With the Scottish independence referendum only days away, journalist and university lecturer Neil Macfarlane explains why he would vote yes. And why he thinks you would too

I'm a Scot who lives in the North-East. There are loads of us - chuck a paper aeroplane out your front window and you'll probably hit one. I've lived happily here for years, but it won't surprise those who know me that I would like Scotland to vote yes to independence next week.

I hope this happens because I don't think the three main Westminster parties represent my politics any more. I like the idea of getting rid of nuclear weapons, of universal education, and I worry about the future of the NHS and the welfare state. I think it's sensible to increase immigration to help reverse decades of emigration by Scots like me and my family. I feel uncomfortable about parties of all stripes blaming foreigners and the poor for all problems. I think the UK government and media is too focused on London. I think many people in the North-East feel the same about these issues.

I don't know for sure if an independent Scotland would be richer or poorer but I do think it would be governed by people with its interests at heart. I like England and English people very much and I don't think Braveheart is a good film.

My generation (mid 30s) are among those most likely to vote Yes. The media often explain this away by pointing out we were impressionable teens when Braveheart was released. It's a funny observation - comfortingly so for some - but not quite right. There's a more crucial formative figure than William Wallace. Margaret Thatcher came to power only months before I was born, and was Prime Minister for over a decade as I was growing up in Edinburgh. It didn't make sense that this could happen when it seemed to me that everybody I knew voted against her. I remember my dad ranting at the telly and the chants of "milk-snatcher" in the playground. I still remember the day the teacher announced her resignation. The entire class of 11-year-olds erupted in celebration, on their knees with clenched fists, or jumping on their chairs. No one complained about young people being disengaged with politics in those days - we didn't have the choice.

Thatcher remains the longest serving Prime Minister of my lifetime, yet she was repeatedly rejected by the people of Scotland at the polls. When our teachers taught us about democracy, and how generations had fought and died to preserve it, something didn't fit.

By the way, feel free to swap "Scotland" in the paragraph above for "Middlesbrough", "Sedgefield", Sunderland" or "Bishop Auckland".

Pretty much all of this applies to the North-East, too. Sometimes people dismiss the independence movement by asking if there should also be separation for the North-East, for Manchester, or Liverpool. Personally, I don't see why not - if that's what the people want. But the argument misunderstands what Scotland is. It is not a region of a country. It is its own country and always has been. The United Kingdom only came into being 300 years ago as an agreement between two nations to form an alliance. Scotland was not conquered. Its remarkable achievements in science, philosophy, engineering, literature and statecraft had been established for centuries before 1707, and that spirit later combined with the same from England, Wales and Northern Ireland to make the union thrive.

This time last year most Scots liked the idea of the UK being a partnership of equals, and a sizable majority were happy enough to keep it that way. That has now changed.

The No campaign has been horrendously misjudged. Scots always believed they could be independent, but most doubted if they should. The Conservative-Labour-Lib Dem Better Together campaign then set about claiming that Scotland would collapse into disarray if left to its own devices. The campaign was dubbed "Project Fear" - by the No camp themselves.

Scots were told: You can't keep the pound, you can't stay in the EU, your aspirations are pipe dreams and we'll rebuild Hadrian's Wall to keep you out when it all goes wrong.

Their latest effort was billboards claiming: "Vote no if you love your children." The polls are at 50:50, are they saying half the people in Scotland hate their kids? It's so long since the Scots heard the positive case for the union, they're beginning to suspect there isn't one.

In the face of this onslaught, the Yes campaign has flourished. Grassroots activists have packed out town halls across the country making their case, bloggers have amassed followings to make newspaper editors cry with envy. People who have never voted are being helped to register, and volunteers are putting on buses to give them a lift on polling day. Discussion on social media is dominated by funny, spiky, imaginative Yes voters. There are touring arts festivals. Millions have been inspired by the idea that Scotland could become a fairer, more successful country, and by the promise of progressive policies that would never be offered by three Westminster parties all fighting over the same ground.

This isn't petty nationalism. It is an inclusive movement. Every resident will be given a Scottish passport on day one of independence. One of the most high profile campaign groups is English Scots for Yes, who give away teabags branded: "Have a cuppa, vote yes." There are groups for African Scots, Italian Scots,Polish Scots. I am proud of the fact I don't get a vote but those who live in Scotland do, regardless of where they were born.

It's even spreading beyond the border. A recent poll showed an even higher proportion of people in the North-East back Scottish independence. I've lost count of the number of times friends have asked: "Can we come too?"

The response to all of this has been a wishy-washy offer of more powers for the Scottish parliament, without saying exactly what those powers might be. This was George Osborne's first intervention since he announced Scotland couldn't keep the pound - a move which actually caused an increase in support for independence. At this point, the Chancellor could knock on every door in Scotland offering a free carwash, foot rub and £1000 cash and the polls would still rise for Yes.

While the SNP published a manifesto for Scotland's future a year ago, Labour and the Tories are now trying to scramble a response with only days to go. Why not before now? Perhaps because they weren't listening, because it's too far away, because there are too few voters... because it was never a priority for them. It's a feeling the Scots, and we in the North-East, know all too well.