Scotland Stronger in Europe pledges to make positive case in EU referendum

The Scottish wing of the campaign to keep the UK in the European Union launched today, promising to make the positive case for Europe in the upcoming referendum.

The Scotland Stronger in Europe campaign board is made up of five women and five men from a range of fields. It includes former Chief Medical Officer Sir Harry Burns and Dame Anne Glover, who served as Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission and before that was the first ever Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland.

The group’s chair, Professor Mona Siddiqui, warned that Scotland’s votes could “make the difference” in delivering a vote to stay.

Speaking at the launch, Professor Siddiqui said: “Scotland Stronger In Europe believes that we are stronger, better off and safer as part of the European Union.

“Staying in is the right choice for the sake of jobs, trade, investment, prices and security. Everyone knows that the EU isn’t perfect – but the gains of being in clearly outweigh the costs.”

She added: “We know that support to remain in Europe crosses other Scottish political divides, and therefore the Stronger In campaign can be a common platform for people to stand on in Scotland.

“By their very nature, referendums tend to be divisive, and that may be the case elsewhere in the UK. But in this referendum, Scotland has an opportunity to come together and lead the way in keeping the UK in Europe.”

The board:

* Matthew Anderson - Vice President Unicorn ARC (Applied Research Collaboration), formerly a Commissioned Officer in the British Army.

* Professor Sir Harry Burns - Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Strathclyde and former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland; Chair of the University’s Centre for Health Policy.

* Jayne-Anne Gadhia - Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Money.

* Dame Anne Glover - Vice-Principal External Affairs & Dean for Europe at the University of Aberdeen. Former Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission and former Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland.

* John Loughton - Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the leadership development social enterprise Dare2Lead.

* Donald MacInnes - Urban crofter, former Chief Executive of Scotland Europa and CEO of Dunbartonshire Enterprise.

* John Park - Assistant General Secretary at Community Trade Union.

* Vonnie Sandlan - President of NUS Scotland.

* Professor Mona Siddiqui OBE (Chair) - Assistant Principal for Religion and Society and Dean international for the Middle East at the University of Edinburgh, Chair in Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University, fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

* Professor Petra Wend - Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen Margaret University.