My journey towards Scottish independence was psychologically fraught.

I arrived here from Northern Ireland in 1995, fleeing both British and Irish nationalism. I believed - and still do - in Irish unity as a matter of historic justice. Ireland was brutalised by Britain over centuries, becoming England’s first colony. But the bloody-handed way both Irish and British nationalists behaved disgusted me.

Indeed, Scotland was prominent in both Ireland’s brutalisation and colonisation. Scottish troops were no different to English troops throughout the 20th century. Further back in history, it’s the Scots who "planted" - in other words, colonised - the north of Ireland in the 1600s, cementing the sectarianism which still festers today.

So the idea of Scottish nationalism seemed rather strange to me, initially. As an Irishman who supported Irish unity, I didn’t "oppose" Scottish independence. But I didn’t feel like I’d any skin in the game.

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I also found Scottish nationalism unusual intellectually. Why would a country which had tagged along behind England in all its imperial adventures want independence? Clearly, terrible things happened like the Highland Clearances, but Scotland hadn’t suffered like Ireland, century after century. So I found it hard to sympathise much with many romantic notions of Scottish nationalism.

I suppose if I’m honest, I’m drawn to the underdog, and Scotland didn’t strike me as much on an underdog in its relationship with England. And frankly, back then, Scottish nationalists seemed a bunch of weirdos - a bit like the Alba Party today.

Don’t forget this was the 1990s. The world looked good after the Berlin Wall came down. Incomes were growing, there were opportunities, jobs that paid well. Come 1997, the Tories were binned. Scotland was booming culturally. Cities like Glasgow pulsed with life and positivity. My job took me between Scotland and London constantly. Why would anyone want to break up this party?

But it all soured, as we know. And quickly. Tony Blair launched his monstrous Iraq war, trust was sucked out of politics - again. The crash happened in 2008, stamping all those opportunities to death. Finally, the Tories rode back into power. Life got rapidly and increasingly nasty.

By now, I’d got it. I understood independence somewhat better. Scotland didn’t vote for this Tory austerity, but had to suck it up. The Union, I realised, was deeply unfair, and imbalanced.

My crisis of conscience was this: I now saw Westminster as irredeemable. No matter which party took power it was never for the people. I still believe that. Keir Starmer’s austerity simply reinforces my beliefs. However, the only route away from Westminster lay through the SNP.

As I said, it wasn’t independence that really troubled me, but the mechanism: Scottish nationalism.

However, after 2007, something changed. Scottish nationalism showed itself in power to be rather different from the nationalisms I’d grown up despising, wherever they were in the world.

Now, I’m not saying the SNP is perfect. It's disastrous today. But I discovered I didn’t hate its "nationalism" the way I hated other nationalisms. It wasn’t bloated with blood and soil, and exceptionalism. Sure, there were bigots, but unlike British nationalism, nastiness wasn’t the default setting.

So a combination of despair at Westminster, and this softer form of nationalism - rebranded as "civic nationalism" - saw me tentatively move towards supporting Scottish independence.

I voted SNP a few times, but I’ve no party allegiance whatsoever, so I’d sickened of them by the time it became clear Nicola Sturgeon was using independence as bait with her cynical, endless "indy is coming" mantra.

However, I remain what would probably be labelled a moderate independence supporter. There are legions like me. I’m one of those leftie ex-Labour voters who moved to the SNP in the early-to-mid 2010s, and are now effectively politically homeless. Today, we’re the key swing constituency if you want to win Scotland.

So, that was a psychologically complex journey. I had to abandon some beliefs, and accept new ones. No matter how open-minded we are, intellectual gear-change can be difficult.

Understandably, then, I’m somewhat relieved to discover that I was right to go on that journey. Scottish nationalism is indeed an entirely different beast to British nationalism and its great, ghastly emanation: Brexit.

The National Centre for Social Research today published part of its 41st British Social Attitudes report. It found Scottish independence supporters are more likely than unionists “to have an inclusive, ‘civic' understanding of what it means to be ‘truly Scottish’.” In contrast, Brexit supporters “are more likely than Remainers to have an exclusive ‘ethnic’ conception of what it is to be British”.

'Scottish independence is nothing like Brexit, intellectually or morally''Scottish independence is nothing like Brexit, intellectually or morally' (Image: Getty)

That puts the garbage-term "Scexit" to bed. Scottish independence is nothing like Brexit, intellectually or morally.

The report found that 59% of unionists believe “being born in Scotland is important to being ‘truly Scottish’.” Only 50% of independence supporters feel the same. Meanwhile, 78% of Brexiters say “being being born in Britain matters to being truly British’.” Only 45% of Remainers agree.

For unionists, 51% say “Scottish ancestry” matters to “being Scottish”; only 42% of independence supporters agree; 65% of Brexiters say “having British ancestry matters to being British", compared to 28% of Remainers; 32% of unionists say “immigrants increase crime”, only 19% of independence voters agree.

For Yessers, those figures aren’t perfect. Nothing is. But certainly, Scottish independence doesn’t reflect as strongly the unpleasant nationalism found within unionism. Bluntly, weigh both, and British nationalism is uglier. There’s ugliness, evidently, in Scottish nationalism, but it’s less pronounced.

This research isn’t saying "indy is the hero, and unionism the villain"; it’s saying that, philosophically, supporting independence cannot be equated fully with blunt nationalism. There’s a difference between supporting independence or unionism in terms of inclusivity and openness.

As we approach the 10th anniversary of the failed referendum, independence supporters need to remember this. Don’t turn inward and harden what independence means, keep looking outward. That’s the only road to success.

As Starmer’s project implodes under the weight of austerity, independence needs to wait patiently in the wings for its moment to return. When that moment happens, the face independence shows the world must be determinedly positive, kind, fair and open - because in the grim future which Labour is forging, that’s what will win the people over.

Neil Mackay is the Herald’s Writer at Large. He’s a multi-award winning investigative journalist, author of both fiction and non-fiction, and a filmmaker and broadcaster. He specialises in intelligence, security, crime, social affairs, and foreign and domestic politics.