Cheers and tears from winners and losers in Scotland referendum

By Angus MacSwan Edinburgh (Reuters) - People reacted with relief and joy on one side and disappointment laced with bitterness on the other on Friday after Scotland decided to stay part of the United Kingdom in a referendum on independence. Many people stayed up all night to await the results, watching at home, gathered in pubs, or at counting centers. The victory for the "Better Together" camp was near certain around 5 a.m. As people headed into work on Friday morning, politicians and churchmen spoke of the need for national reconciliation after months of impassioned debate, and defeated independence supporters said the struggle would go on. Both sides also said they would do their best to make sure that the British political parties in Westminster made good on their promises to give Scotland more autonomy. "I won't be dancing tonight," said independence supporter Doug Bathgate, 58, who had worn a kilt to the counting headquarters at the Royal Highland Centre on the outskirts of the capital. "No" activist Phil Wheeler, an Edinburgh Liberal Democrat who was also there, said he was delighted with the outcome. "I'd like to think (nationalist leader) Alex Salmond is hiding in his bunker," he said. In central Edinburgh, council-worker Alistair Lowe, 57, said he stayed up all night to watch the count and felt huge relief when it was clear the unionists had won. "I'm very happy," he said. "I just felt that at my age, I fear more about my pension, my retirement. That's what it meant to me." "I was worried the 16-year-olds might mess it up, like it was a Scotland-England game," he added. A major plank of the independence campaign was that Scotland should choose its own leaders, rather than be ruled from London by politicians that Scottish voters had not always backed - Britain's ruling Conservatives have little support north of the border. It also said an independent Scotland could build a fairer, more inclusive society. TIES THAT BIND The "Better Together" campaign said the ties that bind the nations of the United Kingdom were too deep to cut and that Scotland would be more secure within the bigger entity. Independence would carry far too much economic risk, including job losses and business flight, it said. "It's very disappointing. We've been stitched up like a kipper," said Tom Dolan, 53, who was waiting at Waverley Station to put his friend Gill Davies on a train to London. "It was heart breaking. We’ve been bought and sold by London," he said. "It will be crumbs we get from those public schoolboys, David Cameron, Boris Johnson. The country is morally corrupt," said Davies, a national health service speech therapist. Indicating how the debate had divided friends and families, she said her parents, farmers in the Borders region, had been very concerned about a victory for the independence movement. "My dad said it would have put paid to his business." Dolan poured scorn on banks who had said they would move their registered offices from Scotland in the event of independence. "They've got the people who nearly ruined our country laying down the rules,” he said. Leaders of Britain's main political parties had, late in the campaign, promised Scots greater powers as an enticement to stay in the union. People on both sides said it was important that they followed through. Mike Crockart, an Edinburgh Liberal Democrat member of the Westminster parliament, said: "We must deliver what the people have asked for – a stronger Scotland within the UK - and we shall start today." A beaming Sheila Gilmore, Labour MP for Edinburgh East, said she was overwhelmed by the unionists' victory. "The people listened, they thought about it, and now they have spoken. Now we can get on with practical issues – health, education, social care. We have to find solutions." Asked if she thought the British political parties would deliver on their promises, she said. "It is up to us Scots MPs to make sure that happens." WE NEED ANSWERS Some independence supporters were overcome with emotion. "I don’t know what to tell the people in our country who are living in poverty. We're fed up with illegal wars," said Amie Robertson, a 20-year-old student and Radical Independence Campaign member, tears welling her eyes. "People want change, they are demanding change. We will keep mobilizing people on the ground." Calum Martin, a 21-year-old history student at Edinburgh University wearing a Scottish Socialist Party badge, said the result still set the stage for the independence movement to go forward. "You can't put the genie back in the bottle once it’s out,” he said. "We’ve run a fabulous campaign – support for independence has never been so high, and it’s not going to go away. Westminster must deliver on its promises. We’ve shown there is a huge appetite for change.” The rival political leaders have all called for Scots to put their differences aside. A special church service for reconciliation will be held in Edinburgh on Sunday. Police were on the alert for any sign of trouble, especially in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city and a "Yes" stronghold, which has a reputation as a tough town. No incidents had been reported by Friday afternoon. On Edinburgh’s main Princes Street, Ray Kilpatrick, a 63-year-old "No" activist wearing a sprig of heather and a rose bound with a tartan ribbon on his lapel, said Scotland did itself proud over the referendum. Asked what tipped the balance, he said people had a mix of concerns and fears. "We needed a foundation for our hopes and dreams, and the nationalists did not offer a foundation.” He also quoted the last line of a poem by Scotland's most famous poet, Robert Burns, calling for brotherhood - "That Man to Man, the world o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that." "That’s my song for Scotland today," Kilpatrick said. (Reporting by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Will Waterman)