Rejoin EU campaign launches major recruitment drive

The European Movement has launched a major recruitment drive.

In a move that the all-party pressure group says signals that it “is on battle stations for the next election”, the organisation has launched a hiring blitz, recruiting more staff than ever before, along with a new and controversial communications agency.

The movement is buoyed by a number of high-profile appointees including Scientists for EU founder Dr. Mike Galsworthy and social media influencer and Inspire EU founder Jack Dart.

Also hired is former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Manchester City Council Richard Kilpatrick and Mark English who was Head of Media at the European Commission.

Its strategic communications was recently picked up by Pablo O’Hana of Apostrophe Campaigns — a Manchester-based agency whose work is often found causing political storms.

They are joined by Patrick McCoy, a veteran of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), whose work drove the largest unionised campaign in the country’s history.

Other new hires include three regional campaign managers, a director of the youth wing (Young European Movement) and a campaign officer.

The new appointees join an already bulging team with more set to come. The organisation is still seeking four new Director roles in Membership, Fundraising, Field Campaigns and Digital, alongside a number of manager and officer roles.

The European Movement is the only pro-European campaign left in the UK that has not ruled out re-joining the EU as its ultimate campaigning aim after the collapse of several other campaigns post-Brexit.

A YouGov poll released in March 2021 showed that just 39% of voters would be in favour of re-joining the EU