Yorkshire MP launches Labour In For Britain campaign

Launching the party’s campaign Labour In For Britain today, Alan Johnson said anyone drawn to Ukip’s belief the country could trade successfully without EU membership has not considered the uncertainty of Brexit.

Ukip’s myths on Britain’s diminishing power in Europe should also be dispelled Mr Johnson said as he vowed to end Labour’s ‘silence’ on devolution matters – which blighted the party’s success during the Scottish referendum.

He said: “Britain is somehow portrayed as a seven stone weakling on the beach with these bullies kicking sand in our face all the time, as if Britain hasn’t got influence in Europe, as if Britain isn’t an important country on that stage.”

He said Britain had the power to encourage reforms without leaving the union entirely.

Around half of all exports from Yorkshire and the Humber currently go to EU states, which accounted for £8.5bn in 2014 from 1,698 individual businesses.

The former Labour front-bencher who represents West Hull and Hessle, said: “The major issue that people haven’t faced up to is if we are not in the European Union where does that put Britain? Are we the 51st state of the United States of America, are we a kind-of off-shore free market, anything goes Singapore?

“On the Humber we are closer to Rotterdam than London. We are facing Europe and there’s nowhere you can go – whether that’s the renewables market – that doesn’t suggest that we need to stay within the European Union.

“If people follow the line of Ukip we will end up outside the EU spending time and money through a huge period of uncertainty trying to get back (to what)we already had before we voted to leave.”

Striking trade deals with individual EU states would also depend on agreement that workers could move over borders with ease. He said leaving does not mean stricter immigration.

He said Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein had all found that their continued trade with 28 EU member states had meant some concessions over freedom of movement.

British border control at Calais would also be removed if the country was to leave the EU, as he said it would be “inconceivable that there would be ‘goodwill” from France “if we wrenched ourself away from Europe after 40 years of membership” and expect to have “agreements like that”.

During his speech in Birmingham today, where a small business owner will share her expriences of how Europe supports her livelihood, Mr Johnson is expected to warn against false nostalgia on life before the EU.

He will say there is no “sepia-tinted” world which we can go back to.

Labour in Britain Today is not affiliated to the Stronger in Europe organisation, which is led by business figures.