Devolution Referendum Results

Here are the results of the referendum held on 11th September 1997 which asked the Scottish electorate whether they wanted a Parliament and whether a Parliament should have tax varying powers.

Summary of Results

Every region voted Yes-Yes, except Orkney and Dumfries & Galloway which both voted Yes to a Parliament but No to tax raising powers by small margins.

Q1) Should there be a Scottish parliament
Agree 1,775,045 (74.3%) Disagree 614,400 (25.7%)

Q2) Should the parliament have tax varying powers
Agree 1,512,889 (63.5%) Disagree 870,263 (36.5%)

Turnout 60.4%

Breakdown by local authority, alphabetically

Aberdeen City

Q1: Agree 65,035 (71.8%) Disagree 25,580 (28.2%)
Q2: Agree 54,320 (60.3%) Disagree 35,709 (39.7%)
Turnout 53.7%. Declared 04:13

Aberdeenshire

Q1: Agree 61,621 (63.9%) Disagree 34,878 (36.1%)
Q2: Agree 50,295 (52.3%) Disagree 45,929 (47.7%)
Turnout 57.0%. Declared 04:20

Angus

Q1: Agree 33,571 (64.7%) Disagree 18,350 (35.3%)
Q2: Agree 27,641 (53.4%) Disagree 24,089 (46.6%)
Turnout 60.2%. Declared 03:27

Argyll & Bute

Q1: Agree 30,452 (67.3%) Disagree 14,796 (32.7%)
Q2: Agree 25,746 (57.0%) Disagree 19,429 (43.0%)
Turnout 65.0%. Declared 04:27

City of Edinburgh

Q1: Agree 155,900 (71.9%) Disagree 60,832 (28.1%)
Q2: Agree 133,843 (62.0%) Disagree 82,188 (38.0%)
Turnout 60.1%. Declared 03:05

Clackmannanshire

Q1: Agree 18,790 (80.0%) Disagree 4,706 (20.0%)
Q2: Agree 16,112 (68.7%) Disagree 7,355 (31.3%)
Turnout 66.1%. Declared 00:41

Dumfries & Galloway

Q1: Agree 44,619 (60.7%) Disagree 28,863 (39.3%)
Q2: Agree 35,737 (48.8%) Disagree 37,499 (51.2%)
Turnout 63.4%. Declared 02:44

Dundee City

Q1: Agree 49,252 (76.0%) Disagree 15,553 (24.0%)
Q2: Agree 42,304 (65.5%) Disagree 22,280 (34.5%)
Turnout 55.7%. Declared 02:20

East Ayrshire

Q1: Agree 49,131 (81.1%) Disagree 11,426 (18.9%)
Q2: Agree 42,559 (70.5%) Disagree 17,824 (29.5%)
Turnout 64.8%. Declared 03:46

East Dumbartonshire

Q1: Agree 40,917 (69.8%) Disagree 17,725 (30.2%)
Q2: Agree 34,576 (59.1%) Disagree 23,914 (40.9%)
Turnout 72.7%. Declared 04:16

East Lothian

Q1: Agree 33,525 (74.2%) Disagree 11,665 (25.8%)
Q2: Agree 28,152 (62.7%) Disagree 16,765 (37.3%)
Turnout 65.0%. Declared 02:37

East Renfrewshire

Q1: Agree 28,253 (61.7%) Disagree 17,573 (38.3%)
Q2: Agree 23,580 (51.6%) Disagree 22,153 (48.4%)
Turnout 68.2%. Declared 02:27

Falkirk

Q1: Agree 55,642 (80.0%) Disagree 13,953 (20.0%)
Q2: Agree 48,064 (69.2%) Disagree 21,403 (30.8%)
Turnout 63.7%. Declared 02:53

Fife

Q1: Agree 125,668 (76.1%) Disagree 39,517 (23.9%)
Q2: Agree 108,021 (64.7%) Disagree 58,987 (35.3%)
Turnout 60.7%. Declared 03:37 (this result secured the first question) There was probably a counting error when totalling the Q2 results in this area as the Q2 votes exceed the Q1 votes by about 2,000. The number of Q2 votes also exceeds the number of ballot papers issued. Q2 agree was misrecorded. It should have been 106,214.

Glasgow City

Q1: Agree 204,269 (83.6%) Disagree 40,106 (16.4%)
Q2: Agree 182,589 (75.0%) Disagree 60,842 (25.0%)
Turnout 51.6%. Declared 03:32

Highland

Q1: Agree 72,551 (72.6%) Disagree 27,431 (27.4%)
Q2: Agree 61,359 (62.1%) Disagree 37,525 (37.9%)
Turnout: 60.3%. Declared 05:44

Inverclyde

Q1: Agree 31,680 (78.0%) Disagree 8,945 (22.0%)
Q2: Agree 27,194 (67.2%) Disagree 13,277 (32.8%)
Turnout: 60.4%. Declared 03:21

Midlothian

Q1: Agree 31,681 (79.9%) Disagree 7,979 (20.1%)
Q2: Agree 26,776 (67.7%) Disagree 12,762 (32.3%)
Turnout 65.1%. Declared 03:09

Moray

Q1: Agree 24,822 (67.2%) Disagree 12,122 (32.8%)
Q2: Agree 19,326 (52.7%) Disagree 17,344 (47.3%)
Turnout 57.8%. Declared 02:15

North Ayrshire

Q1: Agree 51,304 (76.3%) Disagree 15,931 (23.7%)
Q2: Agree 43,990 (65.7%) Disagree 22,991 (34.3%)
Turnout 63.4%. Declared 03:50

North Lanarkshire

Q1: Agree 123,063 (82.6%) Disagree 26,010 (17.4%)
Q2: Agree 107,288 (72.2%) Disagree 41,372 (27.8%)
Turnout 60.8%. Declared 04:07 (This result secured the second question)

Orkney Islands

Q1: Agree 4,749 (57.3%) Disagree 3,541 (42.7%)
Q2: Agree 3,917 (47.4%) Disagree 4,344 (52.6%)
Turnout 53.5%. Declared 01:54

Perth & Kinross

Q1: Agree 40,344 (61.7%) Disagree 24,998 (38.3%)
Q2: Agree 33,398 (51.3%) Disagree 31,709 (48.7%)
Turnout 63.1%. Declared 03:02

Renfrewshire

Q1: Agree 68,711 (79.0%) Disagree 18,213 (21.0%)
Q2: Agree 55,075 (63.6%) Disagree 31,537 (36.4%)
Turnout 62.8%. Declared 01:59

Scottish Borders

Q1: Agree 33,855 (62.8%) Disagree 20,060 (37.2%)
Q2: Agree 27,284 (50.7%) Disagree 26,497 (49.3%)
Turnout 64.8%. Declared 03:40

Shetland Islands

Q1: Agree 5,430 (62.4%) Disagree 3,275 (37.6%)
Q2: Agree 4,478 (51.6%) Disagree 4,198 (48.4%)
Turnout 51.5%. Declared 03:13

South Ayrshire

Q1: Agree 40,161 (66.9%) Disagree 19,909 (33.1%)
Q2: Agree 33,679 (56.2%) Disagree 26,217 (43.8%)
Turnout 66.7%. Declared 02:31

South Lanarkshire

Q1: Agree 114,908 (77.8%) Disagree 32,762 (22.2%)
Q2: Agree 99,587 (67.6%) Disagree 47,708 (32.4%)
Turnout 63.1%. Declared 00:50

Stirling

Q1: Agree 29,190 (68.5%) Disagree 13,440 (31.5%)
Q2: Agree 25,044 (58.9%) Disagree 17,487 (41.1%)
Turnout 65.8%. Declared 02:57

West Dumbartonshire

Q1: Agree 39,051 (84.7%) Disagree 7,058 (15.3%)
Q2: Agree 34,408 (74.7%) Disagree 11,628 (25.3%)
Turnout 63.7%. Declared 03:17

West Lothian

Q1: Agree 56,923 (79.6%) Disagree 14,614 (20.4%)
Q2: Agree 47,990 (67.3%) Disagree 23,354 (32.7%)
Turnout 62.6%. Declared 01:49

Western Isles / Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

Q1: Agree 9,977 (79.4%) Disagree 2,589 (20.6%)
Q2: Agree 8,557 (68.4%) Disagree 3,947 (31.6%)
Turnout 55.8%. Declared 02:11

Scottish FAQ > FAQ Contents > Government and Politics > Devolution Referendum Results > Top