How Scotland Voted : Economic Perceptions in the Scottish Independence Referendum

A lot closer than had seemed likely a few months previously; not as close in the end as the final polls had suggested. That probably summarises many people’s reaction when they learnt that 45% had voted Yes, and 55% No in Scotland’s independence referendum. But Scotland did not vote as one. Voters’ propensities to vote Yes or No varied according to their social and economic circumstances. Not least of the reasons is that those circumstances affected their perceptions of the economic consequences of independence