Scots get a vote to opt out of UK

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UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday afternoon signed a deal with Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond granting his government the power to hold a historic referendum on independence which may end its 300-year-old union with England.

The deal confirms the Scottish Parliament’s power to hold a vote in 2014 that will be respected fully by both governments.

Scottish nationalists want the vote held on the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn in which Robert the Bruce’s Scots defeated the English under Edward II.

Scotland and England came together under the Union of the Crowns in 1603, but it continued as an independent country till the Acts of Union of 1707, which made Scotland a constituent of the UK.

Scotland got its Parliament in 1999 under the Devolution Act — it has powers to decide on most issues but defence, foreign and financial which are handled by London.

A step closer to independence The referendum will take place in end-2014.

If the vote goes through, Scotland will split from the UK after 300 years of political union.