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Remain camp failing to reach Labour heartlands, says Burnham Brexit will be Cameron's demise and usher in Tory hard right, says Tom Watson
(about 1 hour later)
Senior Labour figures have launched a fresh push to keep Britain in the EU, as Andy Burnham said there was a “very real prospect” of crashing out because the remain camp is failing to reach the party’s traditional voters. Brexit would spell the end of David Cameron and lead to a takeover by the hard right of the Conservative party, Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, has said.
The shadow home secretary suggested the campaign needed to change its focus to appeal to voters its northern heartlands rather than those in urban areas, amid signs the polls have narrowed in the last few weeks. In a high-risk strategy, Watson said the Tories running the leave campaign – Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Priti Patel – would pose a greater danger dangerous to workers’ rights and public services than Cameron.
“It’s not just [Boris Johnson], it’s Michael Gove, it’s Priti Patel, it’s those people on the hard right of the Tory party that will be in government if there is Brexit. That is the end of David Cameron if that referendum is lost. They will be the people paring down the deficit, dealing with the cost of Brexit. It is not unreasonable that we focus on Boris Johnson.”
Owen Smith, the shadow work and pensions secretary, added: “We are saying look at who is in charge of the Brexit campaign. These are people who are even more gung ho [than Cameron and George Osborne] about cutting workers’ rights, and I am tempted to say you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
They made their comments at an event flanked by Labour activists wearing Boris Johnson masks and handing out copies of a “Tory Brexit budget”, predicting a VAT rise, an end to child benefit and other financial consequences of leaving the EU.
The decision to tell Labour voters that Brexit could end Cameron’s career is risky because they might be keen to kick out the current government and take a chance on who might replace him.
Cameron has sought not to make the EU referendum about his premiership, insisting that he would stay on to lead negotiations in the event of Brexit, but it is widely believed he would face pressure to step down.
Labour has made a calculated decision that they need to gain the attention of their voters, given that polling suggests that up to half are unclear where the party stands on the EU.
In fact the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the entire shadow cabinet, more than 95% of its MPs and the major trade unions are all united in favour of staying in the EU.
There are particular concerns in the remain camp that Labour’s pro-EU message might be ignored by party voters who feel more concerned about immigration than workers’ rights or international efforts to tackle climate change.
Yvette Cooper, the former shadow home secretary, told the same event that immigration was “not what this campaign is about. Brexit will not make a difference.”
Separately, Andy Burnham said there was a “very real prospect” of Britain crashing out of the EU because the remain camp was failing to reach traditional Labour voters.
The shadow home secretary suggested the campaign needed to change its focus to appeal to voters in its northern heartlands rather than those in urban areas.
“We have definitely been far too much Hampstead and not enough Hull in recent times and we need to change that. Here we are two weeks away from the very real prospect that Britain will vote for isolation,” he told BBC2’s Newsnight on Thursday.“We have definitely been far too much Hampstead and not enough Hull in recent times and we need to change that. Here we are two weeks away from the very real prospect that Britain will vote for isolation,” he told BBC2’s Newsnight on Thursday.
Related: EU referendum live: 'very real prospect' of defeat for remain, says BurnhamRelated: EU referendum live: 'very real prospect' of defeat for remain, says Burnham
Burnham later clarified that he had not been criticising Labour’s campaign, but his comments echo worries that are widely held across the party.Burnham later clarified that he had not been criticising Labour’s campaign, but his comments echo worries that are widely held across the party.
A spokesman for the Manchester mayoral candidate attempted to row back on the comments on Friday morning, saying: “Andy Burnham’s comments have been misreported. He was answering a question about Labour in general being ‘a coalition between Hamsptead and Hull’. A spokesman for Burnham attempted to row back on the comments on Friday morning, saying: “Andy Burnham’s comments have been misreported. He was answering a question about Labour in general being ‘a coalition between Hamsptead and Hull’.
“He repeated his long-standing analysis that Labour in the last two decades has been too London-centric.” “He repeated his longstanding analysis that Labour in the last two decades has been too London-centric.”
Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, echoed Burnham’s points on Friday morning, saying the referendum was “in question” and arguing that Labour’s pro-EU message needed to be conveyed more strongly .Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, echoed Burnham’s points on Friday morning, saying the referendum was “in question” and arguing that Labour’s pro-EU message needed to be conveyed more strongly .
“So far not enough of our voters have heard we are for remain,” Miliband told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “I want to say to Labour voters: this is not a midterm protest, this is not a super-byelection. I want to be in the EU because it will be better for social justice, better for workers’ rights and better to tackle climate change.“So far not enough of our voters have heard we are for remain,” Miliband told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “I want to say to Labour voters: this is not a midterm protest, this is not a super-byelection. I want to be in the EU because it will be better for social justice, better for workers’ rights and better to tackle climate change.
“We haven’t done enough yet. We’ve got to do more. The last general election – I thought that was important. This is even more important.”“We haven’t done enough yet. We’ve got to do more. The last general election – I thought that was important. This is even more important.”
He defended Jeremy Corbyn’s stance of being sceptical about some of the EU while wanting to stay in, saying it was “close to the centre of gravity” on the issue. He defended Corbyn’s stance of being sceptical about some of the EU while wanting to stay in, saying it was “close to the centre of gravity” on the issue.
Asked about immigration in the campaign, Miliband said: “Don’t crater our economy to try to deal with concerns about immigration. Look at what the independent experts are saying. Another two years of austerity. Right across the board they are saying it would be really bad for our economy.”Asked about immigration in the campaign, Miliband said: “Don’t crater our economy to try to deal with concerns about immigration. Look at what the independent experts are saying. Another two years of austerity. Right across the board they are saying it would be really bad for our economy.”
Two prominent Labour MPs, John Mann and Dennis Skinner, said on Thursday they would back the leave campaign. Mann said the EU was fundamentally broken and leaving was the only way to control immigration.Two prominent Labour MPs, John Mann and Dennis Skinner, said on Thursday they would back the leave campaign. Mann said the EU was fundamentally broken and leaving was the only way to control immigration.
Skinner told the Morning Star: “My opposition from the very beginning has been on the lines that fighting capitalism state by state is hard enough. It’s even harder when you’re fighting it on the basis of eight states, 10 states and now 28.”Skinner told the Morning Star: “My opposition from the very beginning has been on the lines that fighting capitalism state by state is hard enough. It’s even harder when you’re fighting it on the basis of eight states, 10 states and now 28.”
But in a renewed campaigning effort for remain, senior Labour figures will warn on Friday that quitting the EU will leave Britain in the hands of the Thatcherite wing of the Conservative party. Amid fears that voters have not yet absorbed the key message of the remain campaign – that leaving the EU could hit them in the pocket – Labour will outline specific cuts it believes a Brexit cabinet might make, including squeezing the NHS budget.
The deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson, appearing at a press conference on Friday alongside his shadow cabinet colleagues Angela Eagle and Owen Smith, will say: “Working people across the UK face a double threat if we vote to leave: a massive black hole in the public finances, and an unfair Tory government that will make ordinary families pay for it through further cuts and tax rises.”
Related: EU referendum morning briefing: what we learned from Sturgeon v JohnsonRelated: EU referendum morning briefing: what we learned from Sturgeon v Johnson
The tax and spending thinktank the Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested that the economic instability that could follow a British exit from the EU would hit public finances.The tax and spending thinktank the Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested that the economic instability that could follow a British exit from the EU would hit public finances.
Separately, Miliband and Yvette Cooper, a former Treasury minister, will publish a report called Boris’s Brexit Britain, predicting that public services would be cut and workers’ rights undermined if a British exit enabled the former mayor of London to unseat David Cameron. Miliband and Cooper, who is also a former Treasury minister, will publish a report called Boris’s Brexit Britain, predicting that public services would be cut and workers’ rights undermined if a British exit enabled the former mayor of London to unseat David Cameron.
“Britain is at risk of being taken over by the far right of the Conservative party, and Labour communities will be the victims. It’s a Thatcherite agenda, really,” Cooper told the Guardian.“Britain is at risk of being taken over by the far right of the Conservative party, and Labour communities will be the victims. It’s a Thatcherite agenda, really,” Cooper told the Guardian.
“The leave campaign are trying to perpetrate what I can only describe as a fraud on the British people,” Miliband will say, accusing Vote Leave campaigners of “trying to disguise themselves in Labour clothes”.“The leave campaign are trying to perpetrate what I can only describe as a fraud on the British people,” Miliband will say, accusing Vote Leave campaigners of “trying to disguise themselves in Labour clothes”.
Labour voters are regarded as crucial to clinching the referendum, and the wider Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, which is being coordinated by No 10, has ensured there will be no other events to conflict with Labour’s. Cooper will unveil a provocative campaign poster featuring Johnson and Gove gambling in a casino alongside a cigar-toting Nigel Farage.
Cooper will also unveil a provocative campaign poster, featuring leading Vote Leave campaigners Boris Johnson and Michael Gove gambling in a casino alongside a cigar-toting Nigel Farage. The image is aimed at closely linking the senior Conservatives Gove and Johnson with the more controversial – and remain campaigners hope, more toxic – figure of Farage, the Ukip leader.
The image is aimed at closely linking the senior Conservatives Gove and Johnson with the more controversial – and remain campaigners hope, more toxic – figure of Farage, the leader of Ukip. In a live ITV debate on Thursday night, Amber Rudd, a Tory cabinet minister, Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, and Angela Eagle, the Labour shadow business secretary, adopted this strategy as they launched a series of attacks on Johnson. Rudd said people should judge the leave camp by the company they keep with Farage, and claimed that the only numbers that Johnson cared about were No 10, suggesting he was after the prime minister’s job.
In a live ITV debate on Thursday night, Amber Rudd, a Tory cabinet minister, Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, and Angela Eagle, the Labour shadow business secretary, adopted this strategy as they launched a series of attacks on Johnson. Rudd said people should judge the leave camp by the company they keep with Farage, and claimed that the only numbers that Johnson cared about were No 10, suggesting he is after the prime minister’s job.
The chancellor, George Osborne, has taken a similar approach in recent days, as Britain Stronger In steps up its personal attacks on senior leave campaigners.The chancellor, George Osborne, has taken a similar approach in recent days, as Britain Stronger In steps up its personal attacks on senior leave campaigners.
The chancellor singled out Farage on Thursday for representing a “mean-spirited, narrow and divisive” vision of Britain. He said this “tendency” was now coming to dominate the anti-EU campaign.The chancellor singled out Farage on Thursday for representing a “mean-spirited, narrow and divisive” vision of Britain. He said this “tendency” was now coming to dominate the anti-EU campaign.
Speaking to reporters on a campaign visit to a Scottish farm with the Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson, Osborne said: “The Nigel Farage tendency is taking over their argument and you’re increasingly getting this Farage vision of Britain, with all this talk of bodies washing up on the sea shores and women being at risk of sexual assault from migrants.”Speaking to reporters on a campaign visit to a Scottish farm with the Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson, Osborne said: “The Nigel Farage tendency is taking over their argument and you’re increasingly getting this Farage vision of Britain, with all this talk of bodies washing up on the sea shores and women being at risk of sexual assault from migrants.”
Khalid Mahmood, a Labour MP in Birmingham, has switched sides from leave to remain, saying it had become too much about immigration. “The leave campaign have been putting immigration and race together, and setting out to frighten people,” he said. “They claim that when Turkey joins there will be 60 million people coming into the UK. It’s a campaign based on colour rather than the economic issues.”
Cooper said Vote Leave’s senior figures had begun by distancing themselves from Farage but had increasingly drifted towards accepting his world view. “It’s hard to know why they tried so hard to separate themselves in the first place, when they are now using Farage-style strategies,” she said, citing posters warning of the risks of Turkey joining the EU and waves of migrants to the UK.
“Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are very clever men, but they’re treating this as if it’s a game at the Oxford Union,” said Cooper, warning that leaving the EU would “give licence to” Farage.
“It we left, it is giving licence to their willingness to divide people, but also their willingness to say whatever they want to, regardless of whether or not it’s true.”
Corbyn appeared alongside Watson at campaign events in Birmingham on Thursday, and will spend the weekend in Scotland making the case for remain.