issues. I think what most English people want is a fair settlement,” he said. Cameron and the Queen will both move to calm tensions when they deliver statements on the result. The prime minister will try, in the words of one cabinet minister, to “cement in” the no vote by outlining how he will deliver the deepening of Scotland’s devolution settlement, including handing greater powers over tax and welfare to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. The Queen, who has monitored the referendum with interest, will make a written statement. It is understood that her remarks will focus on reconciliation. The prime minister wants to move fast to show that the three main UK party leaders will live up to their commitments made during the referendum campaign to deliver what the former prime minister Gordon Brown called “home rule” within the UK. Ministers believe it is important to move quickly to avoid a repeat of the 1980 referendum in Québec. The triumphalist behaviour of Ontario fuelled the separatist cause that nearly succeeded in a second referendum in 1995. For the no campaign, there was relief: a spate of authoritative polls in the final days of the campaign had said the vote was on a knife-edge, bringing Yes Scotland within touching distance of victory after a dramatic surge in support.