Making the case for Scotland to remain in the UK is "perhaps more challenging" than arguing for a "flashy new vision" of independence, the Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson has said.
Ms Davidson said the time had now come for supporters of the Union to "throw off their queasiness about defending and advancing our position".
Speaking in Edinburgh, she insisted work by her party to look at the possibility of more powers being transferred north was not just "about buying off the Nats".
Ms Davidson hailed the relationship between Scotland and England as a "magnificent thing" but accepted: "The 300-year-old Union we are defending has been around for so long, it can seem burdened by over-familiarity."
She said independence campaigners "will use all the fireworks available as they try and sell us their new product". She added: "Alex Salmond will do his PT Barnum act, and the circus will no doubt be full of pzazz."
Ms Davidson went on: "But we have to recognise that it's perhaps more challenging to make the case for continuation than for a flashy new vision - however flimsy it may be."
She said those who wanted Scotland to remain in the UK must "not to be too defensive" and urged people to "celebrate our inheritance" and "see what previously we have taken for granted".
The Tory leader, speaking at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, said while many people were "reluctant patriots" the "time has now come for pro-Unionists to throw off their queasiness about defending and advancing our position".
She added: "Perhaps the voice of the majority in Scotland and the rest of the UK will never be quite so vociferous as our opponents in this debate - history shows that has never really been our way.
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