A campaign group that aims to secure Scotland's re-entry into the European Union has appointed a former SNP culture chief to drive the plan forward
The European Movement in Scotland (EMiS) is stepping up its campaign to rejoin the EU with new hires and a fresh membership drive in 2023.
It has appointed David McDonald (SNP), a former depute leader and convener for culture, vibrancy and international relations at Glasgow City Council, to be its new membership and campaigns co-ordinator.
EU+me, another pro-European body, is also joining forces with EMiS this month to give what its chair, Prof Stephen Gethins, calls "focus, scale and momentum" to the campaign for Scotland to rejoin the EU - in its own right or as part of the UK.
David Clarke, a financial consultant and ex-journalist who has worked to develop Scotland's financial services sector and build relations with his native Ireland, will also over from Mark Lazarowicz, the former Labour MP, as EMiS chair with a remit to grow the membership and boost the rejoin movement.
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The appointments come on the 50th anniversary of the UK joining the then European Economic Community in 1973.
Nicola Sturgeon has said an independent Scotland would immediately seek to rejoin the EU but would retain the British pound.
According to a YouGov poll, only 32% of people across the UK now believe it was right to leave the EU while a clear majority, 56%, says it was wrong - a margin of 24 points, the widest recorded since the 2016 referendum.
Almost three-quarters of young Scots wish to rejoin the EU.
Like EMiS, EU+me has been a non-partisan network of pro-Europeans making the case for Scotland's future as a European nation at the heart of the EU.
Its chairman, ex-SNP MP, Professor Gethins, is joining the EMiS executive as a co-opted member in the wake of the merger.
Stephen Gethins, former SNP MP and spokesperson for international affairs and Europe, said: "The European Union is one of the great success stories of our times.
"It has delivered peace, prosperity and stability to its citizens since it was founded.
"Every state that has joined the EU has seen an improvement in the quality of life of its citizens.
"The only Member State to have left, the UK, has seen a deterioration of its citizens' quality of life.
"We all know that leaving the EU against our will has had a devastating impact on our economy, on our freedoms, protections and rights.
READ MORE: Scottish and UK governments clash over £300m post-Brexit levelling up shortfall
"Young people, who have had opportunity snatched away, and small businesses who have seen a dramatic increase in red tape have been particularly badly affected. It is unsurprising that support for rejoining the EU is growing in support whilst backing for remaining isolated outside is evaporating.
"This is the right time to consolidate the major pro-European campaigns in Scotland."
David Clarke added: " The statistics are becoming clearer by the day, no matter what the Brexit flat-earthers would have us believe – leaving the EU has made us poorer and our lives more difficult.
"As a result, pro-Europeans in Scotland are uniting around the benefits of closer links with our European partners with the eventual aim of rejoining the EU.
"We are determined to provide a clear and evidence-based path to closer cooperation with Europe and we look forward to working with partners in Scotland and the wider UK to overturn this divisive and disastrous Brexit."
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