Until relatively recently I was very firmly of the mind that Scotland shouldn’t be independent. Born in England to English parents but growing up in Scotland since I was a baby, I was English to the Scottish and Scottish to the English. I’ve always considered myself British and still do. Not in a nationalistic way, just a matter of fact.

In 2008 while in my second year at university I started an anti-independence Facebook group as a misguided joke, calling it ‘I Hate Alex Salmond’. I actually didn’t hate Alex Salmond, I’ve actually always thought he was a good politician, I just didn’t agree with some of what he stood for (and of course, one thing in particular).

So following a bit of negative press and some pressure from the university, I decided to change the name of the group to ‘No to Scottish Independence’. And then, gradually, some other things started to change too.

Over the years, membership very slowly grew, until 2014 when the debate picked up and membership grew rapidly to the point where we now have 7000 members. As admin I had no bias on membership and allowed anyone to join regardless of political stance. As long as they were respectful, they were welcome. This basic rule became very difficult to manage, with members from both sides being guilty of transgressions.

Gradually the membership tilted to a fairly strong Yes bias and I decided it might be less misleading and more representative if the name was changed to ‘Debate on Independence’ or similar. Sadly, Facebook rules prevent a name change with a group of its size, leading to many entertaining conspiracy theories about the group’s intentions, because over the same period of time my own views had changed to Yes.

Most conspiracists went along the lines that I created the page to deliberately ‘trick’ No voters into debate or something. There are even the conspiracists that suggest I’m still a No voter and somehow conspiring to attract ‘Yes’ voters to be ‘tricked’ into saying something stupid.

As to why I changed my mind, which I suspect is what people want to hear; it has more to do with the “Better Together” campaign than the Yes campaign. I’d always thought the idea of independence was ridiculous. Scotland is small and couldn’t possibly afford to go it alone, right? The whole thing was just a silly romantic notion held by those who hadn’t thought it through.

But when I decided to check the facts, it turns out Scotland is perfectly healthy economically. Even without the oil Scotland would do just fine. And once this keystone myth fell apart, I began to question it all, to think about what could be gained and what could be lost (like Trident). The more scare stories I saw and the more desperate ‘Better Together’ became, the more resolute I became in voting Yes.

I still consider myself British, and I’m not saying that’s for everyone. I’m also proud to be Scottish, but it’s a personal identity and doesn’t factor in how I’ll vote. I’ve since handed control of the group over to some friends who I trust and who are doing a great job. The endless evenings trying to moderate the page became very tiring. Every night was spent sifting through hateful comments and abuse, and deleting fake accounts, and questionable characters (including those from the National Front). I’d much rather try to convince people more directly.

We’re approaching one of the most important political decisions in Scotland’s history and whatever way people vote; I want them to have taken the opportunity to look at the facts. Over those six years I learned that those who are ‘No’ or undecided are often simply unengaged in the debate. They’re not our enemies and I hope I stand as an example that many of them can still be convinced.

I’m David Barratt. I’m British, and I’m voting Yes.