It looks as if the Noes have won, but there is plenty to cheer for Yes people

The count has only just begun, but it looks to me as if the No vote has won the Scottish independence referendum. I thought yesterday that the final split would be 55-45 in favour of No, and now it is just a matter of waiting for the 32 separate counts across the country to be held and the result collated.

Under normal circumstances I would be cheesed off at yet another defeat to go along with everything that has happened since 1979, but I am actually quite relaxed about the situation.

Thanks to the recent declaration of more powers for the Scottish parliament, we are in a position where Scotland can expect devo-max, even though we lost the vote for independence. Reading the London based press this morning, it is obvious that many Tories in England are unhappy at this, but they can either like it or lump it.

Scotland voted No on the basis of those promises to radically increase the powers of Holyrood. If those powers become a reality, then we have a quite wonderful consolation prize that will please most people in this country, including me.

On the other hand, if the Tory backwoodsmen force the government to renege on that promise then we can start the whole independence campaign over again.

I call that win-win for Scotland.