At the weekend I attended the wedding of my dear friend Cher-Antonia, who married a lovely Frenchman.
Sofyane, originally from Toulouse, lives and works in Edinburgh where he met the girl of his dreams. The wedding was a romantic affair, with the couple tying the knot in the heart of the pink city, as it is known, in the Capitole grand city hall and then spilling out on to the main square with much celebration.
The wedding, like Toulouse, was a wonderful mix of cultures with many of Sofyane’s family who have Algerian heritage attending and relatives still living in Algeria who managed to get a visa making it to the happy celebration.
It made me think how lucky we are in a European nation where it is easy to study and travel around the EU and further afield. And that a young man from Toulouse can easily come to study then work as part of the 171,000 people born elsewhere in the EU living and working in Scotland, contributing to our economy and society. In turn, making my friend a very happy lady.
It’s ridiculous, therefore, that our Tory government seems hell-bent on risking our place in the EU. We should sensibly encourage graduates to stay and contribute their skills and skilled workers to come and pay taxes in Scotland, helping grow the economy, not the opposite.
In a week when politics has so very sadly lost one of its leading pro-European voices, the former Liberal Democratic leader Charles Kennedy, who undoubtedly would have vociferously campaigned to protect our place in EU, it is a good time to reflect on all that he advocated about being part of the family of Europe.
We should present a positive agenda for the future of the EU and advocate change where it is needed rather than fall into the Euro-sceptic agenda of the right wing of the Tory party.
For our higher education institutions, thriving exporters such as the food and drink sector, which relies on the single market, our enshrined rights and to continue progressive politics, we must protect our place in Europe it’s crucial to Scotland’s success.