Scottish independence referendum results: what to expect

Coffee House is ready to cover the independence referendum results, and we’ll be bringing you news and analysis throughout the night. Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson will be blogging – and you can follow them on Twitter @FraserNelson, @IsabelHardman and @JGForsyth for immediate reaction.

Polls close at 10 o’clock tonight – but anyone still queuing will be allowed to vote. There’s no exit poll so we won’t have an immediate estimate of the result. Votes will be counted in each of Scotland’s 32 council areas, and as each council’s total is checked and accepted by the Chief Counting Officer, Mary Pitcaithly, the local counting officers will be able to announce their result. The 32 results will then be combined to give the final result, expected at around 06:30-07:30 tomorrow morning. And it is final: although there may be recounts at a local level, there won’t be a national recount – no matter how close the result.

Here’s when we think the councils will declare:

Source: Credit Suisse