EU referendum: Battle to remain in European Union lacks emotional punch, says top In donor Sir Anthony Bailey

'This referendum is not just about the European Union; this referendum is also about the future of the United Kingdom as a country'

Sir Anthony Bailey raised funds for Labour until 2010 (Peter Macdiarmid)

The battle to remain in the European Union lacks emotional punch, according to one of the “in” campaign’s top donors.

Sir Anthony Bailey, who was a fundraiser and donor to Labour until Ed Miliband became leader in 2010, is trying to raise £1m to produce a series of reports showing why the UK would be harmed by voting for Brexit. He is likely to put around £100,000 of his own money into the work, which will start with a report into the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland, which could include a new hard border with the Republic.

Sir Anthony, who is seen as an international fixer, advising prominent figures around the world, said he was “nervous” about the referendum: “I have never come across, certainly in the last year, one single head of state, or head of government, or senior parliamentarian, or lawyer who has said to me that this [the referendum] is actually a good thing that Britain is doing. I think there is great concern shared by many across the world that if Britain was to vote out, then Britain would be greatly diminished.”

He added: “This referendum is not just about the European Union; this referendum is also about the future of the United Kingdom as a country. If the UK were to leave then Scotland’s First Minister [Nicola Sturgeon] has been pretty clear that there would be another [independence] referendum.

“There’s been a lot of talk about facts and figures. What I want to talk about in these reports is the emotional argument about Europe, because I think that is lacking in much of the discussions at the moment. It’s not just a question of Britain in Europe. I think the future of the UK is the invisible question in the referendum.

“There are certainly a good number of people who don’t want to go down the emotional route.”