A PRO-EU group in Scotland has said the Labour Party have given “no credible answer” as to why it is against rejoining the single market.
On Tuesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting dismissed the idea of rejoining the European Union’s single market despite the UK Government’s own analysis which stated that investment into the UK had reduced by 11% as a result of Brexit.
He said lower economic growth as a result of Brexit was a “fact of life” and claimed there was “no appetite” in Westminster or in Brussels to re-litigate the UK’s relationship with the EU.
Speaking ahead of the European Movement in Scotland’s (EMiS) annual dinner in Glasgow, the organisation’s chairman David Clarke disputed Streeting’s comments.
“The European Movement in Scotland represents pro-European people in every mainstream political party and many thousands with no party-political affiliation, but who believe we are better off in Europe,” he said.
“All our experience across the year is that the desire to be in the EU is as at least as strong now as it was in 2016 when Scotland voted 62% Remain.
“Saying Brexit is all in the past and people want to move on is simply not credible. It’s just not true.
“Rather than seeing Brexit as a ‘done deal’ the public know that serious reengagement with the EU, including single market membership and freedom of movement is low-hanging fruit ready to be picked for our benefit.
“They know that rejoining the Single Market would be a huge boost to the economy and to confidence in the UK.
“People don’t like Brexit and are puzzled at Labour's reluctance to rejoin the single market.”
The group said their annual dinner is set to record its largest attendance since the EU referendum in 2016.
It will take place at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow on October 14 with polling expert Professor John Curtice featuring as a guest speaker.
Dinner guests will also receive a commemorative edition of The National.
Martin Roche, EMiS’s communication strategist, said the group was continuing to pressure both the UK and Scottish governments to stay connected to the EU.
“We keep lobbying the Scottish and UK governments to stay aligned with EU regulations and keep open formal and informal channels of contact with the EU Commission, the European Parliament and the other key institutions of Europe,” he said.
“Labour has not yet given a credible answer as to what it actually wants from Europe or why it has so firmly set its cap against a youth mobility scheme, rejoining Erasmus or looking at the single market.”
He added that political leaders should remember the historical roots of European unity.
“At the heart of what EMiS is about is peace in Europe,” he said.
“European unity is a peace project. We are faced across the world by political leaders and political forces that want to destabilise the West and undermine liberal democracy.
“We are not campaigning to promote an abstract idea. We are fighting for a more secure, more stable and more successful future for future generations of Scots.
“Turnout for the EMiS annual dinner is bigger than at any time since the Brexit referendum.”
It comes after EMiS attended the party conferences of Labour, the LibDems, the Scottish Greens and the SNP, recruiting new members at every event.
