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 In the final hours before polling stations opened, leaders of both
sides urged Scots to seize the reins of history in a vote that has
divided families, friends and lovers but also electrified this
country of 5.3 million.
From the remote Scottish islands of the Atlantic to the toughest
city estates of Glasgow, voters are being asked to answer "Yes" or
"No" to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"
"This is an historic day for Scotland. I've waited all my life for
this. It's time to break with England. 'Yes' to independence," said
a businessman who gave his name as Ron and was the first person to
vote at Edinburgh's Waverley Court.
As he spoke, a couple of workers hurrying by in the morning mist and
drizzle shouted "Vote No!"
Five surveys - from pollsters YouGov, Panelbase, Survation, Opinium
and ICM - showed support for independence at 48 percent, compared
with 52 percent for the union.
An Ipsos MORI poll showed it even closer at 49 percent to 51
percent, while a second Survation poll, conducted by phone, showed
unionists at 53 percent and separatists at 47 percent.
The surveys also showed as many as 600,000 voters remained
undecided, making the vote far too close to call. Polling stations
close at 2100 GMT and a result is expected early on Friday.
"This is our opportunity of a lifetime and we must seize it with
both hands," Alex Salmond, Scotland's 59-year-old nationalist
leader, told hundreds of supporters who waved the white on blue
Scottish flag and chanted "Yes we can."
"Scotland's future must be in Scotland's hands," Salmond said in
Perth, a city in eastern Scotland 460 miles (740 km) north of
London.
The independence movement says Scots should be able to choose their
own leaders and make their own decisions rather than be ruled from
London. Supporters of the union say Scotland is more prosperous and
secure as part of the United Kingdom and the ties that bind them are
too tight to be undone.
But with a mix of shrewd calculation and nationalist passion,
Salmond has hauled the "Yes" campaign from far behind to within a
few percentage points of winning his dream of an independent
Scotland.
Facing the biggest internal threat to the United Kingdom since
Ireland broke away nearly a century ago, Britain's establishment -
from Prime Minister David Cameron to corporate bigwigs and the
princes of pop culture - have united in a last-ditch effort to
convince Scots that the United Kingdom is "Better Together".
Cameron's job could be on the line if Scotland breaks away, but the
47-year-old prime minister has conceded that his privileged English
background and Conservative politics mean he is not the best person
to win over Scots.
That has left the leadership of the unionist case in the hands of
the opposition Labour party, winner of 41 Scottish seats in the 2010
British election and the only party with the local support capable
of checking the secessionist Scottish National Party.
Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a Scot who has in recent
days led the battle cry for the union, on Wednesday warned Scots in
Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city and a crucial battleground, that
Salmond was "leading us into a trap".
"Have confidence, stand up and be counted tomorrow," Brown
thundered, fists clenched, to applause and cheers from unionist
supporters. "Say to your friends, for reasons of solidarity,
sharing, pride in Scotland, the only answer is vote 'No'."
A UNITED KINGDOM?
In the event of a vote for independence, Britain and Scotland would
face 18 months of talks on how to carve up North Sea oil and what to
do about European Union membership and Britain's main nuclear
submarine base.
Scotland says it will use the pound after independence, but London
has ruled out a formal currency union, while Britain will have to
decide what to do about the nuclear submarine base on the Clyde,
which the nationalists want to evict.
The prospect of breaking up the United Kingdom, the world's
sixth-largest economy and a veto-wielding permanent member of the
United Nations Security Council, has prompted citizens and allies
alike to ponder what would be left, while the financiers of the City
of London have warned of market turmoil.
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Salmond has accused London of orchestrating a campaign by business
leaders aimed at spooking Scots after businesses from oil giant BP
<BP.L> to financial services group Standard Life <SL.L> cautioned
about the risks of independence.
The United States has made clear it wants the United Kingdom, its
main ally in Europe, to remain together. "The UK is an
extraordinary partner for America and a force for good in an
unstable world. I hope it remains strong, robust and united," U.S.
President Barack Obama said.
To blunt Salmond's argument for breaking away, Britain's rulers
promised to guarantee Scotland high levels of state funding and
grant Scots greater control over finances.
British leaders accept that even if Scotland votes to keep the
union, the United Kingdom's structure will have to change, as
granting further powers to Scotland will provoke calls for a less
centralised state from voters in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland.
TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Five of the polls showed nationalists had gained ground, but
supporters of the union were slightly ahead in all seven polls as
some currency traders in London prepared to stay up all night on
Thursday to buy or sell sterling <GBP=> on the results of the vote.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said there were potentially
significant economic ramifications from the vote and that a strong
United Kingdom was important.
British finance minister George Osborne has canceled a trip to a G20
meeting of finance ministers in Australia while Bank of England
Governor Mark Carney will be in London for the result of the
Scottish vote.
One poll, from Panelbase, showed support for independence had
slipped to 48 percent from 49 percent, while YouGov, which had the
biggest sample of the campaign, had support for independence
unchanged at 48 percent.
Electoral officials said the result of the vote is expected by
breakfast time on Friday morning, but partial results will give an
indication of the trend after the count of major cities such as
Glasgow are declared around 0400 GMT. With more than 486,000 voters,
Glasgow is crucial, and the way its traditional Labour supporters go
could be decisive.
Edinburgh and Aberdeen, which with Glasgow make up nearly a quarter
of the vote, are also expected around about that time. Helicopters
will fly from specially lit landing sites from remote islands to
deliver ballot boxes to regional counting centers.
Police played down the prospect of violence, and the leaders of both
campaigns have said they will accept the will of the people no
matter what the result and seek to work for Scotland.
In such a tight contest, the "undecideds'" final decisions could
still swing the vote.
On the night before the ballot, Edinburgh voter Karen Wood told
Reuters she had still not made up her mind.
"At the moment it is just the uncertainty of what Scotland has got
in store for everyone. It’s worrying. It is just such a huge
decision to make."
The second voter out of the Waverley Court polling station said he
wanted change for Scotland.
"It's brilliant, it's very exciting," 51-year-old Jack McGinn said.
"I'm a homeless veteran. How can that be in 2014? I voted for
independence."
(Additional reporting by Alistair Smout in Edinburgh, Dylan Martinez
in Perth, Kate Holton and Andrew Osborn in London, Editing by Susan
Fenton)
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