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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/11/eu-referendum-live-senior-labour-figures-urge-party-to-step-up-campaign
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| EU referendum live: Sir James Dyson backs leave campaign | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 9.20am BST | |
| 09:20 | |
| Corbyn rates his passion for the EU as "seven and a half" out of 10 | |
| Jeremy Corbyn appeared on Channel 4 comedy show The Last Leg last night. In a somewhat unexpected satirical sketch, the Labour leader arrived at the studio in a big white Bentley and white fur coat to the soundtrack of N.E.R.D. “Best thing Corbyn’s ever done,” read one tweet. | |
| Jeremy Corbyn's introduction on #thelastleg (Video by @Channel4) https://t.co/D0nB1F2GcP | |
| During the course of the show, Corbyn said he was “not a huge fan” of the EU but was 70-75% in favour of staying. “What I believe is that this is a practical decision that we take in order to get better conditions across the whole continent for everybody,” he said. | |
| He added that he was not surprised that prominent Labour backbencher John Mann had joined the pro-Brexit camp but insisted he was committed to pushing the rival case. | |
| Corbyn also downplayed the role of Brussels in securing rights such as paid holiday and maternity leave which he said “wasn’t a gift from the European Union, it was collective action by unions across Europe”. He said co-operation within the bloc was vital in a range of areas, however. | |
| Asked to rate his passion for keeping the UK in the EU on a scale of one to 10, he said: “We’re looking at seven, seven and a half”. | |
| Corbyn said Tories such as the prime minister wanted a Europe “dominated by global corporations” and would back the so-called TTIP trade deal with the US that he opposes. He said: | |
| I want to see a Europe that is about social cohesion, that is about better human rights, that is about workers’ rights and is also about taking a European response to help victims of wars who are going through the most appalling situation on the borders of Europe at the moment. I suspect his views are different. | |
| Other things Corbyn revealed: he’s a fan of Basil Fawlty. | |
| #TheLastLeg A VERY RARE CORBYN DEATH STARE THIS ONLY HAPPENS ONCE IN EVERY 10,000 CORBYNS https://t.co/MyrLo30z7C | |
| Updated | |
| at 9.21am BST | |
| 8.50am BST | |
| 08:50 | |
| Sir James Dyson backs leave campaign | |
| The other big story around this morning is that billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson has backed the leave campaign and said claims that British international trade would suffer outside the EU were “absolute cobblers”. | |
| Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Dyson criticised employment restrictions for non-EU workers as “crazy” and vented frustration that some British-trained engineers are unable to stay after graduating from university. | |
| He said doing business on the continent had left him with the belief that EU powers “protect vested interests” and called David Cameron and George Osborne “fundamentally wrong” in campaigning to remain. | |
| I don’t just mean from the business point of view, I mean from the point of view of sovereignty. | |
| We will create more wealth and more jobs by being outside the EU. We will be in control of our destiny. And control, I think, is the most important thing in life and business. | |
| The last thing I would ever want to do is to put myself in somebody else’s hands. Not just the other countries, but the Brussels bureaucrats. | |
| 8.35am BST | 8.35am BST |
| 08:35 | 08:35 |
| Tom Watson, Ed Miliband and Chuka Umunna urge Labour to step up campaign | |
| Nadia Khomami | Nadia Khomami |
| Good morning and welcome to the EU referendum live blog. We’ll be keeping you up to date with all the key events that take place today on the referendum campaign. | Good morning and welcome to the EU referendum live blog. We’ll be keeping you up to date with all the key events that take place today on the referendum campaign. |
| Our main story this morning is that senior figures in the Labour party, including Tom Watson, Ed Miliband and Chuka Umunna, have urged the party to step up its campaign to stay in the European Union amid fears that Labour voters will let the UK sleepwalk towards Brexit. | Our main story this morning is that senior figures in the Labour party, including Tom Watson, Ed Miliband and Chuka Umunna, have urged the party to step up its campaign to stay in the European Union amid fears that Labour voters will let the UK sleepwalk towards Brexit. |
| Tom Watson, the deputy leader, called on the party to “redouble its efforts” to persuade voters to stay in the EU, following concerns that many of its supporters could back Brexit over the issue of immigration. | Tom Watson, the deputy leader, called on the party to “redouble its efforts” to persuade voters to stay in the EU, following concerns that many of its supporters could back Brexit over the issue of immigration. |
| Read the full report below. | Read the full report below. |
| Related: Top Labour figures urge party to prevent drift towards Brexit | Related: Top Labour figures urge party to prevent drift towards Brexit |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 8.51am BST |