EU Referendum: Labour drafts in Gordon Brown to relaunch Remain campaign

The party’s campaign thus far has been led by Alan Johnson, who has been all but invisible

Gordon Brown: ‘We shouldn’t just be a member of the European Union. We must be the leader of the European Union’ (Corbis)

With 10 days to go until voting, the Labour Party will relaunch its EU Referendum campaign today, and attempt to make the positive case for staying in the EU, an idea which has all but absent in the fear-based campaigns from all sides so far.

Former Labour Prime Prime Minister Gordon Brown will give a speech at De Montfort University in Leicester, arguing that Labour’s nine million voters have most to lose from a Brexit vote, and highlighting the UK’s unique position to achieve meaningful reform of the EU when it inherits the rotating presidency next year.

Labour’s EU fightback will focus on creating jobs, cutting energy prices, clamping down on tax havens and protecting workers' rights.

The party’s campaign thus far has been led by Alan Johnson, who has been all but invisible, with party leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow Chancellor John McDonnell – seen as Brexiters at heart – reluctantly making the case for Remain in order to keep the party together.

The former Prime Minister will say that voting to remain is “stronger for jobs, for rights at work and maintaining a British voice on the world stage.

“But we shouldn’t just be a member of the European Union. We must be the leader of the European Union.”

If the country votes to leave the EU, much of the blame will be put on Labour for failing to convince their own core support that it is in their interest to remain in Europe. A powerful and late intervention from Gordon Brown in the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 is still seen as having made a decisive impact. But this Labour relaunch will be seen as yet more evidence that the Remain camp are becoming increasingly panicked.

The backbench Labour MP Gisela Stuart, who is chairman of the Vote Leave campaign said: “Labour voters have seen through the spin of the Government, which is why they are rejecting the In campaign and no amount of hastily cobbled together relaunches will change that.”