Unionists like Starmer would really need to start thinking about how to reach young Scottish voters, who are around 70% in favour of independence.
And understand why they are in such numbers on that side, which has to do with their political socialisation.

1/

Anyone under 30 has basically grown up with devolution. They have only known a situation where Scotland has its own government. But especially those under 25 have only mere childhood memories of a time where Westminster was governed by a party supported in Scotland.

2/

They have been socialised into a political world where their country has its own government but is faced with a politically superior level of decision making that represents a mere 20% of the Scottish population.

3/

And that Westminster government that is politically opposed to the Scottish government (and now increasingly even showing open opposition to devolution as such) has pushed through policies against the wishes of those young Scots, especially Brexit.

4/

It is simply a bloody tall order to be a Unionist if you are a young person in Scotland. How would you develop especially any kind of emotional attachment to the Union, to the idea of the UK or Britain, if it essentially juxtaposes your government against their government?

5/

And even more so when "their government" is imposing a retreat from the wider world against your wishes, removing or at least reducing and complicating opportunities (travel, education etc.).

6/

Independence is simply a logical extension of the devolution experience - more so if you have no pre-devolution political memories. It makes allegiance to or identification with the Union a quite abstract idea, but independence a quite natural and non-threatening one.

7/