Scottish referendum results: And now for the West Lothian question – but resolving it won’t be easy

This result heralds major changes to our constitutional structure, and that’s invigorating

The Prime Minister David Cameron speaks outside Downing Street after the result of the Scottish Referendum (EPA)

The UK is saved. The Scotland that I love – from Glasgow’s vibrant heart to the heather-banked graveyard in Aberfeldy where three generations of my family lie – will not be a foreign country. The margin of victory for the No vote is not breathtakingly close, as the polls suggested, but emphatic.

The huge turnout is a cause of celebration for anyone who loves democracy, who thought that the British people couldn’t be bothered with politics – they can. Anyone who loves Scotland too should cheer the fact that its relationship with England has changed forever. The Scottish have given the English a lesson in nationhood and pride, a lesson in the importance of embracing the idea of Great Britain, a lesson in rejecting narrow nationalism.

It is easy to become intoxicated by what has happened overnight. But what the whole of the UK needs now is a bit of sobriety.