UK Leaders Say Referendum Outcome Offers Promise for Future
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Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage(LONDON) — Queen Elizabeth offered praise for the voters of Scotland who declined to vote for Scottish independence on Thursday, calling on all residents of the United Kingdom to “remember…we have in common an enduring love of Scotland.”
After months of debate, Scottish voters opted not to approve a referendum for independence on Thursday. The Queen had previously chosen not to get involved in the referendum, calling it “a matter for the people of Scotland.”
A statement from earlier this month noted that “constitutional impartiality is an established principle of our democracy, and one which the Queen has demonstrated throughout her reign.” The Queen, the statement said, “is above politics.”
“Knowing the people of Scotland as I do,” the Queen said in a new statement on Friday, “I have no doubt that Scots, like others throughout the United Kingdom, are able to express strongly-held opinions before coming together again in a spirit of mutual respect and support, to work constructively for the future of Scotland and indeed all parts of this country.”
United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron called the outcome of the referendum “clear,” expressing hope that the issue had been settled for a generation or longer. He also said that the opportunity now exists to change the way British people are governed, calling on all political parties to work together to do just that.
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