Campaigners will gather this weekend outside Edinburgh City Chambers
A Rally for Europe will be held this weekend urging a re-think on Brexit.
An event will take place tomorrow (Saturday, 14 October) and will urge the UK government to think again on Brexit and call for Scotland’s cities to sign up to an open declaration.
The declaration will speak out against the feared damaging impact of Brexit and show leadership from cities in working to mitigate any negative impact on Scotland.
The rally starts at 2pm on the High Street outside Edinburgh City Chambers. It is being organised by the Young European Movement and the European Movement in Scotland. Speakers include Tommy Sheppard MP (SNP), Ian Murray MP (Labour), Patrick Harvie MSP (Green), Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP (Liberal Democrat) and Susannah Rae, Perth for Europe.
The event will promote the benefits of the EU locally and the positive case for remaining in the EU and rejecting Brexit. It shows that the Remain movement is determined, passionate, will not be silenced, with 62 per cent of those in Scotland voting to remain in the EU.
Twelve rallies will take place on the same day including in Newcastle, York, Nottingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Cambridge and Reading, Liverpool and Birmingham. These mirror the 12 European parliamentary constituencies.
Speakers at the rally will urge other cities in Scotland to follow City of Edinburgh Council’s lead and sign up to an open declaration, spearheading opposition to Brexit and creating hubs of EU activity and connections. Residents of Edinburgh voted 74% to Remain the EU. Indeed, all Scotland’s cities voted to remain in the EU.
Vanessa Glynn, chair of the European Movement in Scotland, said: “More than 15 months on from the Brexit vote, the current UK government still has no clear idea of where it’s going.
“As groups rally up and down the country, information about disarray within the cabinet is trickling down.
“The clock is ticking with negotiations on Britain’s future relationship with EU still on the starting blocks, and yet we do not see any clarity about the relationship that will follow between the UK and the EU, nor between the constituent nations of the UK.”
