Alex Salmond to name Scottish independence referendum date Mr Salmond has endured a difficult start to the campaign, having faced accusations of lying on national television about holding legal advice stating Scotland would gain automatic entry to the EU. José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission's president, later confirmed a separate Scotland would have to apply from scratch. Earlier this month, a secret memo from John Swinney, the SNP Finance Minister, warned Scotland's finances would be weaker than the UK's after independence and questioned the affordability of the state pension. It was hinted that SNP ministers may unveil the date cast in steel after visiting a steelworks in Renfrewshire earlier in the day. Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister, said: "Today we will unveil the date for the 2014 referendum, which marks a significant and important step in Scotland's independence journey. The young apprentices at Steel Engineering who are undergoing training at the company's excellent skills training academy will have an integral role to play in unveiling this date to the Scottish public. The first edition of the Scottish edition of the Sun on Sunday said it would be staged on Saturday, October 18 but SNP strategists are understood to have moved away from this option. As well as potential protests from the Jewish community, there is concern it falls in the middle of a two-week school holiday and the deeply religious Western Isles will not count the votes on a Sunday. Mr Salmond could stage the vote on an earlier Thursday, either October 9 or 16, but Prof Curtice has warned this would be on the back of widespread TV coverage of the UK party conferences. It had been assumed the First Minister would wait until after the Ryder Cup is held at Gleneagles in late September, but the psephologist said he was mystified why a golf tournament between Europe and the US would increase support for separation.