For most people in England the Union with Scotland is of little importance. It does not impact their lives on a daily basis and it has never had any great effect on their way of life. However, devolution has brought the Union into higher prominence in England, especially with issues such as the West Lothian question (Scots MP’s voting on purely English matters), and the apparently generous financial arrangements that the Scots receive from the Westminster government. By and large though, for most English people, these are minor irritants.

In Scotland, however, the Union with England has had much greater significance and Scots are much more aware of its impact on their lives. One critical impact is that for many Scots the current Union simply does not meet their aspirations for nationhood. For many of these Scots the obvious solution is to support the nationalist cause and push for full independence. However, there are many other Scots who, whilst nurturing the dream of an independent Scotland in their hearts, are unable to reconcile this idea in their heads. For these Scots, even though they believe the current Union is inadequate and wish to see change, full independence is an option they are not prepared to support today. These are the sceptical patriots; the sceptical patriots are ruled by their heads not their hearts. For all parties in the Scottish independence debate the opinion of the sceptical patriots is critical. These are the people who will eventually swing the result of the debate one way or another.