turnout of 84.6%, and 3,429 ballot papers were rejected.

    • Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Result of the Scottish Independence Referendum 2014 (Electoral Management Board for Scotland) link, Overall. Source record
    • Electoral Commission, Scottish Independence Referendum: Report on the referendum held on 18 September 2014 (Electoral Commission, December 2014) link, Some key statistics, PDF pp. 9–10. Source record
  6. 6.

    Claim: The Electoral Commission’s report expresses the result as 55.25% and 44.65% of all votes counted, whereas the declared 55.3% and 44.7% are shares of valid votes.

    • Electoral Commission, Scottish Independence Referendum: Report on the referendum held on 18 September 2014 (Electoral Commission, December 2014) link, PDF p. 10. Source record
    • Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Result of the Scottish Independence Referendum 2014 (Electoral Management Board for Scotland) link, Result for Scotland. Source record
  7. 7.

    Claim: The Electoral Commission described the 84.6% turnout as the highest recorded at any Scotland-wide poll since universal suffrage and reported that the referendum was well run. Attributed to Electoral Commission

    • Electoral Commission, Scottish Independence Referendum: Report on the referendum held on 18 September 2014 (Electoral Commission, December 2014) link, Foreword, PDF p. 4. Source record
  8. 8.

    Claim: 109,593 people aged 16 or 17 were registered to vote in the referendum.

    • Electoral Commission, Scottish Independence Referendum: Report on the referendum held on 18 September 2014 (Electoral Commission, December 2014) link, Some key statistics, PDF p. 10. Source record
  9. 9.

    Claim: Yes Scotland and Better Together were appointed as the designated lead campaigners for the two outcomes in April 2014.

    • Electoral Commission, Scottish Independence Referendum: Report on the referendum held on 18 September 2014 (Electoral Commission, December 2014) link, para. 1.3, PDF p. 26. Source record

Source note

Show in the notes list