On September 18, the majority of Scottish people said “No” to the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The pro-Union Better Together campaign emerged victorious by 55% over 45%.

It was a rough road for the Better Together campaign. Only a week before the referendum polls suggested a victory by the “Yes” side after a successful debate delivered by Alex Salmond, the face of the “Yes” campaign.

The British faculty at ISSH seems satisfied with the results. “It was [the Scottish people’s] right to vote ‘yes,’ but as a British person I’d be kind of sad if the country had broken apart” said Mr. Robey originally from London.

“From a sentimental point of view we’re Great Britain, Better Together, but I think Scotland by itself wouldn’t survive even with their oil revenue” said Mr. George from Manchester.

From an economic perspective, Ms. Saso from York said, “Scotland needs the rest of the UK in order to keep its industry going. Moreover, the main banks that have their headquarters in Edinburgh were planning to move to London if Scotland became independent.”

Although Scotland remains part of the UK, the referendum helped to bring attention to Scottish people’s dissatisfaction with current distribution of power. In response, leaders of political parties in the UK have pledged to devolve more powers to Scotland. This implies Scotland will eventually have autonomy to pass certain laws, which could be considered a milestone for those who wanted independence.