The result of the increasingly bad-tempered Scottish referendum is a relief for the United Kingdom.
My view has always been that united we stand, divided we fall, maybe not literally, but in the eyes of the world we would have been greatly diminished had Scotland gone its own way. I have been concerned by the pledges and promises thrown out by all three Party leaders, as panic set in and careers were threatened. Now these promises have to pass through the Commons where, for the first time, the rule-makers can be consulted.
Making laws on the hoof is not the way to do things and is one of the consequences of taking Scotland for granted for too long. To allow the likes of Mr Salmond to fill the void shows how bad things have got. Fortunately, we have kept the Union, but constitutionally things will never be the same again.
The Prime Minister has dug himself a large hole, not made any better by pledging to keep the Barnett formula.
However, I welcome his promise that the West Lothian question must be faced and dealt with. If we cannot vote in Scottish matters, why should they vote in ours? What a mess and no one comes out of it with flying colours.
Finally, if these pledges and promises are not met in the months ahead, the simmering dissatisfaction of the Union - exemplified by the fact that nearly half the voters wanted to break our country - will continue to threaten the integrity of the UK. Personally, I believe the referendum should have been held by the whole country.
Why on earth should one part be allowed to decide the future of the whole, in which the majority had no say at all on its future.
This whole debacle is not a high point in our nation's history.