WHATEVER the outcome of Scotland's referendum, I'm anticipating wild celebrations in our house this week.

And cries of "Yes".

It's a historic time for our country, and for my wife Nancy and me becoming grandparents.

Our daughter-in-law Ashley is due to present our Thomas with their first child on Friday.

September 19 is a memorable birthdate, one that could annul Scotland's 300-year marriage to England.

Some 97% have registered to vote, confirming a new energised and passionate political awareness that will remain, however we vote.

For an old hack who thought he'd seen it all it's exhilarating, but what future awaits our grandchild? You should know the arguments by heart.

In the world's most unequal society, a Tory government we never voted for champions the rich and condemns the poor. They are truly Thatcher's children.

The alternative is a Scotland with political and economic freedom and total control of tax reform and welfare, safeguarding our NHS and creating a fairer, wealthier society.

We can save billions on Trident, on the unelected House of Lords, on illegal wars that spawn such scum as Jihadi John.

They call us subsidy junkies, so why don't they dump us? Oil, that's why. It debunks that myth.

With 45% of the EU's North Sea oil and gas, our GDP-per-head is bigger than France's. Exclude oil and it's still higher than Italy.

The World Bank and the IMF say the world's top five wealthiest countries by GDP are no bigger than Scotland.

The oil is good for at least 40 years. New technology, such as underwater fracking, will prolong the flow, plus a huge west coast field lies untapped because of its proximity to the Trident submarine route.

Scotland can have 100% of oil revenue for those 40-plus years, or vote No and get maybe a 9% handout from London.

Westminster lied to us in 1979, saying oil wouldn't last and wouldn't make Scotland rich.

Fast forward to 2014, I'm becoming a grandfather and they're still at it. But oil merely ices Scotland's cake. Without it we can still emulate other successful, oil-free small nations, like New Zealand and Denmark. Anyway, I've always said water will become our greatest natural resource, and that's never running out.

We also boast world-leading potential in renewable energy, Europe's best fishing grounds, five of the world's top universities, a thriving tourism and financial services sector, and a whisky-led £100bn range of goods and services that would put us among the world's top 35 exporters.

And No10's obsession with being the global polis makes "Made in Scotland" a more appealing label than "Made in UK".

In 2007, David Cameron told the Daily Telegraph there was no point trying to keep Scotland in the union "through fear of the economic consequences" of leaving (he soon changed his tune).

He said: "Supporters of independence will always be able to cite examples of small, independent and thriving economies across Europe such as Finland, Switzerland and Norway.

"It would be wrong to suggest Scotland could not be another such successful independent country."

Cameron never believed it could happen. Backed by almost every UK media outlet and the BBC, and relentlessly twisting the arm of big business, Bitter Together took victory for granted, Scots Labour MP Ian Davidson announcing they had only to "bayonet the wounded".

Who's wounded now? Westminster finally embraces the nightmare reality of losing Scotland's vast resources - not to mention Cameron, Clegg and Miliband losing their jobs.

Why did 100 Labour MPs hurry north on Friday to love-bomb us? They fear for their own skins should Westminster evict 59 Scots MPs and leave the Tories in permanent control.

Despite the Queen's Jubilee, London Olympics, and Glasgow 2014, Bitter Together ditched feelgood and promoted fear.

They've campaigned to bully five million Scots, telling us, "No you can't" because we'll inconvenience the neighbours and upset America.

It's like a failed romance, finding your partner's skipped with everything but their incontinent three-legged cat, unpaid utility bills, and some Sydney Devine CDs.

Independence is no soft option, no short-term project. There will be huge challenges, but the status quo will be no picnic and includes No10 Tories.

The SNP won power not through nationalist fervour but because Blair and Brown sickened Scottish Labour supporters, while Scots Tories are so endangered they couldn't find even one to front Bitter Together. Ignore Cameron and Miliband, it's not a vote for Alex Salmond, or against England. It's a vote FOR Scotland.

Before our 2016 general election we'll have 18 months to agree a Scottish Constitution, to which Brown, Darling, Carmichael, the Alexander brothers et al can contribute before standing against Salmond and Sturgeon.

The choice for me on behalf of my grandchild is between being ruled by London or by such Scots in Edinburgh. I'm voting Yes.