Alan Johnson: Values of Jo Cox make the case for Britain remaining in the EU

Jo Cox’s death was a tragic attack on our way of life – and I know the thoughts of The Yorkshire Post’s readers are with her family during this incredibly difficult time.

Tomorrow’s vote on our future membership of the European Union is a symbol of what Jo stood for: democracy, freedom and the opportunity for everyone – no matter what their background – to have their say about the future of our county.

Jo was one of Yorkshire’s staunchest campaigners for Britain to remain in Europe – and it is a platform I was proud to stand with her on.

Today I want to set out why I am backing the case to remain and why I think Yorkshire is better off with Britain in the European Union.

The last time I had to make a decision of this magnitude I was a 25-year-old old postman living on a council estate with three young kids. Back then the decision I made was about how I could secure the best life for me and my family, and the best future for my children.

I voted “yes” in 1975 and I’ve never regretted that decision.

My children have benefited from the free movement to travel; the opportunity to live and work abroad; a strengthened economy to fund our public services; protections and rights at work; and the membership of a union that has helped cement peace in the western world.

Four decades on and I believe the consequences of turning our backs on Europe will be much more serious than they were back then.

Firstly, I believe being part of Europe makes Yorkshire’s economy stronger. Our membership with the EU means we can trade with the biggest commercial market in the world of over 500 million consumers on the same basis as we can trade with companies across the Pennines in Lancashire – with no tariff or regulatory barriers.

Nearly half of everything made in Yorkshire and Humber, and sold to the rest of the world, goes to Europe. That trade and those exports help to keep a quarter of a million people in work and businesses thriving.

Take Siemens in my constituency of Hull – a company that employs 14,000 people across the country. Siemens has a plan to invest and expand its business further. But they have been clear: those plans are dependent on our membership to the EU.

Brexit supporters are in complete denial about the threat of a vote to leave to jobs and businesses in the region. When warned about the shock to the economy in the event of Brexit, Nigel Farage shrugs his shoulders and says ‘so what?’

Well Nigel, I’ll tell you so what. If we vote to leave, business, jobs and the wages of people living in Yorkshire will be put at risk – and I don’t believe it is a risk we can afford to take. But it’s not just about our economy; it’s about the protection of workers’ rights too.

Membership of the EU has helped to ensure my daughters have had the same opportunities as my sons. It has helped to ensure that people are paid a decent wage and are not exploited by unscrupulous employers. And it has helped to ensure that people are better able to balance work and family life.

Minimum paid leave, rights for agency workers, paid maternity and paternity leave, equal pay, anti-discrimination laws, and protection for the workforce when companies change ownership: these are all in place thanks to our membership of the EU.

Brexit supporters say these rights should be scrapped. No. They should be strengthened. I spent my early life as a trade unionist fighting against the exploitation of workers. Fighting against low pay, long hours and discrimination based on age or gender.

If we vote to leave, I fear the progress we have made in the decades since then will be lost.

Our membership to the EU also gives our towns and cities access to billions of pounds of funding and investment. Barnsley, Sheffield, Rotherham, which were left forgotten under the Thatcher government of the 80s, have seen their communities transformed thanks to millions of pounds of European money. Yorkshire wins from us being a part of Europe and we shouldn’t risk that by walking away.

Europe isn’t perfect. It needs to change. It needs to improve. And it needs to listen more to the people it represents. And yet I’m absolutely clear that Yorkshire is better off by Britain being a part of the European Union.

The vote I made in 1975 was 
a vote for my children’s generation. Today the vote is for my children and for my children’s children. It’s a vote for our country’s future. A positive future where our economy is stronger, our streets are safer, and our communities are better off through co-operation, not isolation. It’s the vote of a generation – and I hope you back remain.

Alan Johnson is MP for Hull West, Chair of the Labour In for Britain campaign and a former Home Secretary.