No, you are wrong on the most basic point. The United Kingdom has always been, from the very start, recognised as a union of separate countries, with Scotland

No, you are wrong on the most basic point. The United Kingdom has always been, from the very start, recognised as a union of separate countries, with Scotland retaining its own legal system. The agreement handed over parliamentary and financial governance, but the country remained separate. That is why secession is even possible. Salmond. If he achieves independence, you can expect him to do one "Mandela victory lap" in office, but he won't risk his legacy as "Father of the nation" by mucking around for long with the dirty business of actual politics. I have no love for any politician, but I disagree with your assessment. If he had never existed, his basic pitch of "why shouldn't we run our own affairs" would, in time, have come to the fore anyway. He, personally, is being demonised because the arguments for staying in the union are not sufficiently strong. I do agree with you that 50% odd will not be a decent mandate for either side. From the start, I have presumed that the No side would win, but that the closeness of the result would force significant change. If it is now the case that the Yes side wins, well, their slim majority will greatly influence the subsequent negotiations. For all the current bluff and bluster, we will end up with something that falls short of true independence, but both the English and the Scottish, and the political discourse of both countries, will be better off.