LIKE many voters, I had a decision to make; a very serious decision. It was September 18, 2014, and as I ambled towards the polling station I still wasn’t certain that my X in the No box was the right thing to do, but regrettably, I did it anyway.

It was the classical dilemma between the head and the heart with me. On reflection, I’m not sure what was going on in my head at the time.

A military wife for 16 years, I lived on the south coast of England where my sons were born and I had close friends in both military and civilian circles, most of them English. Life in married quarters was about community and supporting each other through Gulf and Falklands wars. We were family to each other and fiercely proud to be British, proud of a very unique union of small countries envied the world over.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I adore Scotland. Especially beautiful Argyll where I was raised. I’m Scottish through and through. Born in Glasgow, a city close to my heart.

Anyway, I was deeply concerned about an independent Scotland’s economy and defence structure as a small country. Dialogue from Westminster suggested that Scotland’s share of the £34 billion defence budget would be severely compromised and that Scottish companies would not be permitted, as an independent country, to bid for defence contracts. The MoD is the biggest customer of Scotland’s shipbuilding industry. The thorny issue of Trident raised its ugly head, and the longer the debate rumbled, the more angsty I became. In hindsight, (a great thing, indeed) the belligerence of Westminster was there and I should have taken note.

Fast forward to Brexit and how blatantly Westminster disregarded a resounding vote of Remain from Scotland with regards leaving the EU. As far as I could see, the waters of democracy were well and truly muddied, and I had to take a good long look at my political values. More recently, I was livid with Boris Johnson ruling out permission for a second vote on Scottish independence while he’s still PM. Soon, Scotland ... soon.

Why is the Government flying vital PPE to other countries whilst our beloved frontline staff do without? It beggars belief that manufacturers of PPE in the UK are helpless and exasperated that their offers of assistance are being ignored by the Government.

Meanwhile, UK wholesalers are saying that their warehouses of PPE imported from China are destined for EU countries. When Jeremy Hunt was UK health secretary, the stockpile of PPE was cut by 40%. In 2016, he oversaw Exercise Cygnus which predicted the NHS he was starving to death could not cope with a pandemic. He ignored it.

For me, there is no dilemma between head and heart any more. I’ll be voting Yes to Scottish independence next time.

Alison Suter, 57, from Oban