LONDON (AP) -- The saga of Scottish independence is over, but a new journey of political upheaval is only beginning for the United Kingdom.
Prime Minister David Cameron responded Friday to the passion of the failed Scottish breakaway by promising sweeping new powers to the U.K.'s regions. Scotland's rebellious spirit and England's own movement for more autonomy mean that to keep an uneasy marriage intact, each of Britain's four nations soon may need to live mostly under separate roofs.
Cameron vowed to follow through on campaign promises to spin off key decision-making powers from London to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, particularly over tax rates and welfare benefits, to keep separatist sentiments at bay. As importantly, he called for a similarly robust reform of the relationship between Parliament in London and Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and most significantly its home of England, where 85 percent of the U.K.'s population lives.
"It is time for the people who share this island to have a respectful and informed debate with regard to Irish unity or continued partition," Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams told reporters outside Dail Eireann, the Irish parliament, in Dublin. "The people here, like our Scottish cousins, should be provided the opportunity in a border poll to determine the constitutional position. That is the democratic way forward."
Waiting in the wings for any stumble is Labour leader Ed Miliband, who hopes to oust Cameron from power in London and entice voters in Scotland back from the Scottish National Party, the pro-independence force that swept to power in Scotland's Parliament in 2011.
"This was a vote for change," Miliband declared to the victory rally of the anti-independence Better Together campaign in Scotland. "Change doesn't end today. Change begins today, because we know this country needs to change in the way it's governed."
The future direction of the United Kingdom appears destined to face many internal tugs-of-war: between parties and capitals, and between each voter's soul and sensibility.
That conflict perhaps was best illustrated on the ballot papers of 691 of the more than 3.6 million Scots who cast their ballots Thursday.
When asked whether Scotland should be an independent country, those voters checked both "yes" and "no."
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