Campaigners for Britain to remain in the European Union will make a “patriotic case” that the country is safer in Europe, the group said on Sunday, bringing in business leaders, politicians and television personalities to lead the cause, Reuters reported.
Called “Britain Stronger in Europe”, the ‘in’ campaign will launch on Monday, keen to show it has broad appeal to fight for Britain’s membership of the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc, before a referendum which Prime Minister David Cameron said will be held by the end of 2017.
Cameron conceded ground to Eurosceptics in his ruling Conservatives by offering the referendum, hoping to bury an issue that divided the party for years, but the British public is increasingly split over Europe, further complicating a vote that may cast a shadow over his last five years in power.
A day after naming Conservative peer Stuart Rose, former boss of the Marks and Spencer store chain, as its head, the ‘in’ campaign said it would also be backed by fellow Conservative peer, businesswoman and television personality Karren Brady and Peter Mandelson, a former Labour minister and European trade commissioner, among others.
“With backgrounds in security, culture, business, the youth movement, trade unions, academia and politics, our board are ready to make the case for why Britain is stronger, safer and better off in Europe,” Will Straw, executive director of Britain Stronger in Europe, said in a statement.
