THE president of the SNP and a former Tory MEP are to work as co-presidents of a campaign group dedicated to seeing Scotland rejoin the EU.
Michael Russell will join John Purvis, who represented the Conservatives in the European Parliament for 15 years, as honorary president of the European Movement in Scotland (EMiS).
EMiS said the two appointments “underlined its cross-party credentials”, adding that the group will continue to campaign for Scotland to rejoin the EU “as soon as possible – whether in its own right as an independent state or as part of the UK”.
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The two will fill the role in a joint capacity, taking over from LibDem life peer and former party leader Menzies Campbell.
The EMiS’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Edinburgh saw the two politicians unanimously confirmed in their new posts.
David Clarke, the vice-chair of EMiS, commented: "Our choice of new Honorary Presidents underlines the cross-party consensus in Scotland for rejoining the European Union, with membership of the single market and customs union a first stage.
“John Purvis is a long-standing Conservative with deep roots in the EU and European financial services, while Michael Russell's commitment to Europe as an SNP politician, minister and thinker is unmatched. Our campaign to rejoin the EU steps up a gear with our latest webinar on December 8 and throughout 2022."
The EMiS campaign for “Scotland and/or the UK to rejoin the single market and customs union” will launch on Wednesday, alongside a webinar on the same topic.
The group said it comes “as the devastating economic and social effects of Brexit are revealed daily”.
Speakers at the launch event will include SNP MP Philippa Whitford, David Broucher, a former UK diplomat and ambassador, and Peter Sellar, an EU lawyer specialising in regulatory affairs and author of a paper on this topic for the Scottish Independence Convention.
You can find further details of the event on Eventbrite.
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