The Smith Commission has finally begun to meet, kicking off the discussion between political parties about the future of devolution following the No vote in the independence referendum.

The parties haven't quite been persuaded to get around the same table at the same time yet… that has to wait till next week. But Lord Smith, the banker and businessman who the Prime Minister decided was a safe pair of hands to steer the negotiations, has started holding meetings with each party in turn.

He'll see that those of us who were campaigning for a Yes vote have accepted that the people decided against independence, and we know that we won't now have the chance to achieve everything we hoped for.

Unless there's a massive electoral upset next year Labour, the LibDems and the Tories look set to renew Trident, continue the austerity cuts and court the right-wing press by attacking immigrants.

But that doesn't mean that we need to give up on the chance of a fairer and greener Scotland.

The UK parties who were campaigning for a No vote made some bold promises in the final stages of the referendum, going far beyond their earlier proposals published in spring for modest tax powers coming to Scotland.

Many voters on both sides of the referendum debate want to see Scotland gain meaningful powers - I know it won't be independence, but the UK parties must also accept that it won't retreat to what they proposed in spring. It must be somewhere in between.

Finding enough common ground will be difficult, but not impossible.

What will make it possible is willingness on all sides to recognise that our starting points are just that - they are where the negotiations begin, not where they end up.

If we want to reach the common ground it means being willing to move toward it, not digging in your heels and refusing to budge.

Across most of the political landscape there's a desire for social, economic and environmental progress in Scotland - closing the gap between the richest and the rest, and making Scotland one of the most equal countries in the world; resisting austerity and instead investing in the future; not only setting but actually reaching the ambitious climate change targets; and making sure we hand on a healthier world to the next generation.

These are goals most of us share, and if we can focus on them instead of on our differences we may surprise ourselves at how much we can achieve, if we allow radical devolution to go forward.

Would that lead eventually to independence?

Who knows… only if the people of Scotland one day decide that's the right path.

But, at least for the moment, that debate is behind us, and ahead lies a different set of challenges.