The 2010s were a rollercoaster ride of a decade when it came to politics. It has been confusing, upsetting and, in some cases, terrifying seeing the path that countries around the world are taking.

Looking back though, there’s one vote that I’ve grown to regret more and more as the years have gone by. I’m talking about the vote that I made during the Scottish Independence referendum (the first time I’d ever voted in my life) in 2014 and why, in hindsight, I now know I made the wrong decision that day.

I was firmly planted on the side of the Better Together campaign in the lead up to the referendum. I was appalled by the notion that people were content with the idea of throwing Scotland into the unknown. What currency would we use? How long would it take for us to reapply for EU membership? Could Scotland realistically thrive on its own without support from Westminster?

I argued with people who were pro-independence, simply dismissing their ideas as “they resent/hate the English” and “they’ve got no clue what they’re talking about”.

The vote came and went, people got on with their lives just as we had been doing previously. All was well with the world for a time. But I couldn’t help but wonder about the result of the referendum. It was nearly a 50/50 split in votes. There was a much larger voice for independence than I’d realised.

So, what changed? Why do I now regret my decision?

In short, the five years of shambolic Conservative government we’ve had since 2015 and everything that has entailed has made me realise how much of a divergence in ideologies there are between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

2015 saw the return of a Conservative majority government to parliament, despite the Scottish National Party absolutely sweeping the board for seats (bar a couple) in Scotland.

Scotland was told to deal with it.

2016 brought the nightmare of Brexit to fruition, a referendum on whether to leave the European Union that tore the UK apart in an almost irreparable way. Scotland voted unanimously to stay in the EU, the rest of the UK did not.

Scotland was told to deal with it.

2017 heralded yet another general election, with new prime minister Theresa May hoping to increase the majority her party had in parliament. That backfired, with the Conservatives returning a minority government and the divisions and fighting between each other becoming more and more heated.

Despite a lower return of seats, the SNP were still the dominant party in Scotland, but, yet again…

Scotland was told to deal with it.

Come 2019, with Conservative infighting leading to no progress on Brexit negotiations, a second prime minister resigning within four years and the dreaded appointment of Boris Johnson as prime minister – someone who, I might remind you, has harboured anti-Scottish views in the past – we found ourselves, yet again, on the cusp of another general election.

Whilst my sympathies for the independence movement had been growing over the last couple of years, this was the point where I found myself firmly in the independence camp. My frustration with the Westminster system was inconceivable. Time and time again I’ve seen Scotland continually make the right calls, do the right thing and, all the while, be consistently ignored.

Scotland is, undoubtedly, on a different – much more progressive – path from the rest of the UK and ultimately feels shackled. Unable to make its own destiny. The return of a massive Conservative majority at the last general election and a sweeping victory for the SNP in Scotland makes this apparent.

Not only that, but the current handling of the coronavirus pandemic has made it clear what kind of leadership Scotland is looking towards.

I’m not anti-English. I have friends who hail from England and I have family who live there as well. I harbour no ill will towards anyone based upon where they’re from.

Whilst I had my doubts in 2014, I truly now believe independence is the best course for Scotland as a nation. All it took was an incompetent Conservative government to showcase that, truly, we’re not actually “Better Together”.