Many hoped devolution would kill nationalism stone dead, to paraphrase George Robertson 1997 referendum. His Labour colleagues in particular failed to grasp Scots’ powerful sense of nationhood. It was another Labour man, the late Tam Dalyell, who argued that devolution could lead to independence.

A critique of "Strength in Union: The Case for the United Kingdom", and especially Alister Jack's view of Scotland in the Union.

Is Scotland a Nation or a Region. MP David Cameron called Scotland a Nation in September 2014 in the run up to the Referendum. In 2021, Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland, refers to Scotland as a region.

The constitutional question over Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom was not resolved by the results of the 2014 independence referendum. In addition to the ongoing debate around independence at least two political parties – the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Labour – currently support constitutional reform for the whole of the UK along some kind of Federal structure.

This paper examines the case for federalism and outlines the challenges and barriers to reform of the UK in this manner.