Labour In for Britain


Labour In for Britain was the Labour Party campaign to put forward a "progressive" case for Remain during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.
It was launched by former Home Secretary and Labour MP Alan Johnson on 1 December 2015, who was asked by Acting Leader Harriet Harman earlier in the year to set up the group, and was ran separately to the cross party Britain Stronger in Europe campaign.
The Labour Party has been broadly Pro-European in recent years, with a vast proportion of the Parliamentary Labour Party advocates of membership of the EU and of the campaign.
This contrasts starkly with sources suggesting that Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn and other senior leadership figures are privately Eurosceptic and want the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. Prominent members of the campaign, including chair of its parliamentary branch Phil Wilson, subsequently criticised Corbyn for trying to "weaken and sabotage" the campaign.

History

Alan Johnson launched the campaign in Birmingham on 1 December 2015, claiming that events such as the November 2015 Paris attacks showed a greater need for European integration, and greater co operation between European Union member states. He said that a vote to leave the European Union was not progressive, would result in isolationism, and "would expose the country to greater risks."
Their campaign to retain membership of the European Union for the United Kingdom would put an emphasis on worker's rights.