The results are in and Scotland has six new MEPs. We caught up with all of them after the formal announcement at the City Chambers in Edinburgh.
Alyn Smith SNP MEP who has already been an MEP for fifteen years said :”We have had a real endorsement from the people of Scotland not just for the SNP but also for Remain. Scotland’s clearly got a different sense of our place in the world, a different sense of what we want out of the future. We don’t know what that is, but I know I have two great colleagues who will work really hard for it, so I am absolutely delighted.”
Sheila Ritchie Liberal Democrat MEP said : “My first job is going to be working out how on earth we manage to stop Brexit given the continuing clear division of votes announced yesterday. I think it’s clear that Remain won, not by a big margin and that society is pretty divided on this topic. Brexit is the catalyst for that division and we have to find a way to stop it.”
Louis Stedman-Bryce Brexit Party MEP said : “I think what we have seen here is that a party which started from nowhere just five weeks ago has now come second place in the European election here in Scotland, and first place across the UK.
“We feel that that give us the mandate to demand basically that our MEPs are involved in the negotiations in Brussels.”
We pointed out to Mr Stedman-Bryce that the party has no elected MPs or other elected officials in the country to which he replied : “We don’t, but a lot of people have looked at this election and thought ‘What is this telling us?’ I think the amount of people that have come out to vote for the Brexit Party – a party that didn’t exist five weeks ago – gives us a strong enough mandate to say there are people in the UK who want us to leave – and we need to be part of that negotiating team.”
Christian Allard SNP MEP is an anomaly. He is a Frenchman living in Scotland and was an MSP until 2016, since when he has been a councillor in Aberdeen City Council. His election will create a vacancy on the council, perhaps causing a by-election. He is genuinely happy to be elected to the European Parliament. He said : “It is fantastic. First of all you know to be in The Scottish Parliament and now to be in the European Parliament. I think the people of Scotland are really showing what an incredible nation we are. Fit for the 21st century – a modern Scotland.”
Aileen McLeod SNP MEP said : “I am absolutely over the moon. We have had a fantastic result. This has been the best ever European election win for the SNP. I think it has been very clear from the results that the people of Scotland have sent a very clear message that Scotland rejects Brexit.
Baroness Nosheena Mubarik Conservative MEP said : “From now until October there is probably not much legislative work to be done, so our real interest is really in what happens after we leave.” We asked if there was not perhaps a possibility that she would still be in a job after the end of October. She replied : “I think from my perspective we have to remain focussed on our intention is. Our intention is to leave on 31 October and to do that in the best way possible for Scotland and for the rest of the United Kingdom.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
