Why won't you promise us an EU referendum of our own, Alex and Nicola?

Source: Scottish Government (Flickr)

Lets be hypothetical for a second. Fast forward to eighteen months time and imagine that the Yes Scotland camp have won the independence referendum. 

David Cameron has, despite much criticism yet at the same time credit, offered the United Kingdom a referendum on the European Union after no doubt much pressure from his own backbenchers. The only thing is it isn't until 2017 which will undoubtedly create an aroma of uncertainty. And what if the Conservatives do not win the next election? There are still many ambiguities that are yet to resolve themselves.

But lets rewind back to this weekend. Ireland's Europe Minister, Lucinda Creighton TD, reportedly stated on Friday that an independent Scotland would have to apply for membership of the European Union and that the process of doing so would be "lengthy".

Fiona Hyslop MSP confirmed Lucinda Creighton TD wrote an e-mail to the Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, which emerged on the Scottish Government's Scottish Referendum website and in the press, with Andrew Kerr on Sunday Politics Scotland, accusing the BBC of "misconstruing" the Irish Minister's position before the programme replayed the interview with Dublin South East's Teachta Dàla.

I think rather than the SNP continuously assert that an independent Scotland would continue to play a role in the European Union, why don't they take a leaf out of David Cameron's book? After all, Scotland's view of the European Union isn't that different compared to the rest of the United Kingdom, as figures from a recent poll featured in a Guardian article late last year suggests.

Why can't Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon surrender their will to the people of Scotland and come out and propose a Scottish referendum on the European Union straight after the independence referendum, if Scotland votes for independence?

Switzerland have a direct democracy model which has really put democracy into the heart of society and the role of the citizen. Republic of Ireland have referendums on a regular basis. An independent Scotland shouldn't shy from such a model of democracy. The citizen should have the final say, not the politician.

The First Minister continuously speaks about the 'community of the realm' and its about time he continued to be a full time defender of this philosophy on every issue, including on our future in the European Union.