BACK in the 1990s when I was treasurer of Young Scots for Independence one of our best wheezes for fundraising were T-shirt sales. Some, admittedly, sold better than others and one of the more popular T-shirts was one that simply read Scottish interNational Party.

On reflection it is easy to see why this simple design sold better than some of the others. We have always been a movement that has prided itself on its outward looking and unashamedly internationalist approach. In the 1967 Hamilton by-election Winnie Ewing (pictured below, right), later renowned throughout Europe as Madame Ecosse, made the call ‘‘stop the world, Scotland wants to get on’’.

READ MORE: Ruth Wishart on why it's the perfect time to hold indyref2

I spent years working in and with the European institutions before becoming an MP at Westminster. That experience underlines the blindingly apparent irony that whereas neighbouring governments in Dublin, Oslo and Copenhagen have a partnership of equals with Westminster, our Government in Edinburgh most certainly does not.

The National:

The European Union is not perfect, no club of 28 sovereign and independent member states ever could be. However the institutions are built to serve, protect and enhance the interests of the sovereign states. That is why we have a College of Commissioners made up of appointees of national governments, a Parliament bringing together elected representatives and a council (that has most of the power) that brings together those governments.

Importantly, there is also a European Court of Justice to act as an arbiter when there is disagreement with a judge from every member state.

Our neighbours see the EU as a means of strengthening their sovereignty and role in the world. That is easy to see right now in the Brexit process, where for perhaps the first time in its history an independent government in Dublin holds more influence and clout than Westminster. Reminding the UK Government of the EU’s solidarity with its member state Ireland, Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured below) said to Tory ministers that in terms of the other EU states: “All of us, we are Irish”.

The National:

A striking message of cohesion and support for the country that will be worst affected by Brexit, after the UK.

The SNP’s vision of what Scotland can be has been brought into stark contrast with our Conservative opponents. Make no mistake their vision for us all is one of isolationism and parochialism that has no place in the 21st century. It is also one where the Scottish Parliament can be stripped of powers in just 19 minutes without any votes as Scotland is dragged out of the EU against its will.

Our common goal of the normal powers of independence has never been closer than it is now. The choice of being a normal international and outward looking nation like our thriving neighbours or a very junior partner of an increasingly isolated and irrelevant UK stuck in the past.

The people of Scotland deserve and should be given a choice of the kind of future they want. Our goal and vision is that of an independent member state of the EU. After all the people of Scotland voted to retain our EU Membership. However, right now we are still unclear on what kind of relationship the UK will have with the rest of Europe.

EVERYONE in the UK deserved to know how that looked long ago. The charlatans and chancers who backed leaving the EU never had the courage or courtesy to bother setting that out in detail. However the Prime Minister has now had almost three years since that vote and if being nebulous (to borrow a phrase) were an Olympic sport she would be a world beater.

The National:

We are now in the dying days of the process to leave the EU and huge decisions will have to be made in the next few days. These decisions will have a significant impact on the whole of the EU and, regardless of Scotland’s constitutional future, on those of us north of the Border too.

I think giving people a clear choice is incredibly important. We are clear on our position and if the UK Government is clear on its position then it will have to defend that settlement. We cannot allow Unionist politicians to hide behind what might be when the lessons of both the 2014 and 2016 referendums are that those promises cannot be kept.

It is frustrating but I want to see our partners elsewhere in these islands thrive, that means defeating the siren voices of no-deal Brexit as much as those who promise that Scotland is an equal partner even in the face of the evidence. Then with two clear options the people of Scotland should be able to choose their future.