Independence Referendum: Scotland voted "No ".

Scotland has voted " No " to independence in a referendum, meaning its 300-year old union with the UK will continue. So how did the No campaign win ?

Escocia  ha votado  "No"  a la independencia en un referendum, por lo que los  300 años  de unión con el Reino Unidad seguirán. Pero  ¿ Cómo   ha ganado la campaña del No  ? Aquí te damos las claves.

1. They were always the favourites

The No camp had a head start (ventaja) . When the Edinburgh Agreement was signed on 15 October 2012,  polls (las encuestas)  suggested about a third of Scotland's 4.2m voters wanted independence .

 2. The Scottish feel British

 The number of people living in Scotland who chose British as their national identity rose  (ascendió) from 15% in 2011 to 23% in 2014. The number of people who chose Scottish fell (cayó ) from 75% to 65% over the same period.

Almost one third of Scots now say they are "equally Scottish and British" - the highest proportion since former Labour PM Tony Blair came to office (llegó al poder)  in 1997 Less than one in four describe themselves as "Scottish not British".

3. The risk factor

The No vote suggests Better Together  ( Mejor Juntos) was successful in drawing people back (retirar a la gente)  from the prospect of taking a risk that was not necessary  Just two days ahead of the polls, voters were twice as likely (49%) to regard independence as a risk than staying in the Union (25%). 

Earlier this week, UK Prime Minister David Cameron told Scottish voters it was his "duty" to warn them  (su obligación advertirlos ) of the  costs of a "painful divorce ".

4. They stemmed (detuvieron) the Yes surge

The Sunday Times YOUGOV polls  which put the Yes camp in the lead 10 days ago led to a surge of momentum, and increased mobilisation, in the Yes camp. Suddenly the prospect of a victory was in sight.(a la vista). The response of the No camp was swift.(fué rápida)  Mr Cameron and labour leader Ed Miliband skipped their weekly Prime Minister's Question time  to travel to Scotland. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg went, too.  Then came the "vow" (la promesa)  to devolve more powers   if Scotland voted No.

5. For richer, for poorer?

 This was one of the biggest questions for voters, if not the biggest question.

Both sides battled hard over the economy,  The No vote suggests Scots were not convinced that an independent Scotland would be better off.(le  iría mejor económicamente) . The pound was also at the heart of the disagreement.

6. Their voters voted

Turnout  (la participación ) - which was 84.5% across Scotland - was generally higher in No areas than Yes areas.

 Relatively fewer people went to the polls in the urban strongholds where Yes Scotland was relying upon large numbers of supporters to vote - such as Glasgow, where the turnout was 75%, and Dundee, where the turnout was 78.8%. They voted in favour of independence by 53.49% and 57.35% respectively.

Adaptado del artículo "How the NO side won de referendum "  (BBC News)