"Essential reading." Financial Times "Forceful" Morning Star "John Lloyd has written a personal and moving but also historically informed plea to preserve the Union between England and Scotland. His argument is not just the familiar one that the Scottish National Party understates the economic risks of independence. He also shows how little sense separation makes in the present state of Europe and the world. Best of all, his is not merely a defence of the status quo, but a call to regenerate the Union." Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution, Stanford "John Lloyd is a shrewd, eloquent and reliable purveyor of home truths. His new book on the Scottish Question, which calls out lazy sentimentality and wishful thinking, will cause controversy as well as consternation in many quarters." Colin Kidd, University of St Andrews "Scotland like the rest of the UK remains deeply divided following referendums on our future.

The questions raised in both 2014 and 2016 remain the same. And if breaking a relationship of 40 years has proved so intractable, how much harder would be the fracture of a relationship that's lasted more than 300 years? In a forensic examination of the arguments of both heart and head, John Lloyd makes a powerful case for building on the strengths we have rather than plunging into years of uncertainty and of lost opportunity for generations to come." Alistair Darling, Former Chancellor of the Exchequer "Clearly written and well researched, Lloyd's book should decisively change the debate about Scottish independence." Prospect "I have long thought of the case for Scottish independence as a solution in search of a problem. John Lloyd's excellent new book has crystallised my suspicion into a conviction." Nigel Biggar, The Critic "A devastating argument against Scottish independence" New Statesman "trenchant" Times Literary Supplement " A timely, forceful rehearsal of the painful consequences that might follow independence for Scotland, and of the virtues of union with England." The Economist - Book of the Year.