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EU referendum: Gordon Brown urges Labour voters to stay in EU referendum: Gordon Brown urges Labour voters to stay in
(about 1 hour later)
Labour voters have the "most to gain" if the UK stays in the EU, ex-PM Gordon Brown has said, as the party seeks to rally its supporters behind Remain.Labour voters have the "most to gain" if the UK stays in the EU, ex-PM Gordon Brown has said, as the party seeks to rally its supporters behind Remain.
In a speech, Mr Brown said the could take a lead in the EU to tackle tax avoidance, create jobs, and lower energy bills. Mr Brown said the UK could take a lead in the EU to create jobs, cut energy bills and tackle tax havens.
Labour voters "don't want the status quo" but things could be better with reform of the EU, he told the BBC "We should be a leader in Europe, not leaving it," he said, as he set out what he called a "positive" case for a Remain vote on 23 June.
Vote Leave has dismissed what it called a "hastily cobbled together re-launch". Vote Leave dismissed what it called a "hastily cobbled together re-launch".
The in-out vote on the UK's future in the European Union is ten days away. And Boris Johnson, one of its leading campaigners, said the Remain side was "rattled" with just 10 days to go until the referendum on the UK's future in the EU.
In other EU referendum campaign developments: In other campaign developments:
In his speech in Leicester, Mr Brown argued that issues regarding the environment, cutting energy bills and enhancing workers' rights are all best achieved from being at the table in Brussels. The Remain campaign believes Labour voters are crucial to winning the referendum, but it is concerned that many may not turn out to vote - or may support Brexit.
Speaking earlier to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "You've got to be at the table, you've got to be a negotiator. I know from my own experience that that is absolutely essential." In a speech in Leicester, Mr Brown - whose late intervention in the Scottish independence referendum was considered an influential factor by some observers - sought to galvanise Labour support for the EU.
Mr Brown - whose late intervention in the Scottish independence referendum was considered an influential factor by some observers - also said fears over the impact of foreign workers on local communities would be better addressed by insisting on more money to boost stretched public services than ending free movement rights. He said action on the environment, cutting energy bills, enhancing workers' rights and social standards, and tackling tax havens were all best achieved by being inside the EU.
The UK would be "in pole position" to champion change when it takes the rotating presidency of the EU in 2017, he said. And he argued the challenges of globalisation meant greater co-operation between countries was needed.
"From now until 10pm on 23 June we will not rest and I will not stop explaining why nine million Labour voters have most to gain from remaining in the EU," he added. "That is going to be the lesson we have got to learn from this debate in this referendum - that the EU is not the cause of the problem, but if you can get co-operation working, the EU can be part of the solution to the problem," he said.
Mr Brown said there was a need to "show we can manage globalisation better" and "balance the autonomy that people want with the co-operation we need", adding: "That is what the EU is about."
He said the UK would be "in pole position" to champion change when it takes the rotating presidency of the EU in 2017, if it votes to stay in the EU.
AnalysisAnalysis
By Iain Watson, BBC political correspondentBy Iain Watson, BBC political correspondent
Privately, Labour In are calling it a relaunch. The cross party Britain Stronger in Europe say it's a "Labour fightback". One insider even called it "a pivot".Privately, Labour In are calling it a relaunch. The cross party Britain Stronger in Europe say it's a "Labour fightback". One insider even called it "a pivot".
But whatever term you use, it is clear that the tone of the Remain campaign will look and sound different this week.But whatever term you use, it is clear that the tone of the Remain campaign will look and sound different this week.
Look different - because research from Loughborough University suggests that David Cameron and Boris Johnson have had more coverage than any other politicians so far, and this week more senior Labour figures, past and present, will be evident.Look different - because research from Loughborough University suggests that David Cameron and Boris Johnson have had more coverage than any other politicians so far, and this week more senior Labour figures, past and present, will be evident.
Sound different - because while warnings about the risk of Brexit have had some impact, Labour's own focus groups suggest that some potential Remain voters want more positive reasons for casting their ballot.Sound different - because while warnings about the risk of Brexit have had some impact, Labour's own focus groups suggest that some potential Remain voters want more positive reasons for casting their ballot.
As one insider put it: "Project Fear was in danger of turning into Project Failure" and "some people just won't be scared into the polling booth".As one insider put it: "Project Fear was in danger of turning into Project Failure" and "some people just won't be scared into the polling booth".
Read Iain's full analysisRead Iain's full analysis
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today on Monday, as Labour kicks off a week of heightened campaigning, Mr Brown rejected the idea that Britain had minimal influence in Europe. Mr Brown said Labour's agenda for Remain was a "positive" one, that showed "the benefits that will come from staying part of the European Union".
He said the UK had been a leader in the fight against fascism, creating the European Convention of Human Rights, and persuading eastern Europe to join the EU. "It shows that the Labour Party can work at great strength when we all work together," he added.
"Britain has always led the way when things have been difficult in the EU and I think it's time we were a leader again," he said.
Setting out Labour's "positive case" for EU membership, he said: "The Labour voters that I talk to don't like the status quo, they don't like where we are at the moment, they want to see things change.
"They want to know that they are going to be better off, and that's the message I can put."
Mr Brown also brushed aside claims that leader Jeremy Corbyn was half-hearted about EU membership, saying: "When all the forces of Labour get together it's a very powerful force in the country."
'Illegal immigration''Illegal immigration'
A study by think tank Migration Watch, that wants lower immigration, has forecast that if Britain stayed in the EU net migration would run at more than a quarter of a million a year for at least 20 years. Ahead of his speech, he told BBC Radio 4's Today: "The Labour voters that I talk to don't like the status quo... They want to know that they are going to be better off, and that's the message I can put."
Speaking on Today, Mr Brown defended current levels of immigration to the UK - including his government's record - but he said communities affected by "rising levels of population" should be helped, including through extra investment in public services. He also defended current levels of immigration, and said fears over the impact on local communities would be better addressed by increasing investment in stretched public services than ending free movement rights.
He would not be drawn on predictions of future migration levels, saying he believed too many factors had to be taken into account, but he said: "I believe in Britain we have managed migration, it is not uncontrolled migration." A study by think tank Migration Watch, that wants lower immigration, has forecast net migration would run at more than a quarter of a million a year for at least 20 years if Britain stayed in the EU.
Mr Brown said the biggest problem facing the UK was "illegal immigration" and he argued that the only way to tackle it was by staying in the EU, with co-ordinated cross-border action. Mr Brown insisted "illegal immigration" was the biggest problem the UK faced, and said the only way to tackle it was from within the EU, with cross-border co-operation.
Former Tory cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith, who backs Vote Leave, said Labour was "lecturing" rather than listening to its own supporters over immigration. Ex-Tory cabinet minister and Vote Leave campaigner Iain Duncan Smith said Labour was "lecturing" rather than listening to its own supporters over immigration.
He said traditional Labour voters were "pretty disgusted" with the party over its pro-EU stance. Traditional Labour voters were "pretty disgusted" with the party over its pro-EU stance, he said and added: "The number one thing they want is migration brought under control and Labour has nothing to say on that matter."
He said "unlimited migration" had driven down wages and added: "The number one thing they want is migration brought under control and Labour has nothing to say on that matter." At a separate event on Monday, shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn acknowledged there was widespread unease among many traditional Labour communities about the impact of immigration.
At a separate event on Monday, Labour shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn sought to address concerns over immigration. But he warned: "The truth is that leaving the EU is not going to stop immigration."
He set out what he saw as the benefits of immigration, including to the economy, but acknowledged there was widespread unease among many traditional Labour communities, who he said had concerns about pressure on services, over crowding and national identity. Labour MP and Vote Leave chairwoman Gisela Stuart said her party's voters "have now seen through government spin and no amount of hastily cobbled together re-launches" would change that.
"For many people immigration is the issue in this referendum," Mr Benn said, but he added: "The truth is that leaving the EU is not going to stop immigration." "We know that hardworking British people are feeling the strains caused by uncontrolled migration - and that they are sick and tired of being told their concerns are somehow illegitimate.
The shadow cabinet minister used to his speech to make he called the "patriotic" case for staying in the EU and co-operating with other nations. "The Remain campaign have nothing to say on immigration, and Gordon Brown added nothing to their case today."
He said the Leave camp "sound as if they mourn for the bygone age in which Britain gained influence through military strength and Empire.
"In the second half of the 20th century, we came to realise that it was far better and far more effective to be a global power that achieved its goals through co-operation rather than conquest."
Mr Benn said the referendum had reached a "defining moment", and added: "The Brexit train is threatening to pull away from the station with Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove in charge, taking us down a track that can only lead to disaster."
But Labour MP Gisela Stuart - who chairs the official Vote Leave campaign - said her party's voters "have now seen through government spin and no amount of hastily cobbled together re-launches" would change that.