My journey from supporting Scotland staying in the UK and believing that we were better together, to believing that Independence was the only natural way for Scotland to progress and flourish on the world stage has very much been a tumultous one.

The 2014 Independence referendum was a watershed moment for me personally as a voter. I felt there was the now the absolute straight choice presented to me as a voter, no party political messages from varied voices, but the straight choice on what direction I wanted Scotland to go in.

And I'm not ashamed even a decade later to say….It was the Union. I felt Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon did a better job than Jim Murphy did on Better Together of marketing their campaign to an initially skeptical Scottish voting public. They engaged people in the streets, there were concerts, parades and overall a genuinely good sense of positivity.

So why did I stick with the Union? Well I simply believed there were a lot of questions Alex Salmond and his team couldn't answer, ranging from defence to currency. They couldn't give me clear answers on issues like currency and defence and any answers they did give I felt would not fully make us an Independent nation. This is not to say that I was a full blown Anglo British Nationalist, I simply questioned whether the YES campaign had any backup plans to what they were proposing and my general opinion was they couldn't. 

No won and although I wasn't exactly celebrating, I remember the morning after the referendum feeling a strong sense of disappointment. A feeling of I did not like seeing Scot being turned against Scot as we are by nature a very communal country willing to give and take and love each other as ‘Jock Tamsons’ bairns.

Something happened in 2016. Brexit. It eroded all my confidence in the UK as a political entity. Scotland has traded with Europe for centuries before, much more so than the former Kingdom of England which traded more to colonial ports in America and Africa. It was clear to me that there was a democratic deficit in Scotland, and there was also no clear explanation as to how and why Brexit would benefit Scotland? 

Ever since then I have had a rethink over Scotland's future and I firmly believe that our best interests are served by having a Government that actually works here and spends the money that is generated in Scotland, not having it sent 500 miles south and only receiving some of it back in return in the form of a block grant.

We already have the infrastructure in this country to start Independence, we are not starting from the very beggining and it is the next step on the evolutionary ladder of a countries development and progress. I'm not a Nationalist. I'm not a Separatist or a Secessionist. I still believe we can have the political and social union with the rest of the UK even in the event of Independence. I just believe it's time to stand on our own two feet and have a say on the issues that affect us. I will campaign solidly for a second Independence referendum and I know all of you will to. 

Alba Gu Brath.