It's a good job women are so cautious

Left to men, this small, fractious nation would already be far down the road to separation from our neighbours.

A new poll suggests it's women who are putting the brake on Scotland's dream of independence, with around 62% of females against it, as opposed to 51% of men who are in favour. Asked to explain this gender divide, pundits from quarters as various as Mumsnet and the University of Strathclyde have suggested women are instinctively more "risk averse" than males, and more apprehensive about the idea of Scotland going solo, a move described by one woman as "tribal".

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