Scottish Independence: My five reasons to say Aye

Forget Braveheart, Brigadoon, Begbie and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

With the Scots now going to the polls to decide if the country should remain part of the United Kingdom, there is so much more at stake than the romanticised, whisky-soaked shortbread tin notion of Caledonia.

Scotland has been part of the Union for 307 years; should more than 50 per cent of voters say Yes today, it will signal the beginning of the end of a remarkable, if at times rocky, relationship that has finally run its course.

• Why is the rest of the UK not allowed to vote on Scottish Independence?

• What would an independent Scotland look like?

• What happens to the whisky industry?

The implications of a Yes vote would be immense and felt throughout Europe and beyond. It would change the political landscape of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, let alone the lives of Scots, forever.

A No vote would be just as seismic. Prime Minister David Cameron has, in the last week, promised continued high levels of funding and more powers for Scotland should the Better Together campaign prevail – only his own party are likely to block the plans, with one Conservative MP calling it ‘desperate’ and promising a ‘bloodbath’. The future political landscape will be, frankly, chaotic at best.

Yet, even more staggering, has been the display of democracy in action. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets, around 97 per cent of the eligible population have registered to vote, with a record turnout expected.

Debate and discussion is at an all-time high, especially among young voters and the race is tighter than anyone thought possible.

Whether Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Yes campaign, or Alastair Darling, leader of the Better Together bid, triumph, the country can be proud of the image it has portrayed to the world.

But cards on the table: As a passionate Scot who has chosen to live in this fine country I, quite rightly, will not have a say on the future of my country.

But if I was to have a vote, these are my five very personal, perhaps questionable but always heartfelt reasons I'd have no hesitation in crossing the Yes box …

DO THE SUMS ADD UP?

Maybe? The short answer: Who knows. The longer answer: Who knows.

The revenue expected from North Sea oil remains, for many the key issue, with around 90 per cent of the North Sea oil in Scottish territorial waters.

Chief executives of BP and Shell warn against the uncertainty of independence and questions remain over how much oil is actually left. Yet last week a discovery west of Shetland smashed expectations. The only thing clear is the experts can't agree.

While oil will not bankroll Scotland, it is certainly not a drop in the ocean.

BBC’s economics editor Robert Peston summed it up well this week in regards to Scotland’s future when he described economic analysis as a ‘dismal science is not capable of giving wholly (and sometimes even partly) accurate forecasts about the future prosperity of nations’.

Simply put there is no way of knowing, at this stage, how Scotland’s economic future will shape up, regardless of the vote. But the natural resources, talent and information available suggest it is more than viable, it can be positively prosperous – just ask Groundskeeper Willie.

WHO’S IN CHARGE?When finalising details of the referendum question, Mr Salmond was, reportedly, keen on a third option, which would have offered the choice of Scotland staying in the union but being given more powers.Westminster dismissed this, insisting it was ‘all or nothing’. Yet, as the race tightened, this is exactly what has now been offered as a sweetener to bolster the No campaign, a set of undisclosed promises hastily thrown together by the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, with no guarantee it could even be passed in Parliament by their own parties.Since 2001, the Conservatives have held only one of 59 Scottish seats. The Tory mistrust, fuelled by Thatcher, privatisation and the poll tax, still runs deep.Tony Blair’s war on Iraq was particularly despised north of the border and the first signs of the once-impregnable Labour stronghold being breached. That foundation has now crumbled.It is no surprise the Scots don’t trust Westminster to act in their best interests and are fed up being governed by people and parties they did’t vote for.Six weeks ago nobody south of the Scottish border cared about what was going on– before a poll suggested Yes could actually win. Now everyone wants to have their say and It’s too little too late.FEAR AND LOATHING IN GLASVEGASThe pro-independent Scottish comedian Kevin Bridges recently described Alex Salmond’s mission as ‘looking as if there is something else behind it …. as if maybe he got a knock-back off an English girl when he was on holiday when he was 15’.Last week, one of the biggest-selling British newspapers pondered, in an opinon piece: ‘Did losing an English girl’s love turn Salmond into a raging nationalist?’You couldn’t make it up.

Now, nobody wears a chip on their shoulder like the Scots but the barrage of negativity, fear and scaremongering has almost become an embarrassment.We’ve been told prices of our food will rise, yet Tescos, the major player, dismissed this as ‘entirely speculative’.We’ve read stories about Yes campaigners bullying and threatening journalists and members of the Better Together campaign. Yet the Scottish Police Federation issued a statement yesterday accusing both the media and No campaign of exaggerating the extent of aggression.We were told banks would be quitting Scotland. While it is true registered offices will move south to ensure credit and debt guarantees, few if any jobs will be lost north of the border and the long-term economic impact is impossible to forecast.We were told on the front page of one quality broadsheet by a former general a Yes vote would ‘let down" Scots who fought in Northern Ireland to preserve the United Kingdom’. The predictable reaction from all sides of the debate was astonishment and anger.Everyone tells us why it won’t work. Fear, confusion and half-truths have driven the No campaign. The three main political Westminster parties, the banks and all national newspapers bar one have been at pains to scare us into submission.And yet … and yet: the Scottish people, the everyday folk affected by the changes made by the establishment, voted in Alex Salmond as First Minister and around half are set to vote Yes. The appetite for change has not come around on a whim.

A selection of today's newspapers. Credit twitter@nicksutton

SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENTShould Scotland become Independent, they would hand the Trident nuclear defence system back to England and propose free universal childcare, while maintaining free prescriptions and higher education.A key pledge remains to protect and secure the future of The National Health Service, one of the great wonders of the world.These are central to Yes campaign’s proposal for a better Scotland. More importantly, they are the right thing to do and something to be proud of, regardless of the outcome.Want some hard facts? Here’s one statistic for you: since the welform reforms and benefit cuts, figures introduced by Westminster, a report published by Oxfam and The Trussell Trust, show foodbanks on the rise with 71,428 people given three days emergency food between April 2013 and March 2014, up 14,000 from the previous year.In this day and age, with the resources at Scotland’s disposal, that is simply not acceptable.

Yes supporters gather outside the Scottish Parliament. Credit: Getty

BEST INVENTION YETPenicillin, the television, the telephone, the steam engine, chloroform, the bicycle, paraffin, the pneumatic tyre, the historical novel, tarmacadam, whisky, Archie Gemmill and the deep-fried mars bar.If we can come up with all that, we can make this work, whistling 500 Miles all the way.Marc Dodd is a Scotsman who now calls Australia home