SIR Tom Devine, the leading historian, has claimed the UK is a "failed state," as he predicted the SNP would continue to thrive in an independent Scotland.
The Edinburgh University professor argued the "inept" governance of the UK was a key reason leading to Thursday's vote on independence.
In a lecture at Glasgow University last night he also broke his self-imposed ban on predictions - he maintains "the future is not my subject" - by anticipating continued success for the SNP and the emergence of a strong, centre-right party if Scotland leaves the UK.
The academic and author of The Scottish Nation 1700-2000 ended speculation about his own voting intentions last month by declaring his support for independence.
Delivering a public Stevenson Trust lecture, he insisted he was not a nationalist but added: "My interest in what is happening at the moment is because I think the governance of the United Kingdom is now inept, inadequate, and we are now almost in the position of a failed state as far as governance is concerned."
He declined to predict the outcome of the referendum but believed at 45 per cent of voters would back independence.
He added: "Who knows what will happen? But what is absolutely plain is the voting will result in a very narrow majority for either side."
Answering questions from the audience, many of whom had to watch on TV screens from an adjoining lecture hall, he said the SNP would continue to be held in regard after a Yes vote while independence would "liberate" conservative-minded Scots.
He said: "I agree with some commentators who have said this could, in the medium term, be a liberation.
"There is bound to be the evolution of a right of centre party in Scotland because so many Scots feel that way."
Professor Devine cast doubt on Labour's prospects, saying the party was "half way through a period of redemption but still has a long way to go."
He added: "The Labour Party has got to do something quite radical to improve the quality of its MSPs at Holyrood because it is not as good as it could be."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article