In the aftermath of Dublin's Easter Rising, its leader, Patrick Pearse, stated: "We seem to have lost but we have not lost. Not to have fought would have been to have lost."

It is a quote which seems apposite in the face of today's referendum result. While the democratic decision of Scotland's voters is quite clear and must be accepted by all, we still need to use perspective to make sense of the campaign and the result .

In my lifetime, the idea of Scottish Independence has moved from fringe politics to a central constitutional issue. Indeed, a sizeable minority of the Scottish electorate have now voted for it.

The campaign, the turnout - and to some extent the voting figures - suggest that people in Scotland want to be listened to and want to be able to express their views in a political sense.

As a result of this last two years or so, Scots have a clearer idea of how they are regarded by folk in other countries in the Union, and have had exposure to the British Establishment machine at close quarters.

The majority have still opted for the safety of "no change" - but the process which led to today's result has ensured that change remains very much on the agenda.

The high turnout, the numbers of "non-party affiliated' activists taking part, the late vow on extra powers, and the disquiet among some elements south of the Border about the current constitutional arrangements - never mind additional powers - all of these suggest that there is much unfinished business as a result of this referendum campaign.

With a UK election on the horizon, Westminster parties have to formulate a means of placating the Scots minority but also listening to growing demands from England for changed arrangements. Scottish Labour have not had a good campaign, despite the result, and will have to hope that, in electoral party politics, their decline north of the Border is not exacerbated by UK Labour's Westminster electioneering.

It seems reasonable to suggest that, had some form of devo-max been on the ballot paper, it may have won the day. The Yes camp gambled that, in its absence, those who wanted a quasi-federal solution would vote instead for Independence.

The reality has been that they have preferred to vote for the status quo in the hopes that extra powers are delivered. The interest of the next 18 months or so will lie in the reaction of those voters to Westminster's decisions, the numbers of the newly involved who remain committed to a new type of politics, and the reaction of the SNP and the Greens to today's disappointment.

To claim that politics in this country will never be the same again is a brave statement but, undoubtedly, the current situation is broken, and voting for the status quo merely prolongs that dysfunctional state. While the Yes camp will need to contemplate what went wrong, the Westminster parties will need to figure out how to cope with Scottish reaction to more austerity, continuing inequality, the upcoming UK election results, and the possibility of an EU exit.

The referendum campaign showed that most people in Scotland were risk averse, but it also showed quite clearly that England and Scotland are very different places.

The problem for Westminster parties is that the causes of concern for people in Scotland are still in place. They have seen off the constitutional question, but they still have to address all the other issues - and that will not be easy unless the current arrangements are somehow modified.

Scotland has come out of this campaign as a better place politically - more self aware and with a new generation involved in considering its options. Whether we now see a form of devo-max, or federalism, or some other reconfiguring of arrangements, will depend on the politicians and how they can come together, and on people in Scotland continuing to work together for a better society.

If the establishment believe they can carry on as before, I think they will find, north and south of the Border, that that is not an option.

Meanwhile, as someone who has been a passionate supporter of independence for half a century, I can only celebrate Scotland's great adventure in democracy, salute the voters for their turnout, and repeat the words of Ted Kennedy: "The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."