“Brexit has blunted our ambition and stalled our national progress”, says European Movement in Scotland on 10th anniversary of Brexit referendum.”
You can read EMiS press release statement here, marking 10 years since the Brexit referendum.
For Immediate Use
Dateline: Edinburgh 19th June 2026
“Brexit has blunted our ambition and stalled our national progress”, says European Movement in Scotland on 10th anniversary of Brexit referendum
“Rejoin now a matter of survival”
The European Movement in Scotland (EMiS), Scotland ‘s biggest organisation campaigning for return to the European Union, says Brexit has stalled the UK’s progress as a nation and made us less ambitious.
“Those who told us we’d be better off out of the EU and that there were “no downsides, only upsides,” are guilty of not only leading the nation astray, but also of diminishing our drive and energy.
“We were a proud and influential member of a union of nations building prosperity, a dynamic scientific and technological future, strong consumer protections and the world’s biggest free market.
“Now, we are poorer. Our public services are being drained of investment because our economy has been hollowed out by Brexit. Our young people are being robbed of a better future,” says EMiS.
David Clarke, Chair of EMiS, says that as a society we have an obligation to make the future better than the past. Clarke says that while rejoining the EU will not cure all our problems it will boost our economic confidence, stimulate growth and make us stronger and more secure.
“We could rejoin the EU within five years, but we need our political leaders to step up and talk about the huge benefits of being in the EU. With Russia growing more belligerent, the US being a less dependable ally and China now a global power, our future must lie in Europe. A better future is possible. Reversing Brexit is now a matter of national survival,” says Clarke.
The European Movement in Scotland is committed to promoting the essential European value of free speech. Consequently, we regularly publish articles by leading academics, journalists and others discussing issues germane to Scotland’s place in Europe. Such articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Movement in Scotland.