Dr Mike Galsworthy, well-known to many of the European Movement’s supporters, has been chosen by its members to be the new chair of EMUK.
These are the results in full:
| Name | Vote share |
| Mike Galsworthy | 53.5% |
| Patience Wheatcroft | 28.4% |
| Tom Brake | 18% |
Turnout: 38%
The election used the Alternative Vote system. As one of the candidates secured more than 50% of the vote in the first round, there was no second round.
Here’s Mike’s statement:
Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart. Not only have you elected a new Chair for the European Movement, but we together have engaged in a great consultation and democratic process that has pulled us all together into an outpouring of ideas about how to elevate and expand European Movement. It has been exhilarating and optimistic throughout and we all understand the significance and promise of what our community must do.
I want to thank all the members, all the EM staff, the National Council, the Steering Committee, European Movement in Scotland, Wales for Europe, Young European Movement and all the local and regional groups that helped make this huge event what it was. And I want to thank Tom Brake and Patience Wheatcroft, superb colleagues and candidates that they are, for the ideas and energy that they have brought in. As I have said repeatedly, I hugely value their talent and I want to find a way to bring them in to help me, and all of us, take on this huge task before us.
The European Movement is unique in its heritage and unique in its federated structure that sits at the heart of a wider pro-European community. EM must be the flagship in a fleet of pro-European campaigns and communities on a great mission together to bring us home to our rightful place in our own European Union. We know the wind is in our sails now. We must vanquish the dire politics of this moment in our history and work with communities all over the country to, step-by-step, recover that better future for ourselves, our children and our world. It is about identity, opportunity and responsibility.
I have so many ambitions for our community. We are an incredible community with so much more to give. And I will be there with you – accessible to you all as we take this on together. It will be hard work, but we are veterans already and we know how to campaign. We run on passion and we have the grit. So now let us build, build, build. Let us get to work.
| A little bit about me – I’m a scientist by background, and for the last 7 years I’ve been a passionate campaigner against Brexit, and for closer ties with Europe. In 2015 I founded Scientists for EU to advocate for continued cooperation between UK scientists and our colleagues in the rest of Europe. I was part of the People’s Vote campaign, and have been deeply involved in grassroots pro-European activism ever since. Campaigning is in my blood – and I can’t wait to continue this in my new role as European Movement chair. Our movement is unique in its heritage and its structure. We must be the flagship in a fleet of pro-European campaigns and communities on a great mission together to bring us home to our rightful place in our own European Union. We’re in a crucial moment and we have the wind in our sails. We must vanquish the dire politics of this moment in our history and work with communities all over the country to, step-by-step, recover that better future for ourselves, our children and our world. It is about identity, opportunity and responsibility. |