Originally from the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales, Lisa lives in the Canary Islands. She is the owner/director of a distribution company that operates in the UK and EU. She has been Bremain In Spain’s vice chair since 2020 and is now our newly elected Chair. She is also a member of the national council of European Movement UK and chair of its Conduct Committee.

Ruth Woodhouse : Do you feel that European Movement UK is sufficiently high-profile, and how could it be more so?

As the oldest UK pro-EU group, founded in 1949 with Winston Churchill as a founding member, EMUK wasn’t particularly well known outside political circles. That has changed significantly. Membership has grown from around 5,000 in 2020 to 26,000 today, with 100+ local groups, hundreds of activists, and a vast 300k supporter base. Nevertheless, becoming a household name remains a challenge.

Raising EMUK’s profile has been a priority, and we are getting there. You now regularly see and hear EMUK figures quoted across the media, on Radio 2, LBC and even GB News, with a particularly good relationship with The Independent.

Is that where we want to be? No. Are we on the right track? Yes. But in a media landscape that thrives on division, a calm, sensible voice can sometimes be the hardest to project.

Michael Soffe : How has Brexit affected running a UK-based business from Spain?

Oh yes! For 20+ years my business has distributed home entertainment media as a retailer and wholesaler: vinyl, CDs, Blu-ray/DVDs, Box Sets, movie merch, computer games and so on.

Before Brexit, Amazon ran a pan-European programme that let us distribute stock across Amazon’s EU warehouses based on demand. Around 20% of our sales went through this system, and we have never recovered around 80% of that business.

We were familiar with customs paperwork because we sell business-to-business globally, but Brexit made trading with the EU much more complicated. We now have to provide country-of-origin information for around 400,000 products and navigate much more bureaucracy.  Even though we export daily, things still go wrong sometimes. It takes more time, more staff hours, and more money. It’s harder, slower and more complicated.

Helen Johnston : Do you think the stereotypes promoted in the British press regarding British people living in Spain and other European countries are problematic for our campaigning, and what can we do to counter them?

Yes, 100%. And I also think that British migrants in Spain are more stereotyped than those in France or Belgium, say. The perception that huge swathes of us voted for Brexit is a prime example: as is the argument that we are not a burden, never claim benefits, etc., but somehow migrants to the UK are. It’s all nonsense, of course. It’s hard to change this; people in the UK aren’t really interested in us, and newspapers only want clickbait, but I think one of the best approaches is to highlight individual stories and explain the issues British migrants face, while calling out disinformation when we see it. Emotions work better than facts.

Sue Wilson : What do you think Bremain does best and what do you think we could improve on?

Bremain punches well above its weight and is well known among politicians, activists, and the media, and has strong relationships with organisations such as the Embassy. This stems from the early campaigning, and your high-profile court case, our work with other pro-EU organisations, and features such as Bremainers Ask. Above all, it’s our committed members who continue to contribute to the conversation, campaign, lobby, and keep the goal of rejoining the EU alive.

I do think we could better highlight our unique position as a community of British citizens living in Spain and experiencing the consequences of Brexit first-hand. Sharing more members’ stories and issues would make what we do more personal, relevant and distinctive, while also giving us stronger material for media and social media. Doing this effectively and efficiently with the time available is the problem.

Steve Burnham : Do you think EU membership erodes the sovereignty of member states?

Simply put, no, and this is something the Brexiters never quite understood. No country is truly sovereign, because that would require complete isolation or total autonomy, which is almost impossible in today’s interconnected global world and economic co-dependency.  Every time a nation signs a trade deal and agrees to rules, joins an international organisation, signs up to international laws, joins a coalition like NATO, etc., it gives up some sovereignty, because it abides by rules it did not solely make. Modern-day sovereignty is more about a nation’s ability to maintain domestic control and economic strength while resisting foreign coercion.

Karen Tuck : Do you feel that an MP for us Brits living overseas would be helpful in letting Westminster understand the issues we face; after all, we are currently unrepresented as British Citizens in Europe and the UK?

Yes, 100%. Our MP’s do not understand the issues we face, particularly post-Brexit. You may be aware that Bremain is part of a coalition effort by New Europeans and Unlock Democracy calling for overseas constituencies. We have provided evidence to select committees on this, and I have studied other nations’ systems. What is clear is that the UK government is not very good at franchising its overseas nationals. The French are excellent at doing so and allow several voting methods for their overseas citizens. It’s the system I’d like to see replicated for UK nationals abroad.

Michael Soffe : If you had one piece of advice for those of us who wish to “Rejoin”, what would it be?

Don’t fight old battles and don’t expect any favours. We’re not special – the EU’s first priority will, quite rightly, always be the members inside the club, not others outside (however near or far). Even in the last few weeks, we have seen a supposedly serious UK think-tank come up with a lamentable blueprint that was full of “cakeism” nonsense but did not have any reference to the overriding fact that the EU has its own interests too.

Ruth Woodhouse : To what extent is the Scottish parliament able to engage with the UK parliament regarding Brexit and future relationships with the EU?

Pretty limited. There is the Partnership Assembly, which some folks are very excited to be part of, but in my experience it is ineffectual and disengaged even from a Westminster perspective. We’ll take what opportunities we can to engage and be vocal. I’m hoping to be the Convener of the EU Cross Party Group in Holyrood and welcome all engagement, but the primary talks are government-government and pretty patchy.

Andrew Hesselden : How can we influence the Scottish and UK governments to see the value in mutual Freedom of Movement of People (in Europe) once again?

We don’t need to convince the Scottish government. I hope the fact the former PM talked of “an island of strangers” keeps him awake at night. There might be more of an opportunity going forward but I have my doubts. My suggestion would be that the campaign stresses that which has been lost can be got back and focuses on those advantages we win with EU membership. Sadly, I’m not sure many people articulate it beyond passport queues.

Lisa Burton : Many young people have grown up knowing only post-Brexit Britain. How do we make the case for Europe to a generation that never experienced freedom of movement?

This is one of my biggest worries. You don’t miss what you’ve never had. Same as when tuition fees were introduced in England, it became the new normal within a couple of years so quickly due to student turnover. The Irish European Movement have a lot of good materials on EU advantages which could be repurposed, but there remains a pressing need to make folks aware that there are huge life-changing advantages with EU membership they’re not getting.

Matt Burton : Having served in the European Parliament, Westminster and Scotland, what differences in political culture struck you the most? What could each learn from the others?

My biggest point would be to scrap First-Past-the-Post as soon as possible. If you are an ambitious politician and want to get things done, knowing that you will at some point need the votes of your opponents for things you care about gives an entirely different context to discussion and personal interactions across parties. In Brussels and Holyrood no vote will be won without a majority; as nobody has a majority, it will always need to be a compromise. The idea that FPTP delivers firm government is a fiction; it delivers politicians who think in terms of goodies and baddies.

David Eldridge : In two speeches as a departing MEP you famously asked the EU to “leave a light on” and to not let Scotland down. How are they doing on those fronts?

There’s no doubt in my mind that if, as, and when Scotland votes for independence, we will have allies aplenty who are keen to help us through the process. Equally, I don’t expect the EU to do us any favours or do our job for us. We presented a proposal for the Northern Ireland regulations to cover Scotland also but given this did not have UK support where there was sympathy for us, the EU was not going to step into the constitutional order of a third country. Where NI was different was that it had several international agreements with an EU member state.

Steven Wilson : How do you square the circle between the arguments for being part of a union (EU) and the arguments for leaving a union (UK)?

Because much as they use the same words they are self-evidently not the same thing. My local bowling club has a President – she doesn’t get to live in the White House or illegally bomb Iran. The EU and UK are political constructs with different histories and to my mind the UK has served its time. Scotland can build a new state on ancient foundations but fit for the next decades.

Susan Scarrott : Is there still a strong desire by Scottish voters to rejoin the EU?

Yes, not unanimous obviously but we’re at settled will levels of support, 73% at the last opinion poll and that is without much of a campaign. This would also be far higher but for the Scottish politicians of UK parties not being able to articulate their views because their head office says no.