EDINBURGH: Britain’s prime minister and Scotland’s first minister have fired the starting gun on a two-year campaign for the hearts and minds of Scottish voters ahead of an independence referendum to be held in 2014.

Prime Minister David Cameron and pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond inked the deal and shook hands in cold autumn sunlight on Monday after a meeting at the Scottish government building, St. Andrews House, in Edinburgh.

Cameron strongly opposes a Scottish breakaway which would end 300 years of union, while Salmond’s Scottish National Party (SNP) espouses an independent Scotland.

After months of negotiations, the Edinburgh deal clears the way for Scotland’s administration to hold the vote in the last quarter of 2014, offering Scots a straight yes-no question on leaving the United Kingdom.

Securing the vote was a victory for veteran politician Salmond, who has spent his political career backing the idea of an independent Scotland, but he faces an uphill battle to bring a majority of Scots around to his view.

He told reporters after the signing: “I’m delighted to say that the Edinburgh agreement . . . paves the way for the most important decision Scotland has made in several hundred years.

“I believe that independence will win this campaign. I believe we’ll win it by setting out a better future for our country,” he said.

His SNP, the majority party in Edinburgh’s devolved parliament, must fight against a “No” campaign from all three big parties in the British parliament: Cameron’s Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and Labor.

Cameron said: “This is an important day for our United Kingdom, but you can’t hold a country in the United Kingdom against the will of its people.

“Scotland voted for a party that wanted to hold a referendum. I believe in showing respect. This is the right outcome for Scotland and for the United Kingdom to give the people the choice.

“But I passionately hope and believe that they will vote to keep the United Kingdom together. We are better off together, we are stronger together, we are safer together.”

A survey by ComRes for ITV News, released on Monday, showed that only 34 percent of Scots and 29 percent of all Britons in favor while other polls have shown similar results.