Scotland Votes NO to Independence in Referendum

Scotland voted No to Independence in the Referendum last week. The vote turned out to be closer than was originally envisaged with 55% of the Scottish public voting No compared to 45% calling for a Yes vote.

The potential for a Yes vote for Scotland to break up from the UK gave rise to significant uncertainty and was met with a temporary drop in both the equity markets and to the value of the Pound. A successful Yes vote would have led to ramifications of a potential capital flight from Scotland due to uncertainty over whether the country would seek to use its own currency or join the Euro.

The rejection of Independence was followed by a sharp rise in the Pound on Friday and companies with Scottish links generated a rally to the FTSE 100 in the financial markets. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland, SSE, Weir and Standard Life were all up by approximately 2-3% following the news.

Turnout to the referendum on Scottish independence hit a record high for any election held in the UK since 1918 with a participation rate of 85%.