Brexit forces mayor Iain out of his post
German role for former PA reporter
A former PA reporter is being forced to give up his post as a town mayor because Brexit.
Iain Macnab has been the burgermeister of Brunsmark, a small town of 170 people in northern Germany, for the past 12 years.
He has been elected to the position three times, but says he will be forced to give up his office because of Brexit.
Iain has received a letter from the state of Schleswig-Holstein, which includes Brunsmark, saying once the UK leaves the EU, British “people won’t be allowed to hold any office in a local council or local government”.
Unless Iain becomes a German citizen or secures dual nationality before October 31, he will be forced out of his office as the town burgermeister.
Iain grew up in Achilitbuie in Wester Ross in the 1950s, and was a keen Gaelic speaker as a child.
He then became a reporter for the Perthshire Advertiser, before moving to Germany to work as a sound engineer for rock bands.
Now running an IT businesses, Iain has lived abroad for 40 years and speaks German fluently.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “The minute Brexit occurs, that’s me.
“That’s the end of my tenure because I am no longer an EU citizen.
“I am not an EU citizen so I don’t qualify anymore - from one minute to the next, I don’t qualify, and I have that in writing.”
He said he does not want to apply for German citizenship, and it is also making him consider supporting Scottish independence.
Iain continued: “I’ve been 70 years a Scot and I’m going to stay that way.
“It’s making me do something that I never ever wanted to do, it makes me begin to look at Scottish independence.
“I would never have considered it before this nonsense started.”
The burgermeister said he would like to see the Brexit decision reversed, and a further referendum held.
He said: “I think it’s got to be completely rethought.
“It’s got to be much more an organisation which advises the rest instead of imposing an amazing amount of rules and regulations.”
Iain says he supports rules allowing EU citizens the freedom to live and work across Europe, and says he wants others in the future to enjoy the same opportunities afforded to him.
Although there is now only 10 weeks to go until October 31, Iain does not yet know whether he will stay in Brunsmark with his German wife and two children, or move the whole family back to his home in Scotland.
One thing he is certain about however, is he will have to give up his career as burgermeister once Brexit happens.
The minute Brexit occurs...that’s the end of my tenure because I am no longer an EU citizen